Chris C.F's observational documentary "Aluk" follows three generations of a family in Tana Toraja, Indonesia, over seven years as they deal with the loss of their patriarch and the uncertain future of their community. It has been chosen for the JAFF Future Project as a work-in-progress.
This Australia-Indonesia co-production, directed by Chris C.F and produced by Sam Hewison and Wahyu Al Mardhani through the production company Cut By Dog Production, is one of ten Asia-Pacific titles selected for the JAFF Future Project at this year's JAFF Market in Yogyakarta, Indonesia.
The film follows four members of a Tana Toraja family: Ne’ Minda, the grandfather; Ma’ Adel, the mother; Pong Kenny, the uncle; and Marsel, the son.
The film traces Marsel's childhood over seven years, as his grandfather reveals the ancestors' way of life — Aluk To Dolo — which is based on maintaining environmental balance.
Ne’ Minda shows how these practices support the functioning of their close-knit community, one of the last places in Tana Toraja where Aluk To Dolo is still practiced.
The community faces many changes: most people in the region have become Christians, many young people have left for better opportunities on nearby islands, and climate change is already affecting local farming.
The stories of Marsel's mother and uncle show the two paths their generation has taken — staying in the village or leaving — and the sacrifices each path demands.
The film is an immersive look at work, love, and loss, culminating in the death of Ne’ Minda as the family deals with the loss of their patriarch.
For Chris C.F, the project started with research into how people around the world face death.
"My interest in this topic wasn't because I wanted to show or be confronted with shocking images of dead bodies," the director explains. "My fascination with how we deal with death began at the open casket funeral of my grandfather."
The director's grandfather was freed from German concentration camps and fled communist Poland to start a new life in Australia.
"It was the first time I saw the physical reality of death," he says. "In Australia, it's mostly handled by medical professionals, in a clean, industrialized way. That time with his body had a deep and lasting effect on me. Toraja is a place where people spend more time with their loved ones after death and celebrate their lives in a very joyful way."
Chris C.F first visited Toraja in 2017 with producer Sam Hewison and cinematographer John Hewison, meeting Ne’ Minda at a funeral. "
Unlike most people we met in Toraja who had converted to Christianity, he followed Aluk To Dolo," the director says. Ne’ Minda invited them to film a ritual for a new rice barn and they met his daughter Ma’ Adel and her children.
The team returned in 2019 for two months, meeting filmmakers Wahyu Al Mardhani and Tasya Amaliah from Makassar, who became important collaborators.
The pandemic shut down international travel, stopping the project until 2022. The crew came back for two months in 2022, and Chris C.F went alone in 2023 to continue working with Wahyu, staying with Ne’ Minda — which turned out to be their last visit.
Ne’ Minda passed away at the end of 2023.
The family invited the team to attend his funeral in early 2024 and asked them to keep filming. "We feel very lucky to have been part of Ne’ Minda and his family's lives and to have built strong bonds with them over eight years," the director says.
"Aluk" will be both a tribute to Ne’ Minda, who passed away peacefully at the end of 2023, and an in-depth look at his community's dedication to their land and their ancestors.
Chris C.F says, "Aluk" won't focus on the mystical or magical, but instead on the importance of everyday work and interaction, on Toraja symbols and their deep meanings, on its sounds and joyful songs, and on the human relationships that help us survive hardship and loss — it's a film about love.
At the JAFF Market, the team hopes to meet potential collaborators.
"We're really excited to meet Indonesian producers we've admired for a long time, as well as producers and distributors worldwide who might help open new paths for the film," the filmmakers say.
The JAFF Future Project is both a development platform and a co-production hub, helping to move independent films towards completion and distribution.
The initiative runs from November 29 to December 1 at the Jogja Expo Center in Yogyakarta as part of the 20th-anniversary celebration of the Jogja-Netpac Asian Film Festival.
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