Last weekend, during the NFF Talent Days, five Talent Awards and the Wildcards of the NL Filmfonds were awarded. Cum laude Audiovisual Design graduate and now also AV tutor at WdKA Arif Abdillah, won the VEVAM Talent Award for best film and received one of the Wildcards with his graduation film ‘Science Around Us'. You can watch the film here.
Arif Abdillah in 'The Science Around Us'
The Science Around Us is a film about an Airbnb owner in Rotterdam. After finding out that his father is admitted to the hospital and refuses medical treatment, Budi, an Indonesian living in the Netherlands finds himself needing to convince his stubborn father to accept medical treatment while trying to clean up his Airbnb apartment after a sex party—all in 20 minutes. There are a lot of layers within the work. For example, what does it mean to be a family when you're thousands of kilometers away? What do you do when you are away and something happens to your close family? But the main theme goes deeper than those things. It is about the idea that we love the best way we can, but not necessarily the best way we should.
Still from 'The Science Around Us'
With the Vevam Fonds Talent Award, Arif won a check worth 5.000 euros. With the Wildcard, the NL Filmfonds provides Arif with the resources (money and coaching) to create a new film. Next to the Talent Award and the Wildcard, Arif also got a special mention from the KNF, Kring van Nederlandse Filmjournalisten.
The jury said the following about his work: “In what seems to be one continuous shot, from the aftermath of a sex party to personal telephone conversations, Science Around Us tells a layered story. With a screenplay that appears simple at first, the film moves effortlessly between comic elements and urgent themes. The jury was impressed by ARIV, who not only wrote, edited and directed the story, but also plays the leading role. Good camera work, convincing acting and an appropriate pace ensure that the viewer remains captivated for twenty minutes by the world that Science Around Us creates. The emotional ending stays with you and leaves you wanting more.”
You can watch the film online via https://www.npo3.nl/science-around-us-3lab-afstudeerfilm/24-03-2022/WO_NPO_16853575.
Still from 'The Science Around Us'
Congratulations, Arif!
Visit the website www.arifabdillah.com to see more of Arif’s work.
This article was written by Julia de Roo, in-house journalist of WdKA. Questions or remarks? Feel free to send an e-mail to j.de.roo@hr.nl
