• 1 My research and parts of the film production was generously supported by a grant from the Universit (...)

1In this article I demonstrate how collaborative (audio)visual methods and in particular auto-ethnography can contribute to processes of transformation and become a form of activism that ultimately empowers the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) rights movement in Indonesia. My insights arise from the Anak-Anak Srikandi (Children of Srikandi) film project that was developed as part of my PhD research focusing on the question of how both global feminist and LGBT rights discourses and national discourses on gender and sexuality influence the subject positions of Indonesian women-who-love-women on one hand and the identity politics of local LGBT rights organizations on the other1.

• 2 See Ginsburg et al (2002), Pink (2004, 2007) for the anthropologist as activist and media producer (...)
• 3 Participatory video is also often referred to as community video, indigenous media or digital story (...)

3I will discuss the collaborative process of creating Anak-Anak Srikandi emphasizing the transformative potential of auto-ethnography as part of a broader critical queer/feminist methodology that seeks to « expose the unequal distribution of power that has subordinated women in most if not all cultures and (to) discover ways of dismantling hierarchies of domination » (Wolf, 1992: 119 cited in Lassiter, 2005: 91). This article is written from a perspective of a media practitioner, visual/media anthropology scholar and LGBT rights activist, aiming at bringing together theory and practice in a meaningful way arguing for a more engaged (visual) anthropology2. Jean Rouch (2003) and his notion of « shared anthropology » (anthropologie partagée) inspired my collaborative approach to filmmaking. Neither explicitly designed as a participatory action research, nor as a participatory video project (e.g. White, 2003)3, Anak-Anak Srikandi may be placed within a long-existing anthropological practice of « handing over the camera » and is situated within a field defined by Sarah Pink (2006, 2007) as applied visual anthropology.

• 4 Despite the common usage of the italicized terms gay and lesbi in academic discourse on Indonesian (...)
• 5 See Murtagh (2010: 227f) for more examples of mainstream films featuring gay characters.

9The film Kuldesak (Cul-de-sac, directors Nan Triveni Achnas, Mira Lesmana, Rizal Mantovani and Riri Riza, 1999) is widely recognized as originator of the New Indonesian Cinema, introducing both a new cinematic style and alternative content consequently distancing themselves from the « New Order cinema » (Heeren, op. cit.; Setiyawan, 2009). Significantly, Kuldesak featured a gay character, even though the film was often criticized for its negative and pessimistic portrayal (Murtagh, 2006, 2010, 2011; Djuhari, 2004, Asmarani, 2004). Furthermore, two of the four directors were women thereby lighting a new path for others to follow and contesting the male domination of the industry. Since then, academic writing emphasizes on the increased portrayal of gay and lesbian characters (Murtagh, 2006, 2010, 2011; Widjaya, 2007; Maimunah, 2008a; Coppens, 2009) and the changing representation of women in Indonesian cinema (Hughes‑Freeland, op. cit.; Kurnia, 2011; Sulistyani, 2010; Michalik & Coppens, 2009; Sen, 2005). The appearance of more gay and lesbian subjectivities in Indonesian mainstream films seems to be related to their increased visibility in the public sphere4. This is also reflected in the growing news coverage of topics related to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) people both in television (Hendrawan op. cit.) and print media (Boellstorff, op. cit.; Murtagh, 2010). Foremost, Arisan! (The Gathering, director Nia Dinata, 2003) is continuously referred to as the first film that portrayed gay subjectivities in a positive and affirmative light and made history for the very first uncensored gay kiss in Indonesian cinema (Murtagh, 2010; 2006, Maimunah, 2008a)5. The foundation of the Q! Film Festival, Indonesia’s queer film festival, in 2002 can also be seen in relation to the political opening in post-New Order society. The festival shows not only international and Indonesian productions, but also encourages the local independent film community to produce more LGBT related films (Maimunah, 2008a, 2008b; Coppens, op cit.).

• 6 Representation of women-who-love-women in Indonesian cinema began in the 1990s in films like Gadis (...)

