hairloom (i)

Indonesian candidate Leo Tirtayasa heads to New York, determined to win over the diaspora in the 2024 regional elections. As he campaigns, a journalist follows closely, documenting his every move—until both start to reveal their true selves.

Putri, 17 and seven months pregnant, feels suffocated by societal expectations on her wedding day. Overwhelmed by a bleak future, she escapes in her wedding dress and jumps into the back of a catering truck driven by Rizqy, a gay man also trapped in an arranged marriage. Their spontaneous journey is filled with humor, tension, and moments of genuine human connection. Both begin to question the life choices and paths forced upon them. SAH. is a powerful exploration of the collision between tradition and individual freedom, challenging deep-rooted norms about love, identity, and the right to define one's destiny.

SUMPAH PEMUDA (YOUTH PLEDGE) is an experimental documentary exploring self and state-crafted conceptions of Indonesian national identity of young Indonesians in the U.S.. Composed of scans of personal identification documents and participants’ objects of ‘Indonesian-ness’, recitations of the Youth Pledge, digital video of the Indonesian consulate in New York, and 16mm footage of self-identified Indonesians dressed and posed for a U.S. visa-compliant photo, the film is an exploration of what it means to be ‘Indonesian’ beyond national borders, whether here by choice, necessity or otherwise. SUMPAH PEMUDA is a reflection on migration and displacement in an age of rising authoritarianism and fascism.

Putri, 17 and seven months pregnant, feels suffocated by societal expectations on her wedding day. Overwhelmed by a bleak future, she escapes in her wedding dress and jumps into the back of a catering truck driven by Rizqy, a gay man also trapped in an arranged marriage.