Urging Women’s Perspectives in Documentary Films Documentary
Film production requires not only technical quality but also sensitivity to point-of-view and critical thinking. Perspective in seeing an issue is also crucial for filmmakers, especially women or gender, viewing topics and film production.
A filmmaker needs to understand women’s perspectives so that, in the end, a film is created that is sensitive to the interests of vulnerable groups such as women.
“The film method can be drawn on a very personal question: What if this incident happened to my sister. Or what if it happened to my mother, or a female member of my family,” said Kisno Ardi. He was a speaker at the screening and discussion of the film entitled ‘Whip in Aceh, the Veranda of Mecca’ on Friday, April 23, 2021.
This film screening and discussion resulted in the final project of director Nurhamid Budi Sutrisno, UII Student at Department of Communications, class 2017. This film raised the topic of the phenomenon and the other side of the caning punishment applied in Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam. This event is a routine discussion held by PSDMA Nadim UII at the Department of Communications.
Budi, Nurhamid’s nickname, said that he deliberately tried to take the point of view of social pressure experienced by people who were sentenced to caning. The social pressures ranged from being embarrassed in public to being ostracized and ostracized by society. “Supposedly if we used a woman’s perspective, we would not side with this exile. Imagine if our women’s families were in that position,” said Kisno, who is also a community activist cum documentary filmmaker.
So as a documentary filmmaker, Kisno said, filmmakers must present a new perspective on what we offer to society. So it is natural for documentary films to use one point of view.
“Unlike journalistic products, documentaries are not required to comply with journalistic rules, cover both sides, for example. However, journalism and documentary have something in common: factual,” said Kisno.
Kisno suggested to Budi that the filmmaker’s point of view and partisanship in the film should be seen. Even if necessary, the filmmaker must reflect events on themselves to make the filmmaker’s presence more accurate in understanding the film’s subject.
Therefore, it is crucial to understand and study the perspective of women as a form of siding with groups or community entities that are often disadvantaged. The filmmaker’s alignment with women and vulnerable groups is beneficial so that discrimination does not occur and repeat. Kisno hopes filmmakers should internalize this perspective because we have female family members and other vulnerable groups. Here is where the student’s filmmaker intelligence in working on the final project is tested.
