Sophie's Dream - Help Us Make Asian Film History

Hi all, I'm Sophie! Welcome to my campaign, I'm very excited to share my dream project and make Asian American film history with you.

INDAH AND THE SPIRITS an Indonesian Fantasy Film

Artsy punk Indah is distraught over the loss of her grandmother and ventures to the underworld to see her one more time but Yuda, a fun-loving spirit, won’t get out of her way.

Directed by Sophie Mutiara Nova, starring Dewa Ayu Dewi Larassanti and Dylan Djoenadi

BUDGET GOAL: $20,000

Shoot Dates: October 6, 7, 8, 9 | Fundraising deadline: Friday, September 15th, 2023

WHO AM I AND WHAT IS MY GOAL WITH THIS FILM?

My name is Sophie Mutiara Nova, a queer, nonbinary, half-Indonesian and disabled filmmaker with a love of fairy tales. I grew up in Chicago but am currently based in LA. When I’m not making films, I’m writing fantasy book series or performing traditional Indonesian dance under Bu Nanik and Pak Wenten (CalArts Gamelan group).

A uniquely Indonesian American project, INDAH AND THE SPIRITS is a punk fantasy film about rediscovering moments of joy within times of grief. Through Yuda’s warm encouragement to reconnect with her heritage in the magical Spirit World, Indah realizes the ones who leave us are always closer than we think.

With an incredible cast and crew of the Indonesian Diaspora, as well as Indonesian musicians and designers, AAPI and other diverse talent, we all grew up without a film like this. Help us make history!

WHERE YOUR SUPPORT & CONTRIBUTIONS WILL GO:

WHAT IS THE PASSION BEHIND THIS FILM?

I was born in Wisconsin in the ‘90s and when we moved to the Chicago suburbs, I grew up in schools where nobody really looked like me, much less anybody Indonesian. I wanted so badly to turn on the television in the 2010s and see someone there at least like me, but the best representation I could find was in niche videos shared on the internet. I want other kids to have better than I did: to turn on the TV and see themselves no matter what. To be able to know that they are the heroes of their own stories.

WHAT MAKES THIS FILM SPECIAL: A LOVE LETTER TO MY GRANDMOTHER

My grandmother, Katerina Endang Sriwiduri, passed away just a year ago of pneumonia. She grew up in Jogja, but then moved to Jakarta to raise her five kids on her own after she was made a young widow. I’d visit her almost every holiday as a kid. The last time I saw her in my 20s, I showed her that I’d learned Tari Jawa and Tari Bali (traditional Indonesian dance) just for her. I taught myself Indonesian through Duolingo because none of my schools ever had a program for it. Despite my childhood in America, I wanted to stay connected to her and to my culture. I knew even then, that my culture was love.

My film’s hero, Indah, has also suffered a similar loss and pushes others away in her grief. She goes to the Spirit World intent on finding the lost soul of her grandmother but instead finds love and a reconnection to her roots through Yuda who insists on having fun. Together they perform a beautiful Indonesian dance and song. I’m inspired by Spirited Away and Alice in Wonderland, as well as Indonesian director Mouly Surya. This mashup of the three is a love letter to my grandma and my culture. The ones we love never truly leave us.

HOW IS IT RELEVANT NOW?

The uptick in anti-Asian hate since the pandemic left me with nightmares for weeks, especially after the Atlanta shootings where a hateful individual murdered six Asian women. Our family had to move from Wisconsin in the ‘90s after my mom was subjected to hate crimes. Even in the bigger city of Chicago, my mom still faces anti-immigrant hate, exacerbated during the pandemic.

I hope that this film about love of all kinds (love to a grandma lost, love to your best friends, love even for helpful strangers) offers at least some form of refuge to other targeted communities who face so much hate: an escape to a world of fairy tales with beautiful representation, even for just a moment.

WHAT ABOUT THIS FILM STORY HAS NEVER BEEN DONE BEFORE?

Asian American characters in film are most often reduced solely to their traumatic histories, stereotypes, or placed as blank slates through characters only tied to their cultural backgrounds through their name. This film challenges both of those stereotypes. Our story celebrates identity and is also entertaining, handling culture, love and loss while honoring the beauty of heritage. This film is also about queer representation. These identities that have been deemed as different or challenging make us stronger, not weaker.

WHO'S ON THE TEAM?

We’re ecstatic to work with two Indonesian American leading actors as the heroes of our tale: Dylan Djoenadi (Fine Bros’ Series of Kids React, Echo and Nellie) and Dewa Ayu Dewi Larassanti (award-winning video game– Kena: Bridge of Spirits). Behind the scenes we’re working with a talented and diverse crew of filmmakers. We’re partnering with several Indonesian diaspora and Indonesian-based artists, including custom costume designs from Balinese costume designer V from Trance Slate TV , and an original soundtrack with commissioned music from recognized composers I Putu Arya Deva Suryanegara and Putu Tangkas Adi Hiranmayena as well as Jakarta rock band Dolores.

Indah and the Spirits is a uniquely Indonesian American story, lifting up AAPI and BIPOC talent in the film industry, both in front of and behind the camera.

