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JAKARTA, March 20 — If Nicholas Saputra (picture) was a film, it would have lawmakers’ pants on fire. It would break box office records, spark sequels and have the nation’s pulse racing.

Not bad for a boy scouted on the way to watch a game of baseball.

With an upcoming role in a film about HIV/AIDS set in Papua, an issue he said he was proud to support, the move into directing (he’s co-directing a music video for local band Alexa) and amorous thirst to only be in projects he believes in, the 26-year-old is no one-hit-wonder.

He could have played it out that way though. But, like his first film, Ada Apa Dengan Cinta, (What’s up with Cinta) (2002), noted for connecting to its teenage audience and explore topics of relevance such as questioning the reformasi, domestic abuse and appreciation of classic literature, spawning the “teen movie” genre that continues this progressive trend, Nicholas is advancing Indonesian film by playing roles that push limits.

“Film is more important to me than acting,” Nicholas, the mix of a German and Javanese background, said in Jakarta after a day on set.

“The medium is essential in transferring knowledge and opening minds because it is widely accessible to society.”

3 Hari Untuk Selamanya, (Three Days for Forever ) (2007), a film directed by Riri Riza, is another example of his willingness to undertake roles that advance these moral parameters.

The film was heavily censored, notably the lovemaking scene. However, the subtle but poignant sexual desire between cousins, played by Nicholas and Adinia Wirasti, highlighted the film industry’s new courage.

“Because a film isn’t constricted by the limitations of everyday life. It can powerfully communicate ideas, even though some may regard these issues as taboo.”

It seems Nicholas has a penchant for controversy.

“Gie — that was a significant film for me.

“There were things I was taught about in school that we now know are not accurate,” he said of growing up during the New Order.

“When I was researching Gie, based on the journal of activist Soe Hok Gie during the change of the regime in 1965-66, I was reading it thinking, ‘God, there is information we weren’t told’.”

He was referring to the anti-communist purge during the shift to the New Order regime.

”I felt betrayed by the subject of history — why were we not told the facts?”

This event is still shrouded with unanswered questions such as the exact death toll, estimated at 500,000 people, it may be as many as 2 million.

Nicholas said that while the film industry here was working hard to tell stories people wanted to

hear, the new censorship law was reminiscent of Soeharto-era creative control.

“A film’s content depends on the people behind the Indonesian censorship body, meaning it is subject to the moral code of an unknown minority.”

The Indonesian Film Society, of which Nicholas is a member, proposed a judicial review of the 1992 Censorship Law to the Constitutional Court in 2007, but it was rejected in 2008. The House of Representatives then revised and passed the law in September 2009, reportedly without involvement from stakeholders.

“We’re lucky that the people on the board are not overwhelmingly oppressive. But there’s no assurance, you can’t predict what they’ll do,” he said.

“When Gie was made, the censorship law prohibited content about communism. The body cut the kissing scenes, but it allowed the communism content.”

In addition to potentially repressive censorship laws, Nicholas also draws attention to the absence of a formal acting institution.

“We produce minimal films in comparison to other countries, and because we don’t have the industry, we don’t have the demand.”

Instead, actors are trained on set, just as he was when he first plunged into film. He said the lack of an established training academy was possibly because Indonesia was in the process of determining a way to creatively express itself.

“Acting represents culture,” Nicholas asserted. “How Western people act and express themselves is different to people from Java,” referring to Western acting theorists and playwrights such as Stanislavski, Shakespeare and Chekov.

“I felt betrayed by the subject of history — why were we not told the facts?”

He pointed out that the film industry was taking time to grow due to the gap the film industry experienced between 1990 and 2002.

“Acting in the 1980s to now is very different,” he said of the 80s abundance of comedy and porn. “So we have a gap to fill.

“We are presently in the process of finding an acting style, a core that will represent the culture.”

Indonesia’s cultural diversity complicates that process, he said. “There is no one united identity.

We need to find a method of expression that every culture in the country understands.”

Nicholas said the linguistic complexity in a country with 500 informal languages, made it a challenge to hold a dialogue with everyone.

“Our formal language can clearly communicate a story across the country, but this means we aren’t necessarily getting to the essence of the story and reality,” he said. “However if we use informal language, often region specific, not everyone can understand.”

The industry may have work to do, but it is on the right track. Petualangan Sherina (Sherina’s Adventure) sparked the film industry back to life in 2000 with 1.5 million viewers. Ada Apa Dengan Cinta dramatically increased it again with 2.5 million in 2002. It grew from five Indonesian films that year to 90 in 2009 and recent statistics show that 82 percent of the country’s film viewers watch Indonesian movies.

The ingredient to producing films that attract the masses? Passion, says Nicholas.

“It’s not a matter of theme or genre when I say ‘yes’ to a film.

“It’s whether I am passionate about it. Some people say I’m picky, but I disagree. I will give everything in a film — my mind, body, soul,” he said. “I hope everyone else does the same. If they don’t and I can’t be passionate, what’s the point.”

Nicholas said that when artists were committed and willing to improve their performance, they gave a powerful energy to storytelling.

”If you continually take on new challenges and push yourself, you’ll just keep getting better.

“I love plunging into new territory. I never want to be static.” — www.thejakartapost.com

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