With an office bookshelf positively groaning with the works of 150+ speakers set to descend on the UWRF17, Festival staff have no shortage of literary inspiration. So what’s keeping them up at night, page by page, in the lead up to this year’s event? In our latest series, #UWRFBookClub, we chat to the Festival team about their highlight authors and artists. To kick things off, we hear from Program Coordinator, Dwi Ermatanthi.
I really enjoy books that are written around a historical event, or set against a historical fact. They enrich my knowledge and point of view. Pulang, a novel by Leila S. Chudori, is one of these books, and it has taught me so much about my country. Pulang is centred on the events of 1965, and brings a dark moment of Indonesian history to light. This is a story never told by history books; stories of people who could not return home.
“Man Jadda Wajada” – “he who is earnest will succeed”. This is the central philosophy of The Land of 5 Towers by Ahmad Fuadi. Besides myself, thousands of people have been inspired by this book. Maybe you are one of them. I first fell in love with this book when I watched the movie. After that, I started reading Ahmad’s works, and couldn’t stop. In 2013, Ahmad came to the Festival for the first time, and I had the chance to meet him. I’m certain that the character Alif in The Land of 5 Towers is not much different from Ahmad himself. This is Ahmad’s second time attending the UWRF, and I’m looking forward to hearing him speak again. “Ubud, where the leaves are always green, and the sky is a clear blue”. This is my favorite quote from Ahmad, but you won’t find it written anywhere. He said it while in Ubud, admiring the view of Campuhan Ridge with Mount Agung in the distance.
Today, we announced that French/Indonesian filmmaker Pierre Coffin will be joining the program. Never in a million years would I expect to meet the man behind the animated movie, Despicable Me. I’m really looking forward to hearing the story of his career, and how Minions came to be one of the most popular franchises of the past decade. I also can’t wait to hear him voice the Minions, live! Did you know that his mother is also coming? She is the very famous Indonesian author, Nh. Dini.
We’re excited to introduce Laksmi DeNeefe Suardana as the official Ambassador of Yayasan Mudra Swari Saraswati, the driving force behind the Ubud Writers & Readers Festival and the Ubud Food …
In the lead-up to this year’s Festival, our new Head of International Programming, Hannah Curtis, sat down with us to talk about her new position, the aspirations for the future …
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