An unprecedented view from within the Presidential Palace in Jakarta as President Abdurrahman Wahid takes on the power of the military in a tactical battle over who will run Indonesia.

Award winning filmmaker, Curtis Levy, lived at the President's palace for four months to make this intimate portrayal of his life. Abdurrahman Wahid, known as Gus Dur, is virtually blind and has had two strokes. He is in a sense a renaissance man who loves listening to Beethoven and Janis Joplin. Before he lost his sight, Gus Dur was a big fan of movies such as High Noon and the films of Francois Truffaut.

The filming took place at a time when Wahid was locked in a do-or-die struggle with General Wiranto. The General had been the strongman for the former dictator, Soeharto, and was in charge of the Indonesian army during the sacking of East Timor after the referendum. During the course of the film, President Wahid outmanoeuvres Wiranto in much the same way as a master chess player outwits his opponent.

Before becoming President, Wahid was head of the largest Islamic organisation in the world, Nahdlatul Ulama, with 34 million followers. Levy first filmed with Wahid more than 10 years ago when he was a thorn in the side of former President Suharto, campaigning for democratic reform. Levy remained friends with Wahid over the years and when Wahid became President, he invited him to come to Jakarta to make a film.

Levy joined the President every day at 4.30 for his morning walk of several laps around the palace, then accompanied him on a hectic round of engagements, filming meetings with world leaders such as Xanana Gusmao and Kofi Anan. During the crisis with General Wiranto, Levy accompanied Wahid on a journey through 13 countries in 16 days to whip up international support. It was while they were on this trip that Wahid decided to sack General Wiranto.

Produced by: Curtis Levy and Christine Olsen
Directed by: Curtis Levy

свернуть