Creating a Film with Batak Culture Background 'NGERI-NGERI SEDAP', Bene Dion Discusses Concerns with Parents

Kapanlagi.com - Successful with the movie GHOST WRITER which garnered 1.1 million viewers, comedian as well as director and screenwriter Bene Dion released his second film titled NGERI-NGERI SEDAP. Interestingly, the idea for this film has been around for years, precisely when Bene starred in the movie COMIC 8.

At that time, Bene was involved as a cameo in Anggy Umbara's film. Together with Gita Bhebhita, Boris Bokir and Lolox, they were plotted as part of the Batak gang. During the shooting, Bene came up with the idea to make a story with the four of them as the main cast.

"The beginning of making this film story is somewhat anomalous compared to most. So in 2014, my friends and I became cameos in the movie COMIC 8 as The Batak. Then when we were shooting, we joked 'It would be fun if there was a movie where the four of us were the main cast'. That triggered me to make this story," said Bene Dion, met at Epicentrum XXI, Rasuna Said area, South Jakarta, recently.

1. Realizing Bad Acting

As time went by, Bene Dion felt less confident in front of the camera. So he chose Indra Jegel to play the character that should have been his.

"There is a process of self-maturity and awareness that my acting is bad. Finally, the story that has been made is reflected upon and thinking about which character I play will be played by someone else. Then Indra Jegel appeared. So from the beginning, this film story was made for these friends," continued Bene.

2. Personal Anxieties

Bene Dion said that many personal experiences were poured into the story of NGERI-NGERI SEDAP. One of them is the plot about parents who do not allow their child to become a stand-up comedian. Apparently, this is Bene's personal experience that has been dramatized.

"This film tries to present many perspectives of family members. There is my anxiety towards my parents, there is also my parents' anxiety towards me that is poured out. We try not to be preachy but to provide many perspectives. So when watching, parents are not always wrong, children are not always right," he explained.

3. Rejected by Many Production Houses

Dipa Andika, as the producer, said that the script for NGERI-NGERI SEDAP had been written since 2019. This script was offered to many production houses but was rejected because it was considered segmented. Then Angga Dwimas Sasongko came and invited them to collaborate.

"We have offered this film to several production houses. But films with a segmented background are sometimes not easy in Indonesia. Then I met Angga and he said, 'Why not produce it ourselves?'. Then finally we walked on our own with Angga's help," Dipa said.

(kpl/abs/dyn)