Hendra Cipta, Pontianak – The mayor of the West Kalimantan city of Pontianak, Edi Rusdi Kamtono, has issued a circular banning the screening of the film Memories of My Body (Kucumbu Tubuh Indahku) at the Ahmad Yani Mega Mall Cinema in Pontianak.
The letter, dated Friday April 26, was address to the Ahmad Yani Mega Mall management, the West Kalimantan Indonesian Broadcasting Commission (KPI) and the West Kalimantan governor.
“The Pontianak municipal government objects to the planned screening of the film Kucumbu Tubuh Indahku”, wrote Kamtono in a letter which was sent to journalist’s WhatsApp accounts on Saturday April 27.
According to Kamtono, the Pontianak municipal government is vigorously encouraging a program aimed at protecting the public from violence within the family, from children to adolescents and adults.
“Also to protect [families] from things that could give rise to public anxiety”, he continued.
Aside from banning the film, Kamtono is asking related parties to block access to information about the film either through the mass media as well as social media in Pontianak.
Kamtono believes that the film could have a negative impact on the social behaviour of society. Primarily because the film shows sexually deviant behaviour but also over concerns that it will influence social views, particularly among the younger generation. “It conflicts with religious values”, he explained.
The regent of Kubu Raya in West Kalimantan, Muda Mahendrawan, also sent out a circular in the same vein banning the film from being screened at the Kubu Raya Transmart.
Notes
Last year Memories of My Body won the Cultural Diversity Award under the patronage of UNESCO at the 12th Asia Pacific Screen Awards in Brisbane, Australia, for an “extraordinary” contribution to the promotion and conservation of cultural diversity through film. The film also won the 2018 Bisato D’Oro Award from the Venice Independent Film Critics as well Best Film at the Festival Des 3 Continents, in Nantes, France. In Indonesia the film was selected as Tempo’s Film Choice at the 2018 Tempo Film Festival in Jakarta.
[Translated by James Balowski. The original title of the article was “Wali Kota Pontianak Larang Penayangan Film ‘Kucumbu Tubuh Indahku’”.]
