A sci-fi film will hit Indonesian cinemas this October. Titled Tengkorak, it took over four years for the producers to make the film because it used plenty of visual effects. At least 127 visual effects have been employed which are no less awesome than of Hollywood films.
Yusron Fuadi, film director, expected the film to be seen by more viewers to enjoy a different film that is produced by Indonesian filmmakers. “I can guarantee that you have never seen things like this before in other Indonesian films,” said Yusron.
Despite the limited budget, the quality of the film making has been appreciated internationally. It has been screened in three Asian and international film festivals. “There are no big names behind this film, the biggest challenge was there are no A-list artists. And the visual effects should have cost considerable expenses in addition to the many casts, but we were able to minimise the budget,” he said.
Yusron said most of the film locations were in Yogyakarta, but some were made in Bandung, Jakarta, Mt. Bromo, and Singapore. “We also took some footage in Mt. Merapi,” he added.
Executive producer, Wikan Sakarinto, said the film started from Yusron’s idea which was accepted by Wikan by making the concept of sci-fi film that is rarely seen in the country. The next challenge was to make the visual effect components which pushed the crew to work from scratch. “We had to buy a computer specifically for visual effect technology and the animators had to learn from zero to get the hang of it, but they finally made it,” he said.
Wikan said he was happy with the skills of the producers who were lecturers and students of UGM Vocational School. Their skills in visual effect technology have withdrawn the interest of other Indonesian cineasts to work together on their films.
Tengkorak film tells about the finding of a giant skull (tengkorak) that shocks the world. The finding makes many people want to uncover the origin of the skull that is considered to be able to change the world. But it remains a mystery for a long time
Then, 18 years later, a student by the name of Eka (cast by Eka Nusa Pertiwi) got an initial clue of the skull. Later, Eka is sought after by many people who have their own personal interests. She even becomes a target to kill. Even so, Eka is always watched over and protected by a group of people that wants to keep the secret of the data so that it would not fall to the wrong hands.