CHILDREN OF SRIKANDI

Synopsis

Srikandi is a female figure from the Indian Mahabharata epic that changes gender to live and fight as an equal among men. This character is a role model for eight highly personal perspectives on lesbian, bisexual and transidentity life in Islamic Indonesia. The film, which began as a collective project, moves from personal essay into a radical conceptual exploration of queer politics and maps out self-confidently the situation in which a generation of women are beginning to find a voice. Politics, identity, the search for substitute families, the fear of violence, even among lesbians, the social exclusion of minorities and self-imposed silence are some of the topics addressed, as are the deliberate eschewal of labels for one’s own life and one’s personal religious beliefs and the wearing of the hijab. Making use of local forms of storytelling, the film also demonstrates that indigenous role models exist for strong women and alternative gender identities. Javanese shadowplay links and interweaves the different stories of the protagonists, but ANAK-ANAK SRIKANDI is goes far beyond being a typical episodic film.

HELLO WORLD Imelda Taurinamandala
JLAMPRONG Eggie Dian
VIA SKYPE CoS Collective
ACCEPTANCE Oji
EDITH’S JILBAB Yulia Dwi Andriyanti
A VERSE Winnie Wibowo
IN BETWEEN Hera Danish
DECONSTRUCTION Stea Lim
NO LABEL Afank Mariani

Cast & Crew

Producer

Laura Coppens, Angelika Levi
Screenwriter

Laura Coppens
Director of photography

Angelika Levi, Faozan Rizal
Editor (Cut)

Angelika Levi

Festivals/awards

62 Berlinale PANORAMA

Film Info

links / references

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