Film festival is always my favourite

The thing is, all film festivals showcase shortlist films - which means, the films screened are thoroughly selected from the best. Being a resident of Melbourne for more than two years, this year is my third in celebrating Indonesian Film Festival (IFF). Turns out, it's the 9th year for the festival. My, my..it's amazing to know how Indonesian films have been celebrated in Melbourne far before I came to study in this bustling city.

What makes this year's IFF more special is because this is the year where I sort of building up my career. As a present for my loyalty for the media I'm currently working in - that is, the fabulous OZIP - God gave me a special gift. I was appointed as the assistant for the new editor. And of course, new responsibilities follow my new position. I've been entrusted to take care some of the regular pages as well as organising workloads among our team to cover monthly events.

Place of Assembly photo batch

A facade of Schoolhouse Studios: 97 Nicholson Street, Collingwood

There's no place like school: Say farewell to Schoolhouse Studio

Place of Assembly was officially opened last Wednesday as a final tribute to the 120-year-old building

Schoolhouse Studios is a local hub of arts community which houses 85 artists from varied arts disciplines.

The place has an orchard garden with swings, a chicken coop and a pop-up bar every Friday night. With a plethora of artists, Schoolhouse Studios is like a—well, a school, with such a warm community that involve in a daily interchange of ideas. Needless to say, this is a paradise for artists. Unfortunately, this haven is ephemeral; the end of 2012 is also an end for this vibrant community.

It started well when Alice Glenn and Elizabeth Barnett leased the property at 97 Nicholson Street. The property has stood for more than 120 years as a tannery, monastery, technical college, and Sophia Mundi Steiner School. Since 2011, it has become an artistic community called Schoolhouse Studios, managed by Glenn and Barnett.

The studio extends across several buildings with bleak classrooms that have been transformed by the resident artists into radiant art studios. “We’re blessed with the site definitely,” shares Glenn. “The people have made Schoolhouse Studios what it is.”

Community is seen as a fundamental element which distinguishes Schoolhouse with other art studios. However, they have to keep in mind that this is just temporary as the site is going to be replaced by new townhouses.

And thus, instead of releasing the property reluctantly, Glenn and Barnett threw out a party to bid the studio farewell. The result is Place of Assembly, an exhibition presented through a collaboration between Schoolhouse Studios’ resident artists and 15 guest artists in association with Melbourne Festival. The exhibition opened on Wednesday 10 October and will continue until Saturday 27 October.  

Both Glenn and Barnett embrace it with optimism. “It’s just a great opportunity for artists to come here and work in an environment that is gonna be pulled down,” says Glenn.

This has somewhat inspired the artists; one of the art installations by Zoe Scoglio tries to link geological instruments with the demise of the site, as written on its placard that it is “intended to prepare the Schoolhouse Studios for its imminent passing from structure to rubble.” This installation consists of four rituals which call for the spectators to participate. One of the rituals invites the viewers to “break-off” a chunk of the studio wall and wear it as a pendant, while the other invites viewers to join in a sound parade to “encourage the ghosts to find new homes”.

Other installments combine multiple arts disciplines: architecture, painting, sculpture, performance, video, and more—all assembled in a one of a kind odyssey that unfolds the reminiscence of the buildings. At least that is what Glenn is hoping from the exhibition, “what I hope to achieve was just an exciting sort of adventurous place where people could come … and also been exploring the building and the site itself.”

“Hopefully people would come away with a sense of ‘how beautiful this place is’,” says Glenn.

And yes, indeed. Sara Josephine, a student whom a jewellery maker in her spare time, undoubtedly thinks so. “I think it’s [the exhibition] very unique and odd,” says Josephine who really admires Glenn’s installation: a collage of more than 300 people cut off from the pages of National Geographic. “It’s quite a rare experience to see such a community and I guess it will be better if they keep the building and keep the arts alive.”

Sadly, there is nothing Glenn and Barnett can do to prevent the demolition. They have been looking in a couple of factories and warehouses to relocate the studio. “We’re hoping to find a site that will house everybody, so that everyone can move together,” admits Glenn.

“Mainly, we wanna keep the community together.”

At the end, the most precious thing that needs to be preserved transcends the orchard garden, the chicken coop, the pop-up bar, and the walls of the studio. Schoolhouse Studios wants to preserve its own community.

A is for Alpine

Source: Frankie magazine (issue 44)

A is for Alpine and astounding. We’re not talking about the mountain—Alpine is an electropop sextet Melbourne band with two frontwomen, Phoebe Baker and Lou James, bringing the gentle but cold breezy voices that are emblematic of the band’s trait. Alongside with the singers are Christian O’Brien (guitar), Ryan Lamb (bass), Timothy Royall (keyboards), and Phil Tucker (drums); who work solidly in creating the synth character of Alpine.

