Private Project

From Field to Feast: Wulla Poddu Rites in West Sumba

'Wulla Poddu dan Padi' or 'From Field to Feast: Wulla Poddu Rites in West Sumba' is a documentary that records the traces of an ethnographic research on a ritual in which apparently there is one important part that is often not widely discussed, namely how the Wulla Poddu ritual is interpreted as gratitude for the previous year's rice harvest as well as hope the best results for the next planting period.

  • Widya Arafah
    Director
  • Widya Arafah
    Writer
  • Irfan Nugraha
    Producer
  • Sinema Sora
    Production House
  • Project Title (Original Language):
    Wulla Poddu dan Padi
  • Project Type:
    Documentary
  • Runtime:
    9 minutes 32 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    March 1, 2023
  • Country of Origin:
    Indonesia
  • Country of Filming:
    Indonesia
  • Language:
    Indonesian
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - Widya Arafah

Widya has always had an immense desire to be a full-fledged Film Director since her Junior High School years. Due to, and to further nurture, her desire, she had made dozens of films for the last eight years, for which and for her consistency and determination she was elected Chairman for her school and her university’s filmmaking community 3CINEMA and Fiktif respectively. Through, but not limited to, those ventures in mentioned communities, Widya nurtures her huge passion and builds her vision for the medium of film by directing several productions. Among them is a film titled ‘Lalu’ which received tremendous support during all stages of productions, positive public reception, and array of recognitions and invited showings in festivals including the 17th Jogja -NETPAC Asian Film Festival 2022 due to its preparation quality, intimate nuances, and emotion-inducing story. However, those experiences are mere beginnings to her long, arduous, yet extremely exciting odyssey of learning and growing to fully embody the Film Director she always aspires to be.

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Director Statement

When discussing the Wulla Poddu rites with researchers, they told me that Wulla Poddu is a ritual for human re-creation. However, the steps of the ritual didn't disclose the meaning. I tried to find the puzzle in the literature and discussions, but I didn't get the answer. Because of that, I asked Thara, one of the dancers in the Wulla Poddu ritual, to share her story. From the discussion, I found a common thread: the human re-creation in this ritual is very close to the materiality of rice. How the community conveys gratitude and blessings, as well as the rice planting cycle, are elements that I found to fill in the puzzle of the meaning of human re-creation.