GOLDEN ISLAND

RUSSIAN PREMIERE

ABOUT THE FILM

Two videographers who exchange memories and imaginations about Papua based on the footage they captured during their time in the land of Papua. They reflect upon their contrasting backgrounds, Arief is a young man from Java, while Edi was born and raised in Papua. By contemplating on their journeys and experiences, they agree to create a short film using the archives they had before Edi returned to Papua. The archives serve as an image of a utopian imagination of Papua’s beautiful landscapes while highlighting the ironic reality of the existing conditions under Javanese people and military subjection.

DIRECTOR

ARIEF BUDIMAN

Arief Budiman is an artist-filmmaker based in Yogyakarta, working with sonic traces, distorted histories, fabricated realities, desktop cinema, collage film, and media installations.

His practice engages with speculative histories, public archives, and collective memory to uncover hidden and erased narratives. Using archives and technology as tools, he opens up alternative ways of reading the past, blending fiction and non-fiction to construct multi-layered narratives that function as alternative histories. His works often draw from personal memories, oral histories, and popular culture—such as novels, music, and film. More recently, he has developed methods involving non-human elements to trace histories of violence in Indonesia and across Asia.

His works have received several awards and the Julius Baer – Next Generation Art Prize (2021). He is currently a member of two collectives in Yogyakarta, MES 56 and Piring Tirbing.

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