Livi Zheng Promotes Balinese Gamelan through Her New Film

Proudly featuring the beauty of Gamelan in her new documentary film, the young Indonesian director and producer recently entering the Hollywood industry Livi Zheng promotes the exotic nature of Bali through a film. “Bali: Beats of Paradise” is something to look forward to in the big screens up in mid-November.

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“Bali: Beats of Paradise” focuses on the sacred but shrinking tradition of Balinese music and dance, along with Noman Wenten, a celebrated Indonesian composer who sets out to pay homage to it. The wisdom and talent of Wenten are then completed with the Award-winning vocalist Judith Hill and their efforts in reigniting Gamelan as a team. Joining forces, the talented Judith Hill offers to compose together a mixture of traditional Balinese music with classic funk with the retired Wenten after 40 years of teaching Gamelan all around the world. In short, this movie features a fresh blend of Gamelan with the beats of the modern world.

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This unique documentary has caught the eyes of the Oscar committee and will compete in the Academy Awards along with another Indonesian film, “Marlina Si Pembunuh Dalam empat Babak” by Mouly Surya. However, both belong in different categories, while Surya’s work is from the category of Best Foreign Language Film, Zheng’s work is included in the Best Documentary Feature category. There are 77 new films that qualify for this category and Livi Zheng’s documentary on Bali is one of them. The 15 confirmed Oscar nominees will be announced by the 22nd of January 2019.

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On Wednesday (7/11) “Bali: Beats of Paradise” was played in the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Samuel Goldwyn Theater, Beverly Hills which is also known as the Headquarter of Oscar. Other than Livi Zheng’s work, the Best Documentary Feature category is occupied by “Hal”, “The Bleeding Edge”, “Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood”, “Tea with the Dames”, “The King” and many other great works.

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Apart from hoping that “Bali: Beats of Paradise” makes it to the Oscar nominees next year due to their unique view on the details of Gamelan, this movie is also hoped to successfully promote the beauty of Indonesian music. Livi Zheng herself has commented that she’s already happy that the film had the opportunity to be played in the United States and hopefully would catch the attention of others.

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Since the film is focused on the exotic and grand performances of Gamelan, the world premiere of its release holds the same uniqueness. The film was opened exclusively in Los Angeles at the Laemmle Theater and at the Cinema Village in New York. The music of the Island of Gods (another name for Bali) were filled with Balinese Gamelan melodies and double neck guitars played by Bali Balawan musicians. Along with this were also traditional Balinese dance performances like the Tari Barong and Tari Kecak.

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Zheng stated the dreams that surround the playing of this film in the big screens “Most people will never have the chance to experience the beautiful, vibrant scenery Bali is famous for. The most important thing was to capture the culture and traditions of everyday life -- including Balinese ceremonies. Whether joyful or filled with sorry, each one is always accompanied by the traditional sounds of Gamelan”.

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The gala premiere of this film managed to amaze the audience with the enchanting music of Gamelan that not everybody has the opportunity to get to know. The audience in this premiere was filled with many important people with roles in the American film industry, educators and diplomats from various countries. Even Paul Briggs, the Disney Animation Director and Gene Block, the Chancellor of the University of California-Los Angeles attended the ceremony.

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With the release of one of Livi Zheng’s masterpieces, “Bali: Beats of Paradise” is hoped to successfully show the enchanting traditions of Bali by offering an exclusive glimpse at intimate gamelan street performances, unique instruments, and exquisite Balinese costumes. Don’t forget to watch “Queen of the Hill” by Judith Hill on Youtube and watch “Bali: Beats of Paradise”! A great representation of Indonesia and the mysteries and culture that they can offer indeed.

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