ABOUT THE TEAM:

Sophie Mutiara Nova - Writer/Director (they/them/theirs)

IG/Twitter or “X”/TikTok/Facebook/Bluesky - @thesophiewhit

Sophie Mutiara Nova is a queer, nonbinary, half-Indonesian SLE-diagnosed filmmaker/writer. Their work centers around their culture, queerness, and fairy tales. They have screened at Palm Springs' Cinema Diverse, New York City's Rainbow Cinema Awards, and the Vermont International Film Festival. Their film "Don't Tell Mother," about Asian mother-daughter relationships, was awarded top prize (Best LGBT+ Short) at the Los Angeles Asian Film Awards. Sophie has also been a quarterfinalist at the PAGE International Screenwriting Awards and a Semifinalist at Filmmatic Screenplay Awards. Sophie's published work has included the Queer Indie Book Award - nominated QTPOC-fantasy book series The Gamin Immortals, which earned them an invitation to the Golden Crown Literary Society (known for honoring such legends as Allison Bechdel). Originally from Chicago, Sophie is now based in Los Angeles and is pursuing their MFA in Film Directing from CalArts. They hold a BFA in Film/Digital Arts from Dartmouth College. In their spare time, they perform Indonesian traditional dance with international icons Bu Nanik/Pak Wenten of dance troupe Burat Wangi. www-sophiewhittemore-com

Dewa Ayu Dewi Larassanti - Indah (she/her/hers) - @dwayu_larassanti

Dewa Ayu Larassanti is a Balinese, Javanese, Japanese-American dancer, musician, and singer. Ayu grew up both in the Bay Area and in Bali, experiencing the challenges and the beauty of two worlds. Ayu is a graduate of UCLA in the studies of World Arts and Cultures, focusing on critical ethnography and studying different forms of music and dance. At UCLA, Ayu was a choreographer, sound engineer, director, and producer for different student organizations. Ayu trains with world-renowned composers and choreographers and teaches young dancers and musicians at Çudamani, in Pengosekan, Bali. With Çudamani, she has toured internationally, teaching and performing in Japan, Greece, Canada, and the United States. Ayu has just received a Fulbright grant to work with senior artists and youth in Bali, Indonesia, which she hopes will result in resources for Balinese artists all around the world.

Dylan Djoenadi - Yuda (he/him/his) - @dylandjoen

Dylan Djoenadi is an actor and producer from Monterey Park, CA. He started acting on screen since he was 5 years-old and has made most of his popularity from appearing on the Webby Award-winning show, Kids React, and later Teens React. Taking a break from screen-acting in high school, he developed a love for theatre and in college became heavily involved in the Lapu the Coyote that Cares Theatre Company (LCC) at UCLA founded in part by Randall Park. While at UCLA Dylan directed and wrote the first Indonesian-American Culture Night to create something different for the Indonesian community. continued acting in student-written plays and took classes at Margie Haber Acting Studio in Hollywood to further enhance his screen-acting capabilities.

Now he continues to hone his craft through acting classes at Margie Haber and in student-films. He will be starring in a CalArts Indonesian-American short film in the fall.

Yusef Ferguson - Director of Photography (he/him/his) - @notyusef

yusef ferguson is a filmmaker and visual artist based in southern california. a lover of storytelling and visual image, yusef's work seeks to explore dichotomies in the world we live in. it examines the relationships between the living and the dead, the seen and the unseen, to identify the parallels that exist around us and how they can function as parables for our own experiences. yusef’s work is interested in the function over the form, subtly interrogating the mechanics of our reality and poking at the chink’s in the armor. it seeks to explore the intricacies of the universe and give light to the often overlooked. http://voyagela.com/interview/daily-inspiration-meet-yusef-ferguson/

Linx Fong Selby - Producer/Creative Director (she/her/hers) - @linxfongselby

Linx Fong Selby is a director and artist based between Los Angeles and Montreal. She celebrates her mixed heritage through documentary and fiction single and multi-channel video works. In 2012 she co-founded Atelier Cèladon art collective. Her 2014 short film, "Tremor" was awarded at AmerAsia Festival 2014 and screened at Cold Call Productions Film Festival in 2016 and her 2020 film Pueblo Mágico, a narrative documentary about her US/Mexico border hometown premiered at Center Never Apart and showed at galleries in Canada, the US and Mexico. She received a degree in cultural studies from McGill University and is currently pursuing an MFA in Film Directing from California Institute of the Arts. Earlier in life she studied and performed Balinese dance with Gamelan Tunas Mekar (Denver) under the tutelage of Pak I Made Lasmawan and Bu Ni Ketut Marni.

Jeffrey Martín - Producer/1st Assistant Director (they/them/elle/ellui) - @jeffreydmartin_

Jeffrey matrix various archival forms to fashion stories and places of Black diasporic memory and afrofuturism. Working both in the material and immaterial worlds as a Black, queer, non-binary artist from the American South, Martín (mar-TEEN) utilizes filmmaking, musical composition, text, sculpture, and performance to create short films and video installations that interrogate and reposition the myths and realities of Southern Black, queer, and trans life. Jeffrey situates their work in collective histories of Black pop culture and political action, which they visually reinterpret and conceptually remix through various mediums; from experimental and documentary filmmaking to musical/technological improvisation. They use archival research, footage, images and musical improvisation as entry points to broadened narratives of Black grief and joy.

Brooke Harbaugh - Producer/Production Manager (she/her/hers)

Brooke Harbaugh is an LA-based creative producer and writer for theater and film. Her work has been presented at Automata, San Diego Underground Film Festival, and California Institute of the Arts. Film producing credits include Indah and the Spirits, Her Best, Pereidolia in B Minor, and One Beer. Theater producing credits include Miss You Desert Rat, Two Trains Running, and The Mountaintop. Brooke has an MFA in Creative Producing from California Institute of the Arts and a BA in English from Rollins College. She is an alumna of the Fulbright English Teaching Assistant program. www.brookeharbaugh.com

We are not a SAG/WGA production. Please support the SAG and WGA strikes! With solidarity and love.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart for contributing to this incredible project about culture and love! I can only make this project come true with your support. Stay tuned for more fun videos, details and updates in the coming weeks.