Sekala Niskala - Educational Resources

Sekala Niskala (2017) is an Indonesian award winning film directed by Kamila Andini, suitable for secondary students in Years 7 – 12 undertaking subjects within the domains of English, The Arts – Media, The Humanities –Geography and LOTE – Indonesian and within the strand of Physical, Personal and Social Learning.

Teacher note

In completing the tasks, students will have demonstrated the ability to:

• analyse the construction of a film and comment on the ways it represents an interpretation of ideas and experiences;

• respond to a film both personally and in detached and critical ways;

• discuss the social and cultural values embodied in a film;

• use their own written and spoken texts to explore concepts and ideas and to clarify their own and others’ understanding.

Sekala Niskala

The film opens in the hospital where Tantra is hospitalised after falling seriously ill. Tantri is reluctant to enter the room to visit Tantra. Tantra is diagnosed with a brain disease that makes him lose his senses gradually and weakens him physically. The shift in Tantri’s daily routine caused by a void in Tantra’s absence flutters her emotionally.

The fear of losing him, like losing a part of herself, stirs an avalanche of harrowing emotions that perturbs her. To fill the void and cope with the grief over the impending death of Tantra, she finds a spiritual way to re-engage with Tantra.

Surrendering herself to the moon, the glorious night breaths silence and earth yearns for divination which eventually paves the path to mystical appearances of expressionless kids who are rolling in a circular manner. The film gets hazier and drifts in surrealism blurring the emotional and spiritual curve, reality and imagination, and establishing that reality in a cultural sense is surreal. The dry visual aesthetics dazzling with the heartfelt characters on Indonesian countryside (a village in Bali island) balancing the profound concept of dualism & headspace of childhood.

Discussing the key concepts of Sekala Niskala

Sekala Niskala provides students with the opportunity to discuss on how the ten-year-old girl deals with parting and grief, through the symbolism. Tantra, the twin brother is gravely ill and in hospital, Tantri starts slipping into magical parallel worlds, approaching the inevitable farewell through costumes, body paint and dance. When at one point Tantri’s mother washes the paint from her face, it is as if tenderly to expel the illusion that things can remain as they are.

The film also invites students to investigate the Balinese philosophy, cultural and society tradition. Such as; the philosophy of how to treat the family’s sacrificial offering, the philosophy of ‘kembar buncing’, find out the traditional Balinese instrument played by Tantra and their mother, research for Balinese traditional house’s building arrangement and sabung ayam (cockfighting)tradition.

INFO

Language Balinese, Indonesia with English subtitles

Length 86 minutes

Age classification 11 years & above

CAST

Tantri Ni Kadek Thaly Titi Kasih

Tantra Ida Bagus Putu Radithya Mahijasena

Mother Ayu Laksmi

Father I Ketut Rina

Nurse Ida Happy Salma

Gandma

CREDIT

Gusti Ayu Raka

Written and directed by Kamila Andini

Director of Photography

Anggi Frisca

Editor Dinda Amanda, Dwi Agus

Music & Sound

Design

Yasuhiro Morinaga

Sound Trisno

Production

Design

Vida Sylvia

Costumes Retno Ratih Damayanti

Make-up

Eba Sheba

Assistant Director Pritagita Arianegara

Executive Producers

Producers

Co-producer

Garin Nugroho, Trisno, Anggi Frisca, Vida Sylvia, Retno Ratih Damayanti, Eba Sheba, Yasuhiro Morinaga

Kamila Andini, Gita Fara

Ifa Isfansyah

Fourcolours Films, Jakarta

Co-production

Hubert Bals Fund, Rotterdam APSA Children Film Fund, Brisbane Doha Film Institute, Doha

Director’s profile

Kamila Andini was born in Jakarta in 6 May 1986. She studied Sociology and Media Arts at Deakin University, Melbourne, Australia. Her concern of social culture, gender equality and environmental issue lead her passion to make films with a distinctive perspective of telling a story.

