The Media and Cultural Studies (Kajian Budaya dan Media/KBM) Study Program at Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM) held a film screening and discussion event on Saturday (July 5th) at the IFI Yogyakarta Auditorium, with the theme “Children in Control of Their Bodies, Identities, and Dreams.” The event consisted of two sessions: film screenings and a discussion, featuring three short films: The Right Words, Laila, and Kado. This program was part of KBM UGM’s Community Service Program (PKM) in collaboration with IFI Yogyakarta.
The screening and discussion were attended by Wucha Wulan Dari, the director of Laila, and Chita Wijaya, one of the cast members of the 17-minute film. Additionally, Febriyanti Pratiwi, S.S., M.A., served as the main discussant for all three films. Moderated by Gerry Junus, the event drew strong interest from students and the general public, with around 40 participants in attendance.
The film Laila tells the story of a junior high school girl living on the coast of East Kalimantan who is forced to marry a stranger. The director, Wucha, has a long-standing commitment to voicing issues of girls’ rights through both film and research.
Chita explained that child marriage remains a pressing issue in the region, partly due to the belief that a girl is ready for marriage once she experiences her first menstruation. This belief is reinforced by the myth that if a girl rejects a marriage proposal, she will never find a spouse for the rest of her life.
According to Febriyanti, all three films depict adolescents confronted by forces that attempt to control them. “From these films, we see a common thread: the turmoil of early adolescence in their search for identity, which often traps them,” said the KBM UGM alumna.
In The Right Words, directed by Adrian Moyse Dullin, we see stereotypes that shape and suppress teenage behavior. Febriyanti noted that the character Mahdi struggles within the constraints of societal expectations, amplified by the presence of social media. Even expressing his love for Jada, the girl he likes, becomes a multi-layered challenge.
Meanwhile, Laila presents a more complex reality, where a girl’s freedom seems to exist only in the small boat she rows. Her dreams of becoming a singer—and other aspirations—seem distant and out of reach.
Focusing on another teenage experience, the short film Kado (directed by Aditya Ahmad) explores Isfi’s struggle with identity, which clashes with social norms that imprison her freedom of expression. Even in her private space, Isfi finds herself confined by walls of moral and cultural restrictions.
Contributor: Zainul Arifin