Jakarta(21/09)-The Government of Wakatobi with SET Film Workshop and WWF-Indonesia officially announce the beginning of “The Mirror Never Lies” movie production on Tuesday (21/09), in Hongkong Café, Central Jakarta.
The movie is a family drama which takes Wakatobi islands, Southeast Sulawesi as its setting. Directed by a young female director Kamila Andini and starred by Atiqah Hasiholan and Reza Rahadian, it tells a story of an indigenous girl named Pakis who grows up in Bajo tribe (nomadic, boat-dwelling people, and are often referred to as sea gypsies). She struggles to rediscover her identity while intensively deals with the issues faced by her families and Bajo community, the sea wanderers who rely on the marine resources. They are now on the brink of extinction due to the lack of marine resources as their source of life.
The movie is packaged through a metaphoric approach as a strategy to raise people’s concern for Indonesian sea with its marine resources as well as to raise public awareness toward marine conservation, particularly the high biodiversity of Wakatobi islands, as the centre of World Coral Triangle.
According to Wakatobi District Head, Hugua, the local government involvement in “The Mirror Never Lies” production is an effort to strengthen conservation in Wakatobi and also to promote Wakatobi’s marine ecotourism sites and research center.
“Now, Wakatobi has been known as an important marine life research center. The island as the centre of World Coral Triangle has 750 coral species and 942 fish species that need to be conserved. We, particularly Wakatobi government are responsible for its sustainability. Through this movie, I expect there would be more and more concerned parties support our efforts here,” he added.
The internationally-acclaimed director Garin Nugroho, who is also the producer of “The Mirror Never Lies” said that the movie is aimed at integrating and synergizing ecological, education, and tourism aspects.
“The ecological aspect is represented through Wakatobi marine biodiversity which dominates the visual elements in the movie. Meanwhile the education and tourism aspects are captured through Bajo life and how they employ their local wisdom to protect their natural resources and environment. Lastly, the beauty of coral reefs and marine life in Wakatobi island emphasizes the tourism aspect,” he said.
WWF-Indonesia Chief Executive Officer Efransjah said that Wakatobi has been identified as one of the highest priority areas for marine conservation in Indonesia. It is also a logical centerpiece for a network of marine protected areas (MPAs) around the southern coast of Sulawesi. Since late 2002, WWF has been collaborating in a unique partnership with The Nature Conservancy (TNC) to help the Wakatobi National Park authority improve their management plan, zoning, and implementation of park management.
“The coral reefs in Wakatobi are still in good condition, compared to others in the World Coral Triangle area. However, the increasing sea temperature has caused coral bleaching. We hope this unique communication media will help us promote the importance of coral reef conservation efforts as one of the solutions to tackle the global warming effects. It is about time for all of us, all world citizens to give contribution for marine conservation, individually or collectively,” he emphasized.
The shooting in Wakatobi island will be started from late September to the end of October 2010. “The Mirror Never Lies” is scheduled to be launched in April 2011 in conjunction with the Earth Day. All benefits from this movie will be dedicated to conservation activities in Wakatobi.
For further information, please contact:

1. Wakatobi District Government, c.q. Drs. Monginsidi, Tel: +62 404 21011
2. Set Film Workshop, Anastasia Rina, Tel: 021 – 727 99226/27, email: mailto:rina@set-film.com
3. WWF-Indonesia Marketing and Communication Director, Devy Suradji, email: dsuradji@wwf.or.id

Note to Editors:
About WWF
WWF-Indonesia is an independent member of WWF, the global conservation organization, a network of WWF organizations and affiliates operating in close to 100 countries worldwide. It is an independent foundation registered under Indonesian law. In carrying out its conservation work, WWF-Indonesia has 25 project offices in 17 provinces. This organization works with local governments through practical field projects, scientific research, advising local governments on environmental policy, promoting environmental education, empowering communities, and raising awareness on environmental issues. More info about WWF-Indonesia, visit www.panda.org; or our local sites www.wwf.or.id and WWF-Indonesia supporter website in www.supporterwwf.org