“Sekala Niskala for Balinese is a life that always contains good things and bad things. Life is all about balance. In English it means ‘The Seen and Unseen’ , which also means that they live to believe of anything that you can see, but also everything that you cannot see. This term for me very much reflects myself as an Indonesian, and also as an Asian. We are holistic people who always live within two different poles; religion and culture, reality and myth. Visually I want to play with the words the seen and unseen. By using a story of a twin sister and brother, this movie talks everything about dualism. Tantri’s twin brother, Tantra, is hospitalized for a heavy disease. That moment opens up something in Tantri’s mind, revealing emotions that she never deals before. Her days become silent, and she starts to realize many things happen around her. This film is about dimension of life; this is about dimension of art itself. What is realism? Reality in my culture is surreal. By following a daily life of a girl whose brother is dying, we are following the holistic dimension of her feeling, a surrealism that comes within.”

Links

Screen International

REVIEW

‘The Seen and Unseen’: Toronto Review

Variety Toronto Film Review: ‘The Seen and Unseen’

The Hollywood Reporter

‘The Seen and Unseen’: Film Review | Busan 2017

LA Times At the Toronto International Film Festival, the director still reigns supreme

The Globe &Mail The Globe’s guide to TIFF 2017 movies

Cinema Scope The Seen and Unseen (Kamila Andini, Indonesia/Netherlands/ Australia/ Qatar) — Platform

Paste Magazine TIFF 2017: Getting with the Programme

Seventh Row Top 20 must-see acquisition film at TIFF17

High on Films

The Seen and Unseen (Sekala Niskala) [2017]: ‘TIFF’ Review

Outlook The Best Of The Rest From Beyond The Select List At The Toronto Film Festival

Tempo Duka Kembar Buncing

Jakarta Globe

‘The Seen and Unseen’: Symbol-Heavy but Empathetic Take on Child Grief

EDUCATION LINKS

Religion Hinduism in Bali

Puppets 1 Storytelling in Ritual and Performance

Puppets 2

Shadow Theater - Bringing Your Character to Life

Story Telling Creating Story with Music

MOVIE AWARDS

Winner Asia Pacific Screen Awards 2017

Winner Tokyo FILMeX 2017

Winner Jogja-NETPAC Asian Film Festival 2017

Winner The Berlinale International Film Festival

Student Guide

Sekala Niskala (The Seen and Unseen) is a Balinese concept centering around the existence of dualism guarding the way of life. Like worldly space dealing with a physical existence that would be incomplete without spiritual attainment. Literally translated, sekala is “within time/seen” and Niskala is “beyond time/unseen.” It essentially speaks about respecting the unseen, the spirit, and believing in the hereafter

‘I feel like I am the moon. So bright. But after a while, the brightness is fading away.’

‘I don’t see you fading. You shine brightly just like the full moon.’

Tantra and Tantri are inseparable ‘buncing’ twins growing up in a remote and rural part of Bali. They are very much yin and yang, separate but whole. While Tantra will only eat the yolk of an egg, Tantri eats only the white. One day Tantra steals an egg from a family’s religious offering and shortly afterwards he is hospitalised with a serious illness.

With her twin brother comatose, Tantri learns to communicate with him through her own ‘unseen’ dream world and they can once again play, dance and sing with each other. When at one point Tantri’s mother washes the paint from her face, it is as if she tenderly tries to expel the illusion that things can remain as they were. In long dream sequences and against the background of the Balinese philosophy of sekala – the seen – and niskala – the unseen – Andini relates how one ten-year-old girl deals with parting and grief.

A GLIMPSE OF BALI

Hindu influence

First inhabited around 2000 BC, Bali’s cultural roots run deep. Hindu influences reached the Indonesian Archipelago as early as the first century. There are two major theories for the arrival of Hinduism. The first belief is that South Indian sea traders brought Hinduism with them. The second describes how Indonesian royalty first embraced Indian religions and culture, and soon after, the masses followed their lead.

Balinese dance

Bali has been known to leave mouths agape with its dramatic dances. These intricate dances express a story of drama using the whole body. The Balinese like a blend of seriousness and slapstick and their dances reveal this; like a vaudeville show, the audience cheers on the good guys and cringes at the bad guys. Dancers learn the craft at an early age. While the aspiring dancers are taught to dance with their hands before they can walk, official training starts as young as seven.

