02/08/2016
Prenjak (In the Year of the Monkey) is a short film by the talented Wregas Bhanuteja that has won Leica Cine Discovery Prize in Semaine de la Critique (Critics Week) of Cannes Film Festival 2016.
The short film is inspired by a cultural phenomenon that was commonly found in the town squares of Yogyakarta, Indonesia, in the '80s and 90s. Women, in dire need of extra income, would go out at night and sell matches in darker corners of the square. The buyers, invariably men, would light the match under the women's skirts and look at their intimate part.
Prenjak is a name of bird commonly found in Yogyakarta, Wregas' hometown, and a "bird" is slang for the male genitalia.
The director's use of a bird name in the title is more than just a cheeky move. During a screening session in Jakarta last May, Wregas claimed he wanted to turn the tables on men in Prenjak.
"It's all about seduction. I want to show that women actually have the same curiosity as men"
"The journey to Cannes has been amazing. Prenjak was shown along with other short films that have bigger budgets and advanced CGI. It's been an incredible experience, and I'm glad the story is not too local, too Javanese for the foreign audience to understand," he said.
PIDJAR is proud to present you this exciting, naughty yet poetic short film at Pidjar Summer Cinema
Saturday, 6th August, 2016
Prenjak (In the year of monkey), OmU, 13min
Filmrauschpalast, Berlin