10However, the proliferation of sexual minorities on the Indonesian silver screen does not automatically mean less stereotyping and negative representations. This is especially true for films that are made by heterosexual directors as noted also by Andrew Grossman (2000, xv): « a great many of the most commercial/visible queer films are made by heterosexual directors whose intentions are often at odds with their queer audience » (cited in Murtagh, 2006: 216). In contrast to the mostly affirmative and sympathetic depiction of gay life in contemporary Indonesian films, the representation of women-who-love-women takes place in less privileged and more discriminatory settings. When looking at the film Detik Terakhir (The Last Second, director Nanang Istiabudi, 2005) this becomes very clear. Two years after Arisan!’s coming out, Detik Terakhir follows the trend and became the first post-New Order film with a female same-sex storyline (Maimunah, 2008a). Even though the director was applauded for his courage to address the topic of female same-sex love, the overall reaction by film critics was rather negative. According to Maimunah (ibid.: 56f) this was mainly caused by the cliché depiction of women-who-love-women as drug addicts and the association of « lesbianism » with mental disorder. Furthermore, by showing the death of one of the lesbian protagonists caused by HIV/AIDS, the negative stereotype of « unhealthy homosexual lifestyle » is reinforced. With the denial of a happy ending, the filmmakers continue along the line of the « dead lesbian syndrome » as already seen in New Order films6. If in some scenes the audience might catch a glimpse of affection and love between the two women, it is made sure that by the end of the film this fantasy is fully dismantled: « Detik Terakhir emphasizes the failure of female same-sex desire to find a space within patriarchal relations of power, reducing lesbianism to a moral and medical issue » (Maimunah, 2008: 63). In a similar disenchanting manner the homoerotic moments between the female friends in the film Tentang Dia (About Her, director Rudi Soedjarwo, 2005) are rendered meaningless. Likewise the suspected lesbian Rudi dies in a car accident in the end of the film suggesting that feeling love and desire for another women is a risky undertaking (ibid.: 83). In both films the filmmakers eventually propose that « lesbianism » is deviant and abnormal as against the heteronorm and thereby manifest the stereotypes commonly reproduced in the Indonesian mainstream media.

• 7 For a discussion of Berbagi Suami see also Sasono, 2006; Kurnia, 2009; Hatley, 2009; Imanjaya, 2009 (...)

11Whereas heteronormativity is not challenged in Detik Terakhir or Tentang Dia, Nia Dinata opens up a different alternative for women-who-love-women in Berbagi Suami (Love for Share, director Nia Dinata, 2006)7. A dominant female perspective characterizes the film and we see the practice of polygyny through the eyes of both the woman director and the strong female protagonists. In the second story of the three-story film there is a subplot that shows the development of a romance between the co-wives Siti and Dwi. Instead of portraying them as victims of heteronormativity, Nia Dinata « presents lesbianism as a symbol of sisterhood and women’s freedom to control their own lives » (Maimunah, 2008a: 141). Particularly remarkable is the end of the story, where Siti and Dwi free themselves from the polygamous marriage and chose a very different way of life. Taking with them Dwi’s two children they run away from home and start their own family. By allowing them to start a new life, the director provides an affirmative space, where the principles of « familyness » (azas kekeluargaan) and « motherhood » (ibuism) are not rejected, but re‑interpreted (Coppens, op. cit.). Here, for the first time, a female same-sex couple is shown in a positive light and above all is allowed to act out their same-sex desires happily. Berbagi Suami goes beyond the common pathological view of « lesbian deviance » and offers an alternative to the norm of heterosexual relationships and families (see also Sasono op. cit.).

• 8 See Sim (2010) for her research about the phenomenon of same-sex relationships among Indonesian dom (...)
• 9 « Butch » means a masculinized woman, often also commonly referred to as tombois. « Femmes », on th (...)

12Equally, personally committed to the rights of LGBT people is the actress-turned-director and producer Lola Amaria. In her second feature film Minggu Pagi di Victoria Park (Sunday Morning in Victoria Park, director Lola Amaria, 2010) she explores the lives of young Indonesian migrant workers (Tenaga Kerja Indonesia) in Hong Kong, most of whom work as domestic workers (Pembantu Rumah Tangga). Despite the up and downs of the characters, who have to deal with outstanding debts and abusive partners, the film also depicts female same-sex couples as naturally belonging to the community of Indonesian migrant workers (see also Malia, 2010). The title of the film refers to the many Indonesian (and Filipino) migrant workers that meet on Sundays in Hong Kong’s Victoria Park to spend their only leisure time available in company of likeminded people8. In the film as in reality, lesbian couples, following the butch-femme style9, are clearly visible. Even though female same-sex love in Minggu Pagi di Victoria Park is overall portrayed in nonjudgmental ways and dealt with as something common in society, the pattern of the « death lesbian » has yet to overcome. Nearly at the end of the film Yati, who was economically abused by her jobless butch partner who caused her immense trouble with the credit institution Super Credit, commits suicide by jumping off a bridge.

• 10 Some filmmakers associated with the « new autobiography » mentioned by Russel (1999) include: Richa (...)