Wali Dances

Wali means “sacred,” but the literal meaning of the word is bantén, or offering. This refers to the direct link to deities, and is not just a form of entertainment for the Balinese, but a formal exchange of energies. These dances are considered sacred and must be performed in the inner court of the temple.

Bebali Dances

Bebali dances, usually performed in the middle court of a temple, comprise ceremonial performances. They fall in the middle of sacred and secular. These dances are considered more as entertainment for the deities than as a direct means of contact.

Balih-balihan (to watch) Dances

These dances are often considered secular and take place solely for the entertainment of people. They are performed in the outer court or even outside the temple.

Language

Balinese dance is inseparable from religion. Based on their religious functions, traditional Balinese dances can be divided into three categories:

Though Bahasa Bali is the local language spoken in Bali, Bahasa Indonesia is the most common spoken language around the tourist areas. outside the temple.

Balinese Wayang (Shadow Play)

The wayang, or Balinese shadow play, is perhaps the most famous show in Balinese theatre. In a wayang performance flat cut-out figures are silhouetted against a translucent, rice paper screen, lit by a coconuthusk lamp. Accompanied by a gamelan (traditional ensemble music) orchestra and occasional chanting or singing, these entertaining performances harken back hundreds of years, tapping into religious mythology or well-known Balinese sagas blended with historical facts. This whole show is managed with just one highly skilled puppet master, or dalang.

Tajen - Balinese Cockfighting

Indonesia, like many other nations, has banned cock fighting as a cruel sport, although traditional TajenCockfighting in Bali is still allowed for ceremonial purposes. Cockfights, which in Balinese are known as tajen, meklecan or ngadu, are required at temples for purification ~ mecaru ceremonies. The Mecaru ceremony is a sacred ritual that is often held to harmonize the relationship between humans and the surrounding environment.

The Tabuh Rah– Ritual- Spilling blood

Religious texts indicate that Tabuh Rah (literally spilling blood) has occurred since at least the 10th century as a sacrifice to appease evil spirits. In fact, no religious ceremony in a temple may commence until the blood of at least three sabung (roosters) has been spilled on the ground. The spilling of blood to the earth is needed to expel Bhuta, because their blood is believed to appease the bad natur spirits, so they don’t disturb people, but eventually this ritual is shifted to become entertainment. Ritual fights usually take place outside the temple and follow an ancient and complex ritual. Only men participate. Women do not even watch.

WAYANG & COCKFIGHTING

OFFERING (GIFT TO GODS)

Offerings can be seen everywhere in Bali. It always made of natural things - object of everyday use and life. Tiny coconut leaf baskets of rice, fruit and flowers are presented in front of every home and business, the smoke from a stick of incense lifting the essence skyward. Even the dashboards of cars and trucks are often not without their banten(offerings). In the temples and shrines, the more elaborate daksina, consisting of rice, fruit, coconut and egg, serve to demonstrate devotion. During the special ceremonies, huge banten tegeh (high offerings)are constructed, with fruits, rice cakes, roasted ducks and pigs skewered to a a three-meter banana trunk or other fruits.

Banten(canang sari see p.20)

Daksina

Banten Tegeh

TRADITIONAL ARCHITECTURE

1. Natah/Latar - courtyard

2. Pamerajan - an area of shrines to honour the ancestors and gods.

3. Bale Daja/ Omah Meten - enclosed pavilion for the household head

4. Bale Dangin/Sikepat - open ceremonial/activities pavilion

5. Bale Dauh - the living quarters; guests are received here

6. Bale Delod/Sekenem - utilitarian pavilion usually used by women

7. Paon - kitchen

8. Lumbung - granary

9. A Pigsty

10.Lawang/Angkul-angkul - house gate

11.Aling-aling - a small screen wall built directly behind the gate

12.Sanggah Pengijeng Karang - the house-protecting shrine

Orientation with the universe

As most traditional houses in Indonesia, spatial orientation and hierarchy are crucial considerations in Balinese architecture. The concept is based on the Hindu dharma principle: every objects in the universe is conceived as having an ideal location; this must be correctly aligned at all time in order to achieve harmony with the universe.

