International Festival inviting Australians to participate from comfort of own home: Kembali 2020
Ubud, Bali, INDONESIA: Yayasan Mudra Swari Saraswati –an independent, not-for-profit foundation in Ubud, Bali – is inviting Australians and audiences across the globe to participate in its newest digital initiative, Kembali 2020: A Rebuild Bali Festival (KEMBALI20).
The Foundation is known for one of the world’s leading literary and arts events Ubud Writers & Readers Festival (UWRF) and Southeast Asia’s leading culinary event Ubud Food Festival (UFF). From 29 October–8 November, KEMBALI20 presents the best of the two Festivals in a new and exciting virtual experience.
From Amsterdam to Adelaide, Dubai to Delhi, Philippines to Pekalongan, and dozens of cities in between, over 120 speakers join KEMBALI20 to share extraordinary stories, diverse voices, and brave ideas in virtual panel discussions, performances, workshops, film screenings, book launches, and cooking challenges.
“With the COVID-19 pandemic, our lives have changed and things have changed permanently. In this extraordinary year, we have reimagined UWRF and combined it together with UFF and we are presenting something more meaningful, more diverse, than ever before,” said Australian KEMBALI20 Founder and Director Janet DeNeefe. “I’m proud to show you, and to launch, this Festival in this most unusual year.”
International guests include Academy Award-winning musician, composer, and producer David Byrne, bestselling author of Crazy Rich Asians Kevin Kwan, Booker nominee Avni Doshi, international chef and pioneer in sustainable fishing Bart van Olphen, distinguished Human Rights Watch researcher Sophie McNeill, and Haitian-American writer and MacArthur fellow Edwidge Danticat.
They’ll be joined by Nobel Peace laureate and former President of East Timor Jose Ramos Horta, celebrated food journalist and writer James Oseland, Eritrean rising poet, storyteller, and activist Manal Younus, leading voice in Israeli literature and cinema Etgar Keret, and consultant for the Obama Foundation’s Girls Opportunity Alliance and Leaders: Asia Pacific Program Maya Soetoro-Ng.
As Indonesia’s leading platform for showcasing its writers and artists to the world, the Festival is honoured to welcome former Minister of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Susi Pudjiastuti, prominent actor and film producer Nicholas Saputra, Indonesia’s current most internationally renowned author Eka Kurniawan, critically acclaimed writer Dee Lestari, leading Indonesian architect Andra Matin, award-winning author Intan Paramaditha, and celebrated Indonesia’s first Muslim female stand-up comedian Sakdiyah Ma’ruf.
“KEMBALI20 is a virtual playground, unique, new, imaginative, is itself a testament to the fact that we can mount a response to the pandemic that we can get over the challenge and find new ways to do things,” commented Australia’s Ambassador to Indonesia Gary Quinlan. “It is not a Festival just about revitalizing, rebuilding Bali, it is actually a Festival about hoping to rebuild all of us, all our lives, all our communities in this difficult time.”
Across 60 donation-based Main Program sessions comprising panels and one-on-one interviews, audiences will learn how creativity, traditions, culture, and art is vital in facing global challenges. Sessions such as A Creative Response and Writing in Times of Crisis highlight the significance of the creative industry and its social impact during the pandemic.
The Foundation also produced its first documentary-series this year, Stories from the Field, with five short movies that share and celebrate the resilience and adaptation of Balinese during the pandemic. With local filmmaker Wayan Martino, the series will show Bali beyond the beaches and rice paddies.
Image Credit: Agung Abi.
The Lifetime Achievement Award is an initiative started by the Foundation as an appreciation for the world of Indonesian literature. Every year, this award is given to great figures who have dedicated their lives to developing Indonesian literature through their writings and works. This year, the Foundation honors Toeti Heraty, Indonesia’s renowned poet, philosopher, and human rights activist. Born in Bandung on 27 November 1933, she has been named the only woman amongst the leading contemporary poets of Indonesia and is considered the first generation of feminist thinkers.
“KEMBALI20’s aspiration to connect various communities of literature, art, culture and culinary lovers in all corners of the world, ignites the spirit that Bali can rise again,” said Vice Governor of Bali Tjokorda Oka Artha Ardhana Sukawati. “Hopefully the inspirational and uplifting stories shared by KEMBALI20 can be the first steps in making this world a better place.”
