The Australian International School closed off the year 2016 with its first-ever AIS Arts Festival, which celebrated students’ creativity in visual arts, media, film and music.
Taking place at one of its campuses in Pejaten on a lovely Thursday afternoon, the event kicked off with an IB film workshop for film and media students. For one hour, students aspiring to be filmmakers got the chance to learn tricks of the trade directly from industry professionals. The director, scriptwriter and producers of the movie Biola untuk Anisa (Violin for Anisa) spoke passionately about the joys and challenges of making a feature movie in Indonesia. The workshop concluded with a screening of the film, which focused on cancer and poverty. English subtitles were provided for students learning Bahasa Indonesia. On the same day, media and film students at AIS also got to present their work. Having spent a year creating movies of various genres either in groups or individually, the students were very eager to demonstrate their achievements. The day also saw the winners’ announcement of the “15 Seconds of Horror” film contest. In between the activities, guests were invited to view the Multicourt Art exhibition. The show displayed a range of inspiring and creative visual artworks by students of Years 7 to 12 and was curated by Ms. Jeanie, one of the schoolteachers. 
As the afternoon unfolded, the festival got even merrier with a music competition entitled The Battle of the Rock Bands, which featured the Pejaten Students Rock Band, Kemang Students Rock Band and even school staff who made up the bands called RV and The Molecules – each making the most of their five minutes of fame. Also performing was a mystery band consisting of former Indonesian rock stars. The event closed with the AIS Music Concert where the staff, students and their families got together to soak in a colourful array of performances by students. All in all, it was a whimsically and beautifully orchestrated lineup of piano recitals, quartet, Year 9 class band, the AIS Orchestra, jazz music and a dance performance by Marina and the CCA Dance Group. In keeping with the holiday spirit, AIS also invited the Kemang Junior and Senior Choirs as well as the South Jakarta Community Choir, who as always, performed brilliantly. www.ais-indonesia.com
