Some villagers were asked, what do you think about UFOs? Some are happy, some are cynical. This is the short film Village’s Bid for UFO by Takuro Kotaka. This Japanese filmmaker became one of the speakers in the Public Discussion Forum #10: Strategy with Deception, which was held by the Biennale Jogja XVI Equator #6 2021.
Takuro had a duet with Armin Septiexan, a representative of the Multimedia untuk Semua School or Multimedia for All School (SkolMus) who incidentally was one of the speakers of the Labuhan Biennale Jogja XVI Program. The discussion which was held online via Live YouTube on Tuesday (9/11) afternoon was hosted by Putri R.A.E. Habibie.
“Village’s Bid for UFO is a metaphor for the construction of a nuclear reactor in Ishikawa Prefecture,” said Takuro. This mockumentary (documentary-comedy) film is full of political criticism, like his previous works.
However, he admits that there is a certain fear when revealing sensitive issues to the public. Moreover, in Japan, the issue of nuclear reactors is taboo to be criticized.
Takuro also revealed that Village’s Bid for UFO has never been aired in Japan.
“In fact, this film premiered at the 2017 Documentary Film Festival in Yogyakarta,” he said.
Thus, SkolMus raised the issue of migrant workers in the case of living children (relatives from the village who were brought to the city to be employed as a household assistant).
“This phenomenon is real, but their stories are closed tightly,” he said.
Through Bilik Migrant, an art installation in the form of masquerade performances and film shows, SkolMus opened the lid. Intentionally, the installation was presented at Pantai Warna to attract attention.
“This placement is a criticism that there are contradictions. The government decorated the beach but missed the fate of humans (children live),” he complained.
Not only criticizing, but SkolMus is also empathetic. It shows through art installations that prioritize the interests of the subject, namely the living children. Armin explained that the theatrical performance conveyed the message that the personal identity of the children was not to be known.
“It is dangerous for them to reveal their identity. Most of the employers are community leaders who could one day take away their livelihoods,” said Armin. The use of the narrator’s faint voice instead of the original recording from the source of the living child cannot be separated for the same reason.
After all, said Armin, the most important thing from social criticism is that the perspective of the issue can be sensed and understood by the public. The people of Kupang understand the suffering of living children. The Japanese government could be sensitive to the impact of nuclear reactors on the people of Ishikawa.