About SET Film Workshop
SET was established in 1987 by numbers of audio visual creators, the alumni of Jakarta Art Institute (IKJ). The initiators were internationally-accalaimed Garin nugroho, Arturo GP, and many more. It aims at creating new film generation by accommodating the freedom of expression and plurasim of creation as well as strengthen collaboration and partnership with many communities as a strategy to enhance alternative space of creation and appretiation.
SET believes this is the era of multi-discplines art, technology, and knowledge. Therefore, SET produces many art works with more various and fresh appreciaton.
Some film features:

• “ Love on a Slice of Bread ” / “ Cinta dalam Sepotong Roti “ (1991)
• ” Letter for an Angel ” / “ Surat Untuk Bidadari “ (1994)
• ” And the Moon Dances ” / “ Bulan Tertusuk Ilalang “ (1995)
• ” Leaf on a Pillow ” / “ Daun di Atas Bantal “ (1998/1999)
• ”The Poet”/”Puisi Tak Terkuburkan” (2000/2001)
• “ Bird Man Tale ” / ”Aku Ingin Menciummu Sekali Saja “ (2002)
• “Of Love and Eggs”/ “ Rindu Kami Pada Mu” (2004)
• “Serambi”/”Serambi” (2006)
• “Opera Jawa” (2006)
• “ Under The Tree “ ( 2008 )
• “Generasi Biru” (2009)

About Wakatobi
Located in Southeast Sulawesi, this District was officially established in 2003. The name of Wakatobi is an acronym of the four main islands: Wangi-wangi, Kaledupa, Tomia, and Binongko. As the centre of The Coral Triangle,around 90 percent of the globe’s 850 coral species or 750 species are found in Wakatobi. Wakatobi’s 1.390 million hectares of islands and waters were declared a National Park in 1996.

About “The Mirror Never Lies”
Marine biodiversity portrait of Wakatobi and Bajo’s local wisdom are captured through a drama of little girl named “Pakis” who is striving for searching his father who lost at the sea. Grown up in a Bajo tribe, who are famous as the great sailorman ever, they live and they died in the ocean. Pakis strongly believes that her father is still alive and will come back someday.
The movie focuses on conflicts at the heart of family life, when Pakis mother often breaks her hope to meet the lost father again. As the emotional nuance emerges, a dolphin research scientist (Tudo) comes into their life. These three characters have their own interpretation about marine life and how they intensively connect to each other. In this movie, the story of those people living around the beauty of nature and Bajo’s culture are aesthetically packaged as family drama.
About Kamila Andini (Director)
Kamila Andini (Dini) graduated from the Faculty of Sociology and Media Arts at Deakin University, Melbourne, Australia. She started her career as documentary worker and assistant director in video clip of Tere, Ungu, and Generasi Biru movie. Her huge interest for cinematography has also been well sharpened by his father, the charismatic internationally-acclaimed director Garin Nugroho.
She has been actively involved in Indonesian Documenter (InDocs), Konfiden (Komunitas Film Independen) and Popcorner workshops. Until now, she has directed several TV programs, “Sepasang Mata Bola” (ASTRO production), Slank video clip, and several documentaries. One of them was screened in the Singapore International Film Festival. She is also the creative director of the LA Light’s Indie Movie Film Workshop.
About Atiqah Hasiholan (Pakis’ Mother)
Graduated from Monash University, Atiqah has starred six feature films and over ten TV movies for instance “Suster N”, “Cinta Setaman”, “Pintu Terlarang”, “Jamila dan Sang Presiden”, “Ruma Maida”, “Darah Garuda” (Merah Putih II), and “Mafia Insyaf.” Atiqah made her film debut in “Berbagi Suami,” directed by Nia Dinata. Her deep concern and love to Indonesian marine life are reflected through her hobby: diving. She even holds a diving license.
About Reza Rahadian (Tudo)
He started his movie debut in “Film Horor” in 2007. This young actor who once to be a model, won the Best Supporting Actor in Indonesian Film Festival in 2009 through his role in “Perempuan Berkalung Sorban.” Other films he has starred were “Pulau Hantu 2”, “Kirun+Adul”, “Emak Ingin Naik Haji”, “Alangkah Lucunya Negeri Ini”, “Queen Bee”, and “Hari untuk Amanda.”