The name of the band insinuates something that is related to Europe—or Switzerland. Their bond with the country seems even more prominent; the band was once called “The Swiss” and they even released an EP on 2010 titled Zurich. Although Alpine associates with the infamous frigid snow-coated mountain, Baker admits in an interview, “When I think of Alpine I think of this kind of fresh clean beauty which kind of reminds me of…not fresh like zesty…more like how you feel as if you have just had a nice swim.”

Their debut album, A Is for Alpine that was recently released on August 10, practically proves what the frontwoman says. It is fresh, smooth, clean, and rejuvenating. With a nice casual tempo (like a synchronised swimming), most songs are dominated with crisp guitar riffs. It is quite mild and not as loud as Zurich. However, A Is for Alpine doesn’t stir up sentimentality because the drumbeats are danceable.

Baker and James’ vocals give the band a signature. Despite their passionless vocals, oddly enough these have captivated the listeners; such as Hands with its unique swinging vocals and Lovers 1’s breathy vocals.

Furthermore, there’s nothing quirkier than the lyrics themselves. The typical of Alpine is their reverberant lyrics. There aren’t any clear distinctions between the verses and the refrains. Some songs even have meager sentences that couldn’t be identified as the verse. And they're also ambiguous, like in Gasoline and Hands ("There's gasoline in your eye" // "It's OK to feel the ring on my hands, my love, my enemy"). Almost as ambiguous as the lyrics is Hands’ risqué video clip which shows young women in skimpy outfits kissing their own hands.

The album itself

Nonetheless, it seems Alpine has learned from their previous EP, Heartlove, to repair their dictions in this album; recalling the moment when people argued on YouTube over the real lyrics (fans listened "I love catfood tonight" whereas the real lyric was "prowl like a cat through the night").

These factors (reverb vocals, ambiguousness, articulation) are again that charm people. It's either bland-emotionless or zestful-invigorating, depends on the listeners. At one point, though, the reverb vocals become addictive. Then again, who cares of ambiguousness and articulation if the music beats could lift you from your seats? A Is for Alpine provides the likeness of Zurich for fans; nevertheless it serves an outlandish flavour for Australia. Just as Paul LEster from the Guardian says, "Hands down the best Aussie band we've heard all year."

Too much blockbuster miffs you

It is summer in Uncle Sam’s lawn, but instead it’s interminably raining blockbuster movies. First the freakish alien show with the brilliant ex-detective girl, Lisbeth Salander, and her android partner—cheeky but oh-so-enticing—Mr. Fassbender. Second, the reboot of the eight legged guy with slightly darker suit and cuter face—which is significantly expendable recalling Raimi’s Spidey that has deeply ingrained within Spider-Man’s fans. Third, and this was just released recently, was the so-called Nolan’s final project for Batman. Apparently the movie leaves out several hints—insinuating an upcoming sequel or even a spin-off or two. 

As a movie lover, I watched them all. I have to admit that Prometheus was actually pretty good. However, since I’m not a big fan of guts, insides and uterus; I have to scratch it off of my favorite movies list. And what can I say about The Amazing Spider-Man? I think this twitter guy, @ghiankr, says it all, “Amazing Spider-Man is like iPhone 4s: a good but not necessary upgrade.” And as for The Dark Knight Rises, Nolan has succeeded making me awestruck. Again. Nevertheless, if I had to pick one I like the most from the trilogy I would go for The Dark Knight. Joker was too precious and unforgettable.

Garage video. A video of your garage?

No, it's not a video of your garage. The video is rather a project I made in order to complete the final assignment of Online Journalism unit in the first semester of my second year. So please excuse the stodgy title. Our assignment was to do either a data visualisation (data viz) or a video package report. Over the semester, after I took social research methods unit (which mainly dealt with data!) I've found that data is definitely not my passion. However, I've learnt that data--whatever data they are--contain not only a lot of information, but also potential stories! It's just that I'm not 'data savvy' (if such term does exist) especially when dealing with ABS (Australian Bureau of Statistics). In one of our tutorials about data viz, we have to find the number of seven year olds in Australia on the year 1987! It took a lot of effort!

Not just another busker

It’s Easter break. Chilly wind blows all day. Cold metal chairs as steadfast witnesses of the scene: Myer bag sways as a young man grip tightly to them, lovers exchange sweet compliments, a mother pushes a baby pram. Loud, lively and busy—it’s none other than in Bourke Street.

There’s one man who is deep in thought. He’s with his guitar. The man closes his eyes and picks the guitar strings with his slender fingers. Head slightly moves side to side. With Bourke Street as his stage, Santos Bonacci performs Moliendo Café.

