Film | Setan Jawa

Cost: free; Registration in advance recommended

Live musical accompaniment by singer Peni Candra Rini and her ensemble

Kick off our celebration of Indonesian cinema with a multimedia work by its most celebrated director, Garin Nugroho. Setan Jawa is inspired as much by Javanese mythology and shadow puppetry as it is by the German Expressionist silent film masterpieces Nosferatu and Metropolis.

The film follows a poor man from the countryside who falls in love with an aristocratic young woman and makes a deal with the devil so he can marry her. But when she learns of the pact, she sets out to negotiate for her husband’s soul.

Director: Garin Nugroho (Indonesia). Released: 2017. Length: 73 min. Format: DCP. Silent.

Peni Candra Rini is a renowned Javanese singer, composer, and faculty member at the Indonesian Institute of the Arts. The Kronos Quartet has described her as “one of the world’s greatest singers.” She is a master of several traditional forms and is regarded as one of Indonesia’s most daring young composers, one of only a handful of female composers in the majority Muslim nation. In 2023 she became the first woman to be commissioned to compose a work for the Mangkunegaran court of Central Java and in 2024 was bestowed the court name Raden Nganten Tumenggung, the highest honor offered by the Raja. In 2024 she completed a suite for string quartet commissioned by the Kronos Quartet and Carnegie Hall, which has been performed by Kronos on major stages throughout the US and Europe. In 2024 she released two albums on the New Amsterdam label, in collaboration with Shahzad Ismaily, Andy McGraw, and members of Deerhoof, featuring her experimental compositions for Javanese and Western ensembles.

Image courtesy of Garin Nugroho

You may also like the following events from Smithsonian's National Museum of Asian Art:

• This Friday, 5th September, 07:00 pm, Film | Kung Fu Hustle in Washington
• This Sunday, 7th September, 03:30 pm, Film | In the Mood for Love + In the Mood for Love 2001 in Washington
• Next Wednesday, 10th September, 02:00 pm, Film | Sansho the Bailiff in Washington

Also check out other Music events in Washington, Entertainment events in Washington, Arts events in Washington.