Garuda Indonesia Colours Magazine March 2014 | Page 105

Explore | Interview

An eventful year for
Manurung, 2013 marked
several significant Sokola
milestones, including
the film’s release.
Drawing from her published memoirs,
the feature film delves into Manurung’s
enlightened interactions with nomadic tribes
residing in Jambi, a remote area in central
Sumatra blanketed by dense rainforest. The
substantially abridged version of the original
storyline is as follows: after earning her
anthropology degree, Manurung, an idealistic
new teacher, is employed by a local NGO to
provide basic education for younger members
of the Orang Rimba, or ‘People of the Rimba
Forest’. The determined young woman goes
on to endure a number of hardships and
a near-death bout of malaria. She faces off
against antagonistic forces – cagey colleagues,
mistrustful tribal elders and armed loggers who
brazenly assert their claim to protected land –
that threaten to violate her newfound bond with
the community she comes to know and love.
Ultimately, Manurung’s resolve to bridge the gap
between the disparate lives of the Orang Terang
(outsiders) and Orang Dalam (insiders) prevails,
spurring the founding of Sokola Rimba with
a number of like-minded colleagues. It’s no
small feat for a Jakarta-born city girl who,
not surprisingly, counts Indiana Jones as
an early role model.
While, in reality, the chain of events isn’t
as succinct as the movie evinces – the nearSisyphean scramble for funding that ensues to
keep the organisation alive escapes emphasis
– for Manurung, the ‘soul’ of the original
narrative shines through nonetheless.
“There are some aspects of the story that have
been dramatised, of course, but I can say that
much of the film is accurate,” she says, citing
her rapport with producer Mira Lesmana and
director Riri Riza. “Although it’s a bit strange
for me to see myself depicted in the movie, I’m
happy with the result and I feel comfortable
with the message that comes through,” she adds.
An eventful year for Manurung, 2013 marked
several significant Sokola milestones, including
the film’s release. Coinciding with the reprint
of her book The Jungle School and the tenth
anniversary of the organisation, Sokola Rimba
the film has been making headway with
mainstream audiences, recently snagging

a Piala Maya Award for Best Film. While
M anurung, who currently divides her time
between Indonesia and Canberra giving lectures
and visiting schools, consciously downplays
the spotlight the film casts on her life and work,
she welcomes the attention it brings to the
communities in question. Global awareness
of their plight, she says, is key to bringing our
worlds a little closer together. “There are many
misunderstandings that exist [between us and
them], but if we maintain the same vision,
we can eventually change that.”
With over 10,000 children and adults currently
benefiting from Sokola’s efforts and potential
plans to expand its operations beyond
Indonesia, the odds don’t look half bad.

Manurung poses inside an
overgrown rubber tree in
KLCC Park, Kuala Lumpur.
Manurung speaks excitedly
about Sokola’s ongoing efforts to
empower indigenous communities
in Indonesia through literacy.

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