BORDERLESS IN BORNEO (2003/23 min.)

BORDERLESS BORNEO: A Documentary on the Undocumented



Produced, Filmed & Researced by Dave Lumenta
Co-produced & Edited by Rhino Ariefiansyah
Duration: 23 minutes
Colour
Production Date: December 2003
DVD compilation available from www.in-docs.com (The Indonesian Film Database)



Synopsis:

English:

This documentary, edited out from research footage, uncovers some reasons why Sarawak (Malaysian Borneo) remains a safe haven for undocumented Indonesian workers coming over from Kalimantan (Indonesian Borneo). Porous borders, same ethnic distribution and the general acceptance of Indonesians workers among Sarawakians often render national identities irrelevant.


Bahasa Indonesia:

Film ini mengangkat kenyataan bahwa perbatasan negara di Kalimantan ternyata bersifat sangat longgar. Kenyataan ini dapat dilihat dari bebasnya pergerakan pekerja Indonesia di Sarawak. Pada bulan Agustus 2002 misalnya, ditengah maraknya pemulangan pekerja ilegal Indonesia dari Malaysia, pekerja Indonesia di Sarawak relatif tidak terkena dampak yang terlalu berarti. Terutama bagi mereka yang keturunan Dayak. Hal ini disebabkan karena beberapa faktor yang antara lain dicoba diungkap dalam film ini, seperti: kurangnya tenaga kerja di Sarawak dan sudah terbentuknya jaringan kesukuan antara orang Dayak Indonesia dan Dayak Sarawak jauh sebelum perbatasan negara ditetapkan. Borderless Borneo dibuat ketika sutradara melakukan penelitian tentang wilayah perbatasan Kalimantan-Sarawak.



Asian Border Traveler's note:

This film was haphazardly produced, and by accident. The original footage, shot on 3CCD DV, was primarily intended as support data for a research I conducted in Sarawak from July 2002 to March 2003 under a fellowship from the Asian Public Intellectuals Fellowship - and was never originally intended to be edited for public viewing. At the insistence of Chalida Uabumrungjit of the Thai Film Foundation (and fellow API recipient), we decided to weave a narration through the footage within a span of 5 days. Technically, the final result was far from satisfying and amateurishly sloppy. However, positive responses about the border issue highlighted by Borderless Borneo was sufficient encouragement to have the film screened at a number of occasions as a short film entry, i.e.:

1) The 2004 Bangkok International Film Festival
2) The 18th Singapore Film Festival (Fringes Programme - April 2005)
3) The Jakarta International Film Festival (2005)

and additional local screenings in Jakarta and Yogyakarta.