Lajar hidoep

Synopsis

In his contribution, Garin Nugroho wants to show the importance of the new and the old harbour of Jakarta. In the harbour districts Keroncong Tugu (the old district) and Tanjung Priok (the present harbour district), multicultural communities have emerged that have opened up Jakarta society towards Europe and Asia. Nugroho uses archive footage to show that the heritage of the Portuguese who exploited Indonesia before the Dutch is for instance still visible in the existence of a Portuguese community with its own music culture. The development of the harbours is important for the future, but their history also has sad stories. For instance, Nugroho points out that many wars were started about who controls a port. (Rotterdam International Film Festival)