The Song Of Grassroots
Fajar Merah (21) is the son of Wiji Thukul – a poets and human rights activist who was 'made to disappeared' in 1998 by The Soeharto Regime. Together with 'Merah Bercerita', a band established at 2010, and supported by his family, he tries to bring back his father's poems to life, covers them with music notations and creates a music album.
In a dynamic background of 2014 Indonesian Presidential Election, 16 years after the 1998 tragedy, Fajar and family develops a new hope on one candidate; Joko Widodo, to solve some Human Rights Violation cases, to find Wiji Thukul and other victims.
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Yuda KurniawanDirector
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Yuda KurniawanWriter
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Yuda KurniawanProducer
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Fajar MerahKey Cast
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Project Type:Documentary
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Runtime:1 hour 52 minutes
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Completion Date:June 5, 2018
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Production Budget:35,000 USD
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Country of Origin:Indonesia
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Country of Filming:Indonesia
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Language:Indonesian
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Shooting Format:Digital
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Aspect Ratio:16:9
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Film Color:Color
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First-time Filmmaker:No
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Student Project:No
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23rd Busan International Film Festival 2018Busan
Korea, Democratic People's Republic of
October 7, 2018
World Premiere
Documentary Competition in Wide Angle Section -
13th Jogja-Netpac Asian Film Festival 2018Jogjakarta
Indonesia
December 2, 2018
Indonesian Premiere
Winner NETPAC Award. -
38th Indonesian Film Festival 2018Jakarta
Indonesia
December 9, 2018
Indonesian Premiere
Winner Citra Award, Best Documentary Feature. (Indonesian Oscar) -
17th Yogyakarta Documentary Film Festival 2018Yogyakarta
Indonesia
December 10, 2018
Indonesian Premiere
Official Selection -
7th MAYA Award 2018Jakarta
Indonesia
January 19, 2019
Winner MAYA Award for Best Feature Length Documentary -
1st Diorama International Film Festival 2019New Delhi
India
January 15, 2019
India Premiere
International Documentary Competition -
7th International Festival of Docufilms on Liberations and Human Rights 2019Dhaka
India
April 18, 2019
Bangladesh Premiere
Official Selection -
15th Kazan International Muslim Film FestivalKazan
Russian Federation
April 24, 2019
Russian Premiere
International Documentary Competition -
15th Jecheon International Music and Film Festival, South Korea, 2019.Jecheon
Korea, Republic of
August 9, 2019
Official Selection -
10th World Cinema Amsterdam 2019.Amsteram
Netherlands
August 17, 2019
Dutch Premiere
Competition -
5th Festival Internacional De Cinema, Figueira Da Foz Film Art, Portugal, 2019Portugal
Portugal
September 5, 2019
Portugal Premiere
Official Selection -
7th Asian Film Festival Barcelona, Spain 2019.Barcelona
Spain
November 6, 2019
Spain Premiere
Competition -
Asian Pacific Screen Awards, Brisbane, Australia, 2019.Brisbane
Australia
November 6, 2019
Australia Premiere
Competition
YUDA KURNIAWAN is a documentary film producer and director has received Citra Award, the highest achievement for Indonesian filmmakers given by Indonesian Film Festival. He is also founder of Rekam Docs. His documentary films have been screened in various film festivals both domestic and overseas and has won several awards, one of them is NETPAC Award (Network for the promotion of Asia Pasific Cinema), this is an award given to Asian film director who shows important contributions to the new Asian cinema movement. Some of his documentary film include: "Pesantren Way's of Dakwah" (2016), "The Ballads of Cinema Lovers" (2017) and "The Song of Grassroots" (2018). Currently he is completing his latest documentary feature entitled "Roda-Roda Nada".
I love music. For me music is a great weapon to express feelings and exchange opinions. It is able to fill layers of age and social class gaps, the reason I decided to do this documentary.
Fajar Merah for me is not only the son of Wiji Thukul, but also a person with a dazzling personality. In a young age, he is able to mix words and music notations with a musicality that beyond average.
Merah Bercerita has developed a decent music character before five years of unity, has become a magnet in their town, Surakarta, then to Central Java, and Indonesia in general.
This documentary is not only about Wiji Thukul family's and the band's hopes of a government that will solve many 1998 Human Rights Violation cases, but also as a mark of a young passionate flaming soul amongst Indonesia's dynamic politics during the 2014 Indonesian Presidential Election.