HiFFest 2024 “Relive Our Culture"

Exploring Stories of Our Nation’s Journey with Cultural Preservation

HighScope Film Festival (HiFFest), an annual short film competition for middle students organized by the student council (OSIS) of SMP HighScope Indonesia TB. Simatupang returns this year with the theme 

Relive Our Culture, inviting young filmmakers to tell the story of our nation’s journey and growth, and explore the concept of cultural preservation. In a time when young generations are increasingly drawn to foreign cultures, it is crucial to reconnect with and celebrate our nation’s own heritage. Through the power of storytelling, HiFFest serves as a reminder to everyone of how Indonesian youths are celebrating, and cherishing our nation’s rich cultural tapestry in this modern age. 

In its 19th year, HiFFest continues to open its doors to all junior high school students to develop their ideas through the medium of short films. From HighScope Indonesia Schools and other schools across Indonesia. This year, HiFFest features 8 (eight) short film titles by students from 8 (eight) participating schools, namely:

1. SMP Anderson - Kala Kirana
2. SMP Al-Azhar 3 Bintaro - Skepticism
3. SMPI Dian Didaktika - Les-Tari
4. SMPIP Baitul Maal - Celluloid Reverie
5. SMP HighScope Indonesia  Bali - Jam Nem
6. SMP HighScope Indonesia Bintaro - Prasongko
7. SMP HighScope Indonesia Kelapa Gading - Ngalah Bukan Berarti Kalah
8. SMP HighScope Indonesia TB. Simatupang - Rahasia Hati

The series of Hiffest 2024  activities consist of two stages, namely 2-day workshop (Movie Workshop) and the peak event, Awarding Day. The workshop activities took place on 12-13 October 2024. The 2-day workshop activities took place on 12-13 October 2024, in which the participants received guidance from mentors of the Karnos Film. The workshop included various classes covering the basics of filmmaking; Film Production with Ario Rubbik, Script Writing with Mutiara Rizki, Acting with Ocky Yudiandra, Editing with Rizky Amarulloh, and Scoring with Adam Siana (Soundtrap) and Aprimela (White Shoes & The Couples Company).

Awarding Day featured the 8 (eight) film titles above, followed by the assessment of 5 (five) judges who are practitioners and experts in their fields, namely Nungki Kusumatuti (Gadis Kretek, Radit dan Jani, Perempuan Dalam Pasungan), Samo Rafael (Kupu Kupu Kertas, Harlot’s Prayer, Edge of The World), Ario Rubbik (The Last Barongsai, Hijabers In Love, Satu Jam Saja), and Kanya Kamili Priyanti (Gadis Kretek, Gossip Girl Indonesia, Tunnel Indonesia).

The following are the winners of Hiffest 2024 for each category:

• Best Movie Poster - Ngalah Bukan Berarti Kalah (SMP HighScope Kelapa Gading)
• Best Script Writer - Kala Kirana (SMP Anderson)
• Best Director of Photography - Jam Nem (SMP HighScope Indonesia  Bali) 
• Best Movie Editor -  Rahasia Hati (SMP HighScope Indonesia TB. Simatupang)
• Best Original Soundtrack - Prasongko (SMP HighScope Indonesia Bintaro)
• Best Sound Composition -  Rahasia Hati (SMP HighScope Indonesia TB. Simatupang)
• Best Live Performance - Prasongko (SMP HighScope Indonesia Bintaro)
• Best Actor - Skepticism (SMP Al-Azhar 3 Bintaro)
• Best Actress - Les-Tari (SMPI Dian Didaktika)
• Best Director - Kala Kirana (SMP Anderson)
• Best Movie - Kala Kirana (SMP Anderson)
• Favorite Movie - Jam Nem (SMP HighScope Indonesia  Bali)
• Favorite Mural - Celluloid Reverie (SMPIP Baitul Maal)

The addition of the Favorite Mural was added in harmony with the theme of Relive Our Culture, as the medium of murals can visually interpret the theme, and also create a strong visual identity of the movies.

The judges gave high appreciation for HiFFest 2024. Nungki Kusumatuti was very happy with her first experience as a judge. "I feel honored and flattered to be a judge today. I think today's event was extraordinary, I am very proud, even when I watched some of the films my eyes filled with tears. The participant’s creativity is extraordinary, and it truly shows their intelligence. I have very big hopes that the Indonesian film industry will continue to improve and grow. Because even middle students are already making good films, they even did research on cultures and social relations. It's really amazing.” Samo Rafael also said something similar. "It’s truly exciting to take part in judging the films today. What an honor it is for me to get to see the quality of what the next generation is working on. It turns out everything shown today is awesome. My message to all the participants is that the Indonesian film industry is now more open than ever. It feels like now is the right time to start learning and experimenting in filmmaking." Kanya Kamili Priyanti, an alumna of Sekolah HighScope Indonesia TB. Simatupang felt very proud to be invited again as a judge. “It's always a pleasure to be invited to Hiffest, because it reminds me of the past when I was still a student at this school. I hope that this year's participants will continue to work, and not be afraid of making mistakes, because it is through mistakes that we can learn. ”

Apart from the announcement of the best films based on the 13 (thirteen) categories above, Awarding Day was also enlivened by performances from Wilshere, Prasmul, Hennesy, Luminaris, Sadders, and special guest star Gangga. Congratulations to all of the winners.