Four Strong Women in Modern Indonesia: “Chant Of Lotus”

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Phnom Penh: The “Gendered Lens” at Meta House presents new films by female directors with a focus on contemporary Asia. The anthology film CHANT OF LOTUS (2008, 102mins) consists of four works by Nia Dinata, Upi, Lasja F. Susatyo and Fatimah T. Rony about strong women in modern Indonesia. Sumantri is a midwife working on a small Island; Safina is a 16-year-old teenager growing up in Yogyakarta. Esi works in a gloomy “dangdut club”. She leaves her jobless lover who keeps abusing her teenage daughter. Laksmi’s husband has Just passed away from AIDS, then she finds out that she’s also HIV positive. She has to make a drastic decision in order to make the best of her life.