Monisme
Riar Rizaldi, 2023, 115 min

The still active volcano of Mount Merapi acts as the site of investigation in this new experimental documentary from Indonesian artist/researcher Riar Rizaldi. Small eruptions occur every couple of years with larger explosions likely every decade, yet the area remains heavily populated. Monisme sets out to engage with the communities of people who live and work in the land around Mount Merapi. Written in collaboration with a volcanologist, a sand miner and a mystic, Rizaldi has created a poly-vocal study of this significant site in Indonesia. The film moves through a range of cinematic modes and strategies mixing observational documentary with the aesthetics of Indonesian horror cinema. Conceptually rigorous and rooted in careful research, Rizaldi positions this genre as a form of vernacular culture or critical public art that can be used to symbolise the existence of local ghosts and deities. The supernatural remains embedded in Indonesian culture and everyday life, Monisme emerges from this backdrop as Rizaldi sets out to develop the notion of cinematic “elsewheres”.

Followed by a Q&A with Riar Rizaldi.

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Presented as part of Open City Documentary Festival – The Art of Non-Fiction