#SinematikGakHarusToxic: When people in film speak up
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Between March and April 2021, filmmakers, actress, actors and film crew throughout the country posted a short animation called Silenced: Mau Sampai Kapan? on their Instagram feed. The film discussed about the bleak reality behind the making of films: sexual harassment. It was created by Kawan Puan and Kitabisa. Producer Gina S. Noer along with actresses Mian Tiara, Hannah Al Rashid and Adinia Wirasti were also involved in the film.
Mian Tiara shared her experience of being sexually harassed on set by a senior actor in 2020. After that, Hannah Al-Rashid reached out to her as they shared similar experience. This was what inspired Hannah to walk in Women’s March Jakarta with a sign criticising the industry she is in. The sign specifies an ideal shooting location, with the third point saying “NO LELAKI YANG TANGANNYA KE MANA-MANA” (“NO HANDSY MAN”) with #SinematikGakHarusToxic at the bottom.
Sexual violence in the film industry is something nobody discussed openly in Indonesia even though it has been haunting the industry forever. “This issue is something that we, actors, have heard or even experienced, and yet there was no outlet, opportunity, or safe space to talk about it,” said Hannah. She personally thinks that many people in the film industry are keeping their experience to themselves for many reasons, one of which is the prospect to make it in the industry.
This situation persisted at least until Mian Tiara spoke up about her experience on her Twitter account.
Mian wrote how she just froze when the perpetrator violated the boundaries of her body. She distanced herself from him and tried to watch over other women on the set, in case he would do anything to them. The second time the perpetrator violated her on the same day, she tried to flee. “What upsets me is that I couldn’t react the way I should,” she wrote. She was worried that others would think she overreacts, and the perpetrator would deny it easily.
Upon reading Mian’s thread, Hannah Al Rashid found herself reliving her own experience of having her boundaries violated by a senior actor. “I was in an online cab when I first read the thread and my body began shaking,” she recounted, “I was having a physical reaction while reading (it).” After she reached out to Mian, she discovered that they were both harassed by the same senior actor.
Driven by the will to reach out to fellow survivors in the industry, Mian and Hannah began to reach out to others and being open for others in the industry. Learning from Harvey Weinstein’s case and the #MeToo movement, Hannah said that women in the film industry have always been practicing an underground warning system, in which they would spread awareness and warn each other in secrecy. She added that there is no proper standard operating procedure in effect to response to sexual harassment reports.
The environment of the industry also helps perpetuate the notion that sexual violence is not important. As a result, every sexual violence allegation was swiped under the rug and forgotten. Mian explained how the victim-blaming culture and risk of losing one’s job prompt most of the survivors to just stay silent. “However, the main factor is the lack of legal protection for us,” she concluded. In this environment, even if survivors speak up, there is no clear legal process for the perpetrator and legal protection for the victim.
“As long as the Elimination of Sexual Violence Bill (RUU-PKS) is not passed, any effort to seek justice for survivors and demands for accountability from the perpetrators will only stop at the unfinished line,” she concluded.
Mian and Hannah’s experience are the tip of the iceberg. In the industry, this kind of experience is told among smaller groups in hushed voices. The only way they could stay safe for now is by exercising the underground warning system to warn each other in the hope that women who are working with the alleged perpetrators can keep themselves safe.
Another experience came from Nina* who is in charge for movie wardrobe. She told TFR that in one of the many sets she has been in, she had to work with the above mentioned senior actor. “Ever since I was a kid, I’ve seen his movies and he is quite an achiever, too,” she recounted, “but when I finally meet him in real life…it’s disappointing.”
*not her real name
From her experience, the actor made use of the working environment, where sexual jokes are casually thrown about for ice breaking. “However, the team always finds it uncomfortable when he does that,” she said. It was then proven that the actor did not stop at verbal harassments and proceeded to physical harassment.
“I am a fearless person, I always speak up when anything happened, but even someone like me was stunned at first,” she described her experience, “I was confused, didn’t know what to do, can’t just punch him in the face, I was just…’he grabbed my breast.’”
The film industry indeed appears to be very glamorous and bright. We see artists winning awards, partying among their small circles and wearing big names some of us could only imagine having. At the same time, sexual predators are lurking in comfort, confident that their job would not be affected by their misconduct as there is no proper SOP in place. This also begged the question: who is in charge of making everyone feels safe and what do they say about that?
Gina S. Noer, a producer, movie director and co-founder of Wahana Kreator Nusantara, is already concerned about the issue of gender equality itself. “As storytellers, if we want to tell stories that humanise human, we should start with creating a comfortable workspace for everyone to be able to work optimally,” she explained. Following the initiative made by Mira Lesmana dan Nia Dinata, Gina began to include an anti-sexual harassment clause in work contracts for every individual working in any of Wahana Kreator’s movie or series.
She realised that a movie director plays a huge role in shaping the desired working environment by setting the tone of a movie production. Being a boy’s club kind of an industry, the nuances are often painted with what is considered to be normal by many cis-gendered, straight men. As nice as the crew are, for example, some do catcall. Acknowledging how serious the act is, Gina is committed to always stepping in to educate everyone working in her set whenever there is a chance.
As the one who basically owns and is in charge of a movie production, producer becomes the proxy for every division on set. Ideally, the head of each division would come to the producer for coordination if anything were to happen. However, if the rules and SOP are not established, nobody could really make a move in response. This is why Nadine, a producer at BASE Entertainment, considered the inclusion of the anti-sexual harassment clause in the company to be an improvement.
However, she is also aware that the current situation is not yet ideal. “We could establish that (the producer) is a safe space, to start with,” she said, “I think there should be one or two persons from the producer’s side to be there for you to share your experience.” This way, the team in charge of the film production will be able to investigate and find a solution.
She added that in her observation, female interns are prone to harassment, especially by their senior colleagues. They are often seen as gullible and therefore subjected to verbal harassment. The harassment might not get physical, but unwanted “morning, cutie” or “you look pretty today” to those who want to be treated like a regular person is indeed uncomfortable. “I feel for them because they must be entering the industry with loads of dream and hope, and yet the environment might squash their dreams.”
The National Commission on Violence against Women recorded that in 2020, sexual harassment and molestation were still the most common form of sexual violence against women in public/community areas. This category includes the workplace, where women are there for their livelihood in which their safety and well-being should be a priority. The film industry has started to take their stance one step at a time. One thing for sure, any form of sexual violence will not and should not be taken lightly.