The principle of Balinese architecture — such as the proper size, location, and alignment of building types — is written in the Asta Kosala Kosali.

The Asta Kosala Kosali are eight guidelines for architectural designs originally inscribed in ancient Javanese on a lontar (palm-leaf manuscript). According to the Asta Kosala Kosali, the universe is divided in three: buhr (underworld, realm of the demons), buwah (human realm), and swah (heaven, realm of the gods).

This hierarchy of realm is reflected in the Balinese cardinal direction.In details:

1. Kaja , ”to the mountain" (Mount Agung) - refers to anything higher or sacred

2. Kelod,”to the sea" (abode of the demons) and indicates low and profane places

3. Kangin ,“where the sun rises, East”- is associated with life/birth/ beginning, and therefore sacred

4. Kauh, “where the sun sets, West”is identified with death/ending and is considered profane

5. Kaja Kangin (northeast)- is the most auspicious direction where family shrines are built

6. Kelod Kauh (southwest) - is the most impure

This cardinal direction concept plays important roles in organizing many aspect of Balinese culture including a Balinese house layout.

Worksheet

ABOUT THE MOVIE

๏ Did you enjoy “Sekala Niskala”? Share your thoughts about the film with your peers.

๏ What is the premise of “Sekala Niskala”?

The premise of a film is the fundamental idea that drives the plot. Most premises can be expressed as a simple sentence.

Sekala Niskala employs a linear narrative structure to tell its story. Linear means ‘in a line.’ The scenes in a linear film are organised in a chronological order.

๏ Working as a class, make a list of key scenes.

๏ What questions do you have about “Sekala Niskala”?

- What do you see?

- What do you think?

- What do you feel?

๏ Would you please elaborate the similarity of that concept above with ‘kembar (twin) buncing’?

๏ Why during the day, Tantri is reluctant to enter the hospital room to visit Tantra? But at night, she is ‘playing’ with him.

๏ In the movie, is Tantri’s kitchen is attached to the main house similar to our houses in Australia?

๏ Does Tantri believe that her brother is dying?

๏ Would you please explain why Tantri house is arranged in such way?

๏ How well does Tantri cope in her brother’s absence?

๏ In which area Tantri’s family placed their offering to the Gods?

๏ In one scene, Tantri’s mother is holding a traditional balinese musical instrument. What is it called?

๏ Tantri’s mother is also sing a song for Tantra. What is the lyrics about?

ABOUT SYMBOLISM

bad things. Life is all about balance.

๏ What is the similarity of that concept above with symbolism of an egg? In the movie Tantra will only eat the yolk of an egg, Tantri eats only the white.

believe of anything that you can see, but also everything that you cannot see - the physical and spiritual intersect.

๏ Please give an example which scene in this movie is reflecting this philosophy

๏ The movie has a frequent eggeating and ends up with Tantri couldn’t find the egg yolk inside her boiled egg. What kind of symbol it represent?

At night, Tantri starts slipping into magical parallel worlds, approaching the inevitable farewell with her beloved twin through costumes, body paint and dance. However, Tantri’s mother washes the paint from her face.

๏ In the symbolism concept, what is Tantri’s mother trying to do?

๏ Does Tantri believes that stealing egg from family ‘offering’ will bring a bad luck? Why?

๏ Does the ‘tajen’ (balinese cockfighting) scene is related with Tantra’s health condition? Please elaborate your reason

๏ Does the family ‘offering’ scene which they did it frequently related with Tantra’s health condition? Please elaborate your reason

ABOUT INTERPRETATION

Write a text response that discusses the following topic.

Sekala Niskala is a story about parting and grief.’ Discuss.

Your text response should be 500 – 750 words in length and should draw on specific evidence from the film.