16Auto-ethnography, a feminist and critical method, allows the filmmakers of Anak-Anak Srikandi to create a « space of cultural transgression » (ibid.: 294), which is a sphere of freedom where they are able to go beyond the norms of « womanhood » as defined by the Indonesian state and as expected by society. Moreover, auto‑ethnographic filmmaking becomes a strategy to deconstruct the notion of a fixed and stable identity and instead renders visible the « becoming of the subject » (Ahmed, 1997) in front of the camera. Not surprisingly, many of the essayistic, autobiographical films referred to by Russel as « new autobiography » derives from « queer culture » and the personal stories can be seen as a « allegory for community or culture that cannot be essentialised in this mode of filmmaking » (1999: 278)10.

• 11 Even though we could edit the individual films during the second workshop, restraints on funding an (...)

19The film project started with a workshop and resulted in the 73-minute anthology Anak-Anak Srikandi, which was premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival in February 2012. This marked the culmination of the first stage in an ongoing collaboration. Anak-Anak Srikandi is the result of a lengthy process of constant negotiation, sharing of ideas, revision and critique. Over the two-years of its creation, our film work became an increasingly collective act, coming close to the notion of collaboration described by Sarah Elder as « creating an open space for dialogue » (1995: 94). The collaborative and multi-authored approach to media production to which we aspired implied various ways of negotiating, sharing and collaborating at different levels of the production process, from script development at one end to editing at the other. In particular, these involved regular reviews of edited versions of the episodes by the women, often arranged using compressed video files sent via the Internet, which were then discussed through e-mail, Skype or in our Facebook chat room11. Even the task of raising additional funds was shared, with one of the directors also becoming the executive producer.

• 12 The successful completion of the anthology has ushered in a new phase of the project, with the coll (...)
• 13 See http://www.in-docs.org/
• 14 Apart from In-Docs, we are also collaborating with the Jakarta-based lesbian, gay and transgender o (...)

20Since the women did not have any prior training in filmmaking or video production, the first step was to organize a workshop that would provide them with the skills necessary to produce their own videos even after the conclusion of the project. For this laborious task I decided to work alongside an industry professional. I approached the German filmmaker Angelika Levi, who, having accepted my invitation, remains actively involved in the project to this day12. In Indonesia I contacted In-docs13, a Jakarta-based organization that aims to promote documentary films as a means to raise social awareness, and to increase the skills of Indonesian documentary filmmakers by offering special training. In-docs played a key role in facilitating the workshop in Jakarta: they managed the application process, provided additional equipment and space and even secured extra funding. The involvement of a local organization proved essential for the successful realization of the workshop14. A « call for participants » was send out through the mailing lists of different Indonesian LGBT rights and human rights organizations, lesbian newsgroups and websites and the network of the Q! Film Festival. Other major distribution channels included social networks such as Facebook. The « call for participants » included the nature and aim of the project along with the requirements for participation. We were looking for six to ten participants between 20 and 30 years old. The women were not required to have any prior filmmaking experience, only an interest in learning and a desire to share their stories through autobiographical short films. It turned out that the age restrictions we had specified made it difficult to find enough participants, so we opened the project up to all age groups. In the end we had 12 applicants aged between 23 and 35, of whom eight went on to produce their own films. The majority of the women were coming from Jakarta; others were based in Yogyakarta and Bandung. Each came from different social and religious backgrounds, and most had never met before. The five-week workshop finally took place in July and August 2010.

• 15 For the introduction to video camera operation, we invited the famous Indonesian DoP (director of p (...)
• 16 Right from the beginning we planned to interweave the autobiographic episodes with the story of Sri (...)

22In addition to the story-sharing circles, we were watching various documentaries and short films that dealt with the topic of sexual orientation and gender identity. The choice of films was determined by the different genres and methods used by the directors of the example films to put their message across. They were meant as a source of inspiration for the women, demonstrating different strategies of representation for visualizing their own stories. Within this creative space the women began to develop ideas for their individual films. The group worked on the dramaturgy and narrative style of each story and developed different representational strategies and interventions according to the film’s content. With the support of Angelika Levi the participants learnt how to translate personal experiences into the medium of film. In a « learning through doing » approach the women were then introduced to all steps of the filmmaking process. The development of filmmaking skills included several hands-on training sessions where the women were taught how to operate a video camera and the sound equipment15. After learning how to master the technology the filmmaker-participants not only worked as crewmembers on each other’s films, but also acted as different characters in the individual episodes. In the end, five weeks turned out to be insufficient. Even though we managed to shoot most of the individual films, it was impossible to complete all of them and we decided to organize a second workshop for the following summer in 2011. Besides additional shooting, this follow-up session was used primarily for collective editing and working on the overall structure of Anak-Anak Srikandi16.

• 17 After all, since I was overlooking the entire production process and controlling the outcome of the (...)

