Experiencing Interruptions?

Lolitha

Lolitha is a transwoman from Papua who is HIV-positive. She shares her stories about her queer awakening, her difficult days selling sex in the streets of Jayapura, her activism, and her philosophical analysis of her intersectional identities.

  • Azalia Muchransyah
    Director
    Halal (2017), HIV/AIDS: Not A Death Sentence (2018), Alone, Together (2018), Blue Film (2018), Big Durian Big Apple (2018), Where Do Babies Come From? (2018), The Banana Manifesto (2018), TAMU (2018), The Strength of A Woman (2019), the Blissful Aloofness of Childcare (2019), Concrete Jungle (2020), Bearddemic (2020), WFH (2020), Attention at Tension (2020), Midnight Glitch (2020), One Night Stand (2020), The Moth in My Window (2021), Selamat Datang di Indonesia (2021), Stigma (2022)
  • Azalia Muchransyah
    Writer
    Halal (2017), HIV/AIDS: Not A Death Sentence (2018), Alone, Together (2018), Blue Film (2018), Big Durian Big Apple (2018), Where Do Babies Come From? (2018), The Banana Manifesto (2018), TAMU (2018), The Strength of A Woman (2019), the Blissful Aloofness of Childcare (2019), Concrete Jungle (2020), Bearddemic (2020), WFH (2020), Attention at Tension (2020), Midnight Glitch (2020), One Night Stand (2020), The Moth in My Window (2021), Selamat Datang di Indonesia (2021), Stigma (2022)
  • Azalia Muchransyah
    Producer
    Halal (2017), HIV/AIDS: Not A Death Sentence (2018), Alone, Together (2018), Blue Film (2018), Big Durian Big Apple (2018), Where Do Babies Come From? (2018), The Banana Manifesto (2018), TAMU (2018), The Strength of A Woman (2019), the Blissful Aloofness of Childcare (2019), Concrete Jungle (2020), Bearddemic (2020), WFH (2020), Attention at Tension (2020), Midnight Glitch (2020), One Night Stand (2020), The Moth in My Window (2021), Selamat Datang di Indonesia (2021), Stigma (2022)
  • Adhi Anugroho
    Producer
    Halal (2017), HIV/AIDS: Not A Death Sentence (2018), Alone, Together (2018), Blue Film (2018), Big Durian Big Apple (2018), Where Do Babies Come From? (2018), The Banana Manifesto (2018), TAMU (2018), The Strength of A Woman (2019), the Blissful Aloofness of Childcare (2019), Concrete Jungle (2020), Bearddemic (2020), WFH (2020), Attention at Tension (2020), Midnight Glitch (2020), One Night Stand (2020), The Moth in My Window (2021), Selamat Datang di Indonesia (2021), Stigma (2022)
  • Lolitha
    Key Cast
    "Lolitha"
  • Azalia Muchransyah
    Editor
    Halal (2017), HIV/AIDS: Not A Death Sentence (2018), Alone, Together (2018), Blue Film (2018), Big Durian Big Apple (2018), Where Do Babies Come From? (2018), The Banana Manifesto (2018), TAMU (2018), The Strength of A Woman (2019), the Blissful Aloofness of Childcare (2019), Concrete Jungle (2020), Bearddemic (2020), WFH (2020), Attention at Tension (2020), Midnight Glitch (2020), One Night Stand (2020), The Moth in My Window (2021), Selamat Datang di Indonesia (2021), Stigma (2022)
  • Project Type:
    Documentary, Short
  • Runtime:
    20 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    April 30, 2022
  • Production Budget:
    3,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    Indonesia
  • Country of Filming:
    Indonesia, United States
  • Language:
    Indonesian
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    Yes - University at Buffalo
  • BKK Short DOC
    Bangkok
    Thailand
    November 18, 2022
    World Premiere
    Nominee, Best Asian Short Documentary
  • Bali International Film Festival (Balinale)
    Denpasar
    Indonesia
    June 1, 2023
    Indonesian Premiere
    In Competition, Short Documentary
Director Biography - Azalia Muchransyah

Azalia Muchransyah is an award-winning filmmaker, writer, and scholar from Indonesia. She received her Ph.D. in Media Study from the University at Buffalo, The State University of New York (SUNY), in 2021. Dr. Muchransyah’s research interests revolve around the intersections of media study, film study, film production, documentary and its hybrid forms, HIV study, feminist study, and activism, specifically in Indonesia. Her short films have been officially selected and screened in international festivals and academic conferences worldwide, including at Mimesis Documentary Festival, Minikino Film Week, DOCUTAH International Documentary Film Festival, Buffalo International Film Festival, and Finger Lakes Environmental Film Festival. She teaches at Binus University Film Program in Alam Sutera, Tangerang, Indonesia.

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Director Statement

Lolitha is unique because HIV-positive, LGBTQ+, and Melanesian Papuans (let alone the intersections between the three) are historically excluded in media representations in Indonesia, but she is also highly educated and actively advocating the aspirations of her fellow community members. This film is not a typical coming-out-on-screen story, but rather an attempt to empower marginalized populations in Indonesia and globally by having a multidimensional character representing them as the center of the story. As a hybrid documentary, I leave some of the interactions that Lolitha has with the crew and the camera so people can see her creative involvement in representing herself on her own terms.