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Feature Stories

Mengejar Ombak now in cinemas!

Mengejar Ombak, the award-winning documentary about Indonesian surfing sensation Dede Suryana, is on general release at Blitz Megaplex, Grand Indonesia starting May 6, 2009, followed by Paris Van Java, Bandung, from May 13 onwards. After the film's success at the prestigious X-Dance Film Festival in Utah, USA, winning awards for Best Emerging Filmmaker (for Dave Arnold and Tyrone Lebon) and Best Original Score, 'Mengejar Ombak' is finally hitting the big screen in Indonesia. The documentary feature offers a close and personal insight into the life of the young and talented Indonesian surfer, Dede Suryana (current Indonesian surf champion and 2-time Gold medallist at the Asian Beach Games). The film follows Dede as he embarks on his first serious season on the World Qualifying Series (WQS) - where he has been touted to become the first Asian to qualify for the World Championship Tour (WCT). Wall Street Institute is giving away freebies with every ticket bought, and purchasers of 4 tickets or more are eligible for some great prizes from resort stays to Hurley gear. Spread the word! See the trailer here:

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Feature Stories

This Side of Paradise: Nikoi Island

Adrianna Tan writes: Think of Indonesia's perfect beaches and idyllic island life, and Bali and Lombok immediately spring to mind. Their beaches and other island offerings may still rank among the world's most stunning and exotic, but seclusion is an increasingly rare commodity. Perhaps you've tired of the 'tropical paradise' picture perfect postcard retreats you love, which are still undeniably beautiful, but now spoilt by unkempt beaches and more likely to feature other red-faced foreigners more interested in their Bintang Beer than endless stretches of white sand and palm trees. Or perhaps as a seasoned Southeast Asia old hand you've seen it all, and island-hopped enough so much so that it's the rare few special island or resort that can stir up any excitement at all.

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Travel Tales

FLOW (For Love Of Water) Screening in Ubud

Bali's Green School (www.greenschool.org) organised a screening of the award-winning documentary FLOW (For Love Of Water). Intense and provoking, the film explores aspects of the global water crisis, from polluted tap water and contaminated bottled water in the US to the privatisation of water services in developing countries, which often excludes the poorest from access to clean water. Producer Steven Starr has been working with students of the Green School over the past week, and described how impressed he was by the "enthusiasm for life" he found on the campus. In March, a group of Green School students travelled to the Global Issues Conference for EARCOS (East Asia Regional Council of Schools) to present their research on water issues in Bali. This ongoing work is set to become the basis for a documentary film on the subject later this year.

IHS Booklovers’ Lunch Fundraiser featuring Elizabeth Pisani

As a fundraiser to sponsor emerging Indonesian writers to attend the 2009 Ubud Writers and Readers Festival, the Indonesian Heritage Society is organising a lunch with Elizabeth Pisani on April 7th in Jakarta. Pisani's life as an HIV prevention researcher has taken her from the brothels of southwest China to the gay bars of Bangkok, and in Indonesia she has worked with the health ministry to map HIV risk. She will speak about her experiences and her book The Wisdom of Whores at the IHS lunch, in a talk entitled 'Landscapes of Desire: sex, politics and AIDS in Indonesia.' Funds raised at the event will be used to send two or more Indonesian writers to participate in the October festival, and also to fund 5 Indonesian readers, students and aspiring writers to attend. For more information and to buy tickets (Rp.300,000), contact IHS at +62 21 5725870.

Indonesia: A Synergy of the Senses

With its incredible topographic and cultural diversity, Indonesia remains a puzzle to many outsiders. Historians, anthropologists, and politicians have struggled to define the precise contours and identity of this sprawling archipelago.