FILM FESTIVAL - CLASS VII

The whole of life is but a moment of time.
It is our duty, therefore to use it, not to misuse it.
Greek Scholar Plutarch

The essence of life is to keep trying to better what you are, better what you have, so that when you come to the end of it you have made the best of life. This is what every human being tries to achieve in this journey called life. Since childhood one is taught to work hard, avail every opportunity, make best of every available resource so that you climb a step above where you were when you were born.
The aspirations from this struggle are different –
A child in a well to do family in a metropolitan city aspires to establish a business when he grows;
For an old woman in the rugged landscape of Afghanistan, this never went beyond being able to buy a blanket to protect her from the cold winds at night; For a landless labourer in the deep interior villages of India, it is to have a small piece of land he can call his own And
In Belitong Island, Indonesia: for two dedicated teachers and a group of ten motley students it was all about having an opportunity to make education a part of their lives…
And they build the story of the Rainbow Troops!
Rainbow Troops (Laskar Pelangi)
Director : Riri Riza
Year : 2008
Duration : 124 min
Country : Indonesia
Language : Bahasa Indonesia
Subtitles : Yes
• Synopsis
The island of Belitong, Indonesia. Two teachers, Muslimah and Harfan, eagerly await the beginning of the new school year and the arrival of their new pupils. At least ten pupils need to attend their Muhamaddiya Islamic primary school, otherwise the educational authority will close them down. No wonder they are both nervous. Fortunately, ten students end up registering for school - most of them being children from families of poor day laborers at the tin factory. Muslimah decides to call the group of first graders the "rainbow troops." Following the children over a period of five years, we observe as these children struggle for the right to make their
dreams a reality.

• Note on The Director :
Born in 1970, Riri Riza graduated from the Jakarta Arts Institute in 1993, where he majored in film directing. His final film project, Sonata Kampung Bata, won third place in the 1994 Oberhausen short film festival. He has worked on several documentaries, music videos and TV films. Riza directed his first feature film, Kuldesak, in 1998, collaboratng with Mira Lesmana, Nan Triveni Achnas and Rizal Mantovani. His solo debut project was Sherina's Adventure. Together with Mira Lesmana, he has also become a film producer. Riza studied screenwriting in
England, and then wrote his first screenplay Eliana, Eliana. His other films include Gie, Untuk Rena and Three Days to Forever.

• Statement from Osian’s-Cinefan
The true nature of life is to exceed oneself in all of our efforts. Rainbow Troops, is chronicles the endless efforts of the children and teachers at the Muhammadiyah elementary school to make the best out of life and to live it to the fullest. Their ups and downs, achievements and
failures are reminiscent of the struggle that each of us undertake to fulfill our dreams in life. And this commonality establishes a universal understanding of one man for another and an empathy for each other’s dreams, aspirations and struggles. This film has been chosen not for the educational component which is the crux of the story but for the larger emotions and journeys it portrays – which in due course of time become the true lessons of life.

FILM BRIEFING SESSION
Reach for the Rainbow
Many of you would have asked yourself or been asked this question: What do you want to be in life? Doctor, who can help everyone get better; or Teacher who would impart knowledge to others; Engineer, and build great buildings and superb machines; or probably a Filmmaker, and make films that mesmerize audiences. Some will not have an answer just as yet – nothing specific they would say, but something good…
We all need a purpose in life – a purpose that motivates us, inspires us to work hard to attain it. Do you remember how hard you worked to come first in the exams, or your endless practice sessions for the dance competition; or how many books you read for the Quiz Competition or the endless practice sessions and workouts for the cricket tournament. Through all this you would have encountered numerous obstacles, which you would have tried your best to solve and move ahead. Think of all these things when you see the children in Belitong work hard to fulfill their dreams… Do you find any similarity in their and your struggles?
Do you remember that friend who while taking a brilliant catch injured his hand and could never play in the school team again? Or the young boy who works in your neighbour’s house as a servant so that he can earn money for his family in a remote village in the country? Have you seen laborers tolling in the heat of the day to build flyovers whose children can never go to school since their parents are perennially being displaced? Do you think that they have failed in life?
What is the true meaning of success? Is it being able to attain your dreams? Or is success something which can only be understood in relative terms, and never judged? Ask your parents if they have ever left a dream they had? Why did they do it, what were the reasons?
Many things are taken for granted in our life – a happy home, loving parents, good education, tasty food, birthday gifts, enjoyable outings and much more. But there are many children in many parts of the world who do not have these things for granted. In fact these very things are a luxury for them. Do you wonder what life for them must be like?
Look around, think about how different life appears for you, the boy form the nearby slum who begs at the traffic signal, the old aunty who sells tea at her small shop in the corner of the road and your parents who have been able to give you the life you live today.
Doesn’t life seem very different to you now? Yet what is similar in all these lives? That one keeps trying keeps working so that when we come to the end of life we feel that it is a time well spent.
This is the premise of Rainbow Troops!