23The method of shared space that was so well put by Angelika Levi as « non-hierarchical pulling together beyond all difficulties » allowed for equal distribution of power. The boundaries between teacher and students became permeable; everybody was involved in a learning process and shared their knowledge and skills. This kind of reciprocal exchange may have transformative potential and reveals an effective way to deal with « the moral burden of authorship » (Ruby, 1995; Geertz, 1988) continuously faced by many (visual) anthropologists and other media producers. The assemblage of diverse perspectives occurring within cross-cultural filmmaking practices resembles David MacDougall’s notion of an « intertextual cinema » that is based on a « principle of multiple authorship » (1998: 138). The intertextual and indeed intersubjective encounters are reflected in our final product. There is no doubt about the creative and conceptual input Angelika Levi and I had in the creation of Anak-Anak Srikandi. We both served as co-authors/directors alongside the Indonesian group members and operated the sound equipment or the camera (in the case of Angelika). I developed the concept and narrative strategy of the episodic film, centered on the story of Srikandi. My colleague then combined the different episodes in her particular style of montage. Nevertheless, the content and overall structure of the film was determined in a process of collective decision-making17. However, a collaborative approach to filmmaking or research does not automatically guarantee the destabilization of power relations and a subsequent « decolonizing of methodologies » (Tuhiwai Smith, 1999). Given the different positionalities – like educational and economic status, religion and age – of all women involved (including us two foreigners) in the creation of Anak-Anak Srikandi, it could only be a gradual development based on mutual trust.

• 18 In 2010 there were several attacks and threats made against gay, lesbian and transgender people in (...)

24Even though the collaborative methods described empower the women on a personal level, this does not exempt the group from taking responsibility in a different moral/ethical domain: the ethics of image-making itself (Ruby, 1991). Making visible often comes with a risk. In Indonesia there is danger in exposing alternative sexualities and gender identities in the public mediascape18. Thus, discussing the ethical issues involved in image-making and considering the consequences of telling particular stories is essential for every media producer. This is not limited to seeking informed consent from the people represented in the images, but begins with an active discussion about the problems and risks that could potentially arise with the circulation of media content. Only when practicing, what Cahill et al. (2008) termed « informed risk » can those who produce knowledge take full responsibility for the representations they construct. However, they also note in relation to their own participatory video projects that critical interventions towards change are often not possible without risk-taking.

• 19 The « Children of Srikandi Collective » comprises the eight Indonesian directors together with Ange (...)

25All director-participants of Anak-Anak Srikandi are aware of the potential risks when screening the film in Indonesia. Therefore, one of the women decided to mask herself and appears on film with a black and white painted face. We drafted a contract stating the rights of the directors over their material and the equal share of royalties among all members of « The Children of Srikandi Collective »19. Furthermore, the contract states that distribution within Indonesia needs the consent of all Indonesian directors. Nevertheless, shortly after we finished shooting Anak-Anak Srikandi and halfway through post-production one of the directors withdrew her contribution out of fears for her safety. Her short film was replaced by a sequence where we see some of the directors discussing the situation via Skype and reflecting on the issue of fear and violence and ultimately on the consequences that the public circulation of the film might have on their personal lives. This self‑reflexive layer turned out to be an important element within the film’s narrative and situates Anak-Anak Srikandi even more on a political and activist trajectory. If collaboration is taken seriously as a concept, by addressing issues of authority, risks and ethics as well as undertaking an ongoing critical evaluation throughout the production, post-production and distribution process must be cornerstones of every anthropological inspired film project.

• 20 Programs and platforms for creating interactive and/or non-linear web documentaries include the fol (...)

28Anak-Anak Srikandi is a successful project that benefitted the participating women on a personal level. With the completion of the production and the start of the film’s outreach and distribution in 2012, we now consider the best possibilities to go beyond the personal and be even more beneficial for the Indonesian LGBT rights movement. I believe that with the application of new digital media and ICT to film, social interventions can go beyond the possibilities witnessed so far. Furthermore, by integrating audio‑visual representations across different media platforms, from social networks to interactive websites, cultural anthropologists and filmmakers alike have the chance to enter into a more equal partnership with their collaborators and hence to provide us with much richer understandings. However, few of these new Internet‑based collaborative possibilities have yet been fully explored within visual anthropology. What we need is the development of an inventive community of practice within the field of (digital) visual anthropology, one that looks beyond the borders of the discipline and doesn’t shy away from experimenting with authoring tools for interactive media. Unlike before, anthropologists no longer need any programming skills anymore. New open-source HTML5 platforms require no knowledge of coding, and today almost anyone can create content-rich and interactive websites20. But this new freedom in the story universe also brings about new challenges for visual anthropologists and their collaborators regarding questions of authorship, participation, control and ethics in relation to images intended for circulation on the World Wide Web. An open discussion about these issues must be part of the agenda of a new emerging community of practice.