Activities

LANGUAGE DIFFERENCES

rahajeng semeng selamat pagi

rahajeng tengai selamat siang

rahajeng sanje selamat sore

rahajeng wengi selamat malam

kenken kabare? apa kabar?

becik-becik baik-baik nunas lugra permisi

matur suksma terima kasih

suksma mewali kembali

sira pesengane? siapa namamu?

sampun ngajeng? sudah makan? inggih ya nenten tidak

BAHASA BALI

BAHASA INDONESIA BAHASA INGGRIS

siki satu

kalih dua

tiga tiga

papat empat

lima lima

nenem enam

pitu tujuh

kutus delapan

sanga sembilan

dasa sepuluh

BAHASA BALI

BAHASA INDONESIA BAHASA INGGRIS

CREATE BALINESE’S SHADOW PUPPET

Grades: Pre-Kindergarten, Elementary School (K-3), Elementary School (4-5), Middle School (6-8)

Duration: 30 minutes

Standards:

๏ Demonstrate beginning skill in the use of tools and processes, such as the use of scissors, glue, and paper in creating a three-dimensional construction.

๏ Identify and discuss how art is used in events and celebrations in various cultures, past and present, including the use in their own lives.

๏ Identify and describe all the elements of art found in selected works of art (e.g., colour shape/form, line, texture, space, value).

๏ Research and describe how act reflects cultural values in various traditions throughout the world.

๏ Students apply processes and skills in acting, directing, designing, and script writing to create formal and informal theatre, film/videos, and electronic media productions and to perform in them.

Materials:

Templates Arjuna Shadow Puppet, Jogormanik Shadow Puppet; Ramayana and Mahabharata Performance Outlines; two brads, two sticks (12 in./30.5 cm long), hole punch, masking tape, colouring pencils; card stock; Video (see below): Arjuna's Meditation

Procedure:

1.Watch the video Arjuna’s Meditation to get a sense of how music, voice, and puppet manipulation come together during a performance.

2.Download and print the Arjuna Shadow Puppet and Jogormanik Shadow Puppet templates.

3.Cut out the shapes carefully. Use small brads to connect the joints. Attach sticks to each hand and also along the body of the puppet.

4.Once the puppets are completed, reenact key scenes from the Ramayana or the Mahabharata or perform the scenes using improvisation. Make sure to include the jester characters, who offer advice to the main characters as well as provide comic interludes between story scenes; they may also be used to comment on contemporary concerns of the audience.

Performance Outlines

Arjuna

The third of the fve Pandawa brothers. Most accomplished in the art of war and meditation, he is considered to be the greatest of all archers.

You will need: four brads, three sticks (12 in. long), hole punch, masking tape, coloring pencils

Cut out the shapes carefully. Use small brads to connect the joints. Attach sticks to each hand and also along the body of Arjuna. Now you have a puppet!

Asian Art Museum for more fun art activities, visit www.asianart.org.

Jogormanik

Demon minister-judge of the Hell, Yamaloka.

You will need: two brads, two sticks (12 in. long), hole punch, masking tape, coloring pencils

Cut out the shapes carefully. Use small brads to connect the joints. Attach sticks to the hand and the body of Jogormanik. Now you have a puppet!

Asian Art Museum for more fun art activities, visit www.asianart.org.

CREATE URAS FOR CANANG SARI

Canang Sari

Canang sari is one of the daily offerings (banten) made by Balinese Hindus as a form of thanking for the peace given to the world given by the Sang Hyang Widhi Wasa in their praise and prayer. It is the simplest daily household offering.

Canang sari will be seen in the Balinese temples (pura), on small shrines in houses, and on the ground or as a part of a larger offering.

The philosophy behind the offering is self-sacrifice in that they take time and effort to prepare the offering. Canang sari is not offered when there is a death in the community or family.

Uras

Sampian Uras (flower’s container)symbolised as wheel of life with eight characteristic (asta aiswarya) that accompanies every human life.

How to make Uras

Material:

๏ Young coconut leaves (busung)substitutes by strip of papers or ribbons

๏ Knife or cutter

๏ Thinly sliced bamboo (semat)substitutes by thinly sliced satay’s bamboo skewer or staples

Procedure:

1.Prepare the material (busung), cut by knife or cutter

2.Assemble it patiently into a round shape by semat

3.Pull the tips of busung and insert it to the twirled centre, the busung is slowly transformed into uras, a bowl-like or container.

4. Decorate uras with colourful flowers, combination of white, red, yellow, blue or green flower.

How to make uras (video): https://youtu.be/-j-c9JirRAg