TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Everybody is familiar with Avatar movie.
The James Cameron film apparently featured the sounds of Balinese gamelan. The Los Angeles Times reports: "The gamelan is Balinese... A lot of the percussion for “Avatar” is gamelan-based or sounds gamelan-based. So this has this sort of quality of ringing bells, like Indonesian music. It’s a very pretty fusion of different worlds that gives the place itself a quality that is magical."
Indonesian Ambassador to the Korea Republic, who once served as Consul General of the Republic of Indonesia in Los Angeles, had an innovative idea to produce the film titled “Bali: Beats of Paradise” which has been materialized together with director Livi Zheng.
The film Bali: Beats of Paradise is scheduled for a public screening in the United States in August 2017 to coincide with the celebration of the Indonesian Independence Day. Bali: Beats of Paradise teaser has recently been uploaded to YouTube, garnering thousands of views in a short space of time. See the teaser here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zWtufAlrUaQ
Livi Zheng is the director of gamelan-themed Bali: Beats of Paradise. Zheng is an Indonesian director living in Hollywood who has directed famous stars, including Tony Todd (Candyman, Final Destination), Keith David (Armageddon, Platoon, The Chronicles of Riddick), John Savage (The Godfather Part III, Deer Hunter), and Madeline Zima ( TV series The Nanny and A Cinderella Story).
In Bali: Beats of Paradise, director Livi Zheng features I Wayan Balawan, known for his double neck guitar. The jazz guitarist grew up learning Balinese gamelan and is now famous for his songs that combine Balinese traditional music and jazz without sacrificing their unique characters, Balinese pattern and jazz harmony.
Moreover, the film also features Balinese gamelan professor residing in the United States Bali, I Nyoman Wenten, and his wife Nanik Wenten, who has previously collaborated with pop singer Ricky Martin.
I Nyoman Wenten has performed on numerous occasions in the US and other continents such as Europe, South America and Asia. He also performed in Walt Disney Hall, Los Angeles and Lincoln Center, New York City. I Nyoman Wenten, who was invited to record an album in Capitol Records, Hollywood, has also collaborated and performed in Brazil with Gilberto Gil, a singer, guitarist and songwriter, who was named Brazil culture minister for the 2003-2008 term.
Julia Gouw, a gamelan admirer who is known as one of the US top 25 female bankers, who had served as the President dan CEO of US-based East West Bank, says that "Gamelan plays an important role in US music. Hollywood films use gamelan. Gamelan is also taught in leading campuses in the United States”.
“I’m pleased and proud that Bali: Beats of Paradise will be distributed widely in the US. I hope more people would know and learn Indonesia,” added Julia Gouw, who recently received an award together with Demi Lovatto.
Ambassador Umar Hadi said that "Indonesian should be grateful for being endowed with diverse and rich tradition, arts and culture. Indonesian arts have been integrated into Hollywood films such as in James Cameron’s Avatar that used Balinese gamelan and Livi Zheng’s Brush with Danger which is being distributed widely in the US and globally.” The Ambassador added: “I can hardly wait to for Livi Zheng’s latest film Bali: Beats of Paradise, which will be launched in the near future.”
TEMPO