The song urges you to stay where you are: watching Santos performances instead of sheltering yourself from the cold. People don’t want to leave. They are being rewarded with an exquisite music. As a form of thank you, Santos stares back at them and smiles. His smile blooms between his slightly hollowed cheeks and draws his eyes into two curvy lines. And when he nods, his black fedora covers a half part of his light brown complexion. His frizzy hair is steady behind the ears, despite the occasional head nods he makes during his guitar play.

Santos Bonacci was born in Australia of Italian parents. He grew up in a tobacco farm in Victoria. At the age of nine, he started to play the Beatles and Cat Stephens. “I grew up watching a few Spanish guitarists and I really like the guitar. So, I beg my parents to buy me a guitar,” he says. “I started taking lessons and then I was started getting serious [into music] when I was 18.”

A man in his late 40s, Santos is a frequent performer in Bourke Street Mall. Accompanied by an acoustic guitar, he charms the town’s busy atmosphere into a leisurely café in Spain.

Santos' devoted music performance captivates the pedestrians on Bourke Street.

(Photo by: Pingkan Isabella)

“I can sing some ballads. I can play Flamenco, classical, baroque—all styles. There’s nothing that I really like the most … So it’s very eclectic what I do.” Santos also composes songs that are “a fusion of Flamenco, Latin, and Jazz.” The music he composes was originated by the Southern France gypsies, which were popularised by the Gipsy Kings in the 80s. After Santos watched them live in 1989, he was inspired to play the same kind of music.

He recalls the time when he first played the guitar, “The guitar speaks to you. If you love the guitar, [pause] it speaks to you.” His voice gives a hint that it is no cliché—he assures that it was real. “It tells you, ‘you have to play’. Yes, it’s very powerful. Very powerful.”

Asked how the guitar spoke to him, he answers, “It’s just everything about it is beautiful.” As he continues, he gazes away, “You wanted, you desire it. If you’re a guitarist, you desire the guitar. It’s just a natural inborn desire.”

Santos became fully professional in music since the year 2010. However, he was unsure whether music could help him to make his family a living. “I thought maybe it was impossible to make a living with music. But then I took the leap and I was lucky I did. [pause] Very lucky, because I’ve been able to make a comfortable living for 12 years.”

His decision to be a professional musician has taken him even further than just a living. His love and passion of music has brought him overseas: to Japan, India, New Zealand, and America. Santos and his partner played for the opening keynote speech of Bill Gates in 2001 at the Comdex Festival, Las Vegas.

Music has played an important part in his life. However to Santos, it is not as important as finding the truth. For years, astrotheology has taken his interest. Besides being a musician, he teaches. He records videos of his teaching and uploads them to Youtube. He has done many researches to establish his teaching.

His Youtube channel, MrAstrotheology, has gained 6,645 subscribers and 640,689 viewers. A snippet of the channel’s description reads: Astrotheology, Claiming Dominion, Universal, verifiable, truth. Uncovering deception and lies. Santos has two websites: SANTOS.net.au which is for his music promotion and UniversalTruthSchool.com which contains his teaching materials.

“I could not live and be happy without being a musician. But it’s not as important as [pause]—as other things for me. Truth … , light, and the invisible sciences are more important.” Four seconds later, he adds, “Philosophy… [pause] Metaphysics. [pause] Spirituality.”

His voice somehow reflects his thoughts—sonorous, assuring and firm. His answers are straightforward. Pauses between the words do not beg to be filled in, but instead supplemental for his quotes.

Same thing occurs with his music. It represents Santos’ being. For Fabio, a Melbourne University arts student whom has lingered in music world for several years, Santos’ performance is astounding. “It is a form of art that flows right from his passion—a higher degree of art. His performances are not mere playing of the instruments, but more as an expression of his very being,” says Fabio.

Contrary with Fabio; Yara, a casual passerby, doesn’t feel the same about Santos’ music, “I think he is a talented musician … but I honestly think that the other street buskers aren’t less talented than he is.”

Nevertheless, Santos feels a lot of joy when he sees people enjoy his music. He plays devotedly in every performances he has had. “Music has kept me very, very happy and it’s kept me … young, and healthy, and happy—all the good things. Music is a great medicine—it’s a spiritual medicine.”

Then, he adds more, “Music is a vibration, it’s very healing.”

It’s already the time. Santos gets back to his guitar and plays the tune of Inspiration. And there he is: body leans forward, eyes closed, and occasional head moves. The Myer bag stops swinging, sweet compliments pause, and the baby pram pulls up. The young man, the lovers, and the mother stop to watch Santos. Once again, Santos charms the Bourke Street.

Photos by Pingkan Isabella

a short documentary of Santos created by 3DArtTechnology