A Film and Television student from Universitas Dian Nuswantoro (Udinus) successfully attained an honorable mention at the 2022 Student World Impact Film Festival (SWIFF). The achievement was earned by Salas Anggobil Rokhira through his film, which told the story of a flood disaster in Sayung, Demak.
His film, Like a Fish Living on Land, tells the story of the locals of Bandono living alongside floods. Salas depicted the tale of these locals as a fish forced to live on land. Then, he sent the film to the festival, which was hosted both offline and online in California, USA.
The event was hosted in 2022 and was participated by more than 10.000 young filmmakers from 120 different countries. Out of 10.000 films, Salas’ film alongside another 3000 was chosen for the festival.
Salas stated that the film primarily told his personal experience concerning flood disasters in his hometown. This film was initially made for a college assignment at the end of 2020.
“In 2020, I had the idea to adapt my personal experience in the form of a short film. Additionally, I also attached a moral value that can easily interpreted by the audience,” Salas explained.
This film, lasting for 10 minutes and 30 seconds, depicts the hopelessness experienced by a local for the flood disasters that have caused property damage. In this film, the protagonist then asks for help from a shaman, leading to the protagonist being obliged to pet a fish in his house. However, the situation gets even worse as his children struggle to study and feel their bodies begin to itch. As a result, the protagonist's wife and his children left the house.
During the development process, this film involved 25 – 30 crews, who also happened to have the same experience as Salas did. According to Salas, this film might open a new world issue and a perfect medium to send his message to others.
“The pre-production process lasted around four months, while the post-production process only lasted for a month. Thus, the whole process of making this movie was roughly five months, and the film was finished at the beginning of 2021. To me, this film possesses its own messages and impressions,” he uttered.
Dr. Ruri Suko Basuki M.Kom., the Head of the Film and Television Department at Udinus, expressed her pride in the accomplishments garnered by her students. She further hoped for these accomplishments to motivate other students to also earn achievements on their own.
“We hereby congratulate our students for being able to make a name for our campus in the international film festival. Hopefully, Salas Anggobil Rokhira could keep being accomplished and produce more remarkable films,” she concluded. (Humas Udinus/Alex. Foto: Doc. Pribadi)
