Pengejar Angin

Pengejar Angin

Pengejar Angin is a 2011 film by Indonesian director Hanung Bramantyo and starring Qausar Harta Yudana, Mathias Muchus, and Lukman Sardi. It tells of a young man's efforts to be able to attend university through becoming an athlete at the 2011 SEA Games. Funded in part by the government of South Sumatra, where the Games were held, the film raised criticism for its use as an advertisement.
A month later, Damar's friend Ferdy, a trainer, comes to Lahat looking for talent to participate in the upcoming Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games). He takes on Dapunta and further trains him. After Dapunta is able to represent his country at the SEA Games in Palembang, his father relents and allows Dapunta to follow his dreams.
The film was funded in part by the government of South Sumatra; the capital of the province, Palembang, was a venue at the 2011 SEA Games with the national capital Jakarta. Although Bramantyo, who generally received funding from the production house behind his films, considered the funding a blessing, he noted that several changes had to be made to the plot, including adding an emphasis on the provincial government's work towards the SEA Games and education and health-care programs. The Governor of South Sumatra, Alex Noerdin, also appeared in several scenes. The film's producer, Ramdhoni Ramadhan, described Pengejar Angin as a pilot project for "raising public awareness" of government programs in the province.
Pengejar Angin premiered at Gandaria City in South Jakarta on 31 October 2012, with a wide release on 3 November. It did poorly in mall-based cinemas in major cities, but was warmly received in smaller cities. In June 2012, Noerdin announced that the government had set aside a portion of its yearly budget for further films promoting the region.
The film received criticism over its government funding and was called "politically biased" and "glaringly commercial" for its promotion of the SEA Games. Bramantyo, commenting after the premiere, noted that he knew he would be suspected of selling out. Lisa Siregar, writing for The Jakarta Globe, wrote that the film "discuss[ed] government health and education services with the conviction of a soap commercial". Panditio Rayendra, writing in the entertainment magazine Tabloid Bintang, found the poster reminiscent of an action or horror movie but the film surprisingly optimistic; he considered Muchus to have stolen the show with his acting.
Pengejar Angin was nominated for three Citra Awards at the 2011 Indonesian Film Festival, winning one; with ? and Tendangan dari Langit, it was one of three films by Bramantyo in competition at the festival. At the 2012 Bandung Film Festival the film received nine nominations, winning two.

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