The collaboration between UK filmmaker, Karel Doing, and the Indonesian collective, Lab Laba Laba, brought together artists from the UK and Indonesia to explore more environmentally conscious approaches to experimental film production.
Through workshops, film screenings, and collaborative filmmaking in Bandung and Jakarta, the project examined the possibility of using plant-based materials as alternatives to conventional chemical processes in analogue film.
British Council (BC): How did the project go, and how did the partnership unfold?
Lab Laba Laba (LLL): The collaboration successfully delivered all the activities we initially planned. At the beginning, we realised that one month in Indonesia would be too short to conduct research, run workshops, produce a film, and organise screenings.
However, the project gradually expanded in different directions. During the Indonesia phase, we organised a two-day workshop, two screening events in Bandung and Jakarta, and a book-reading session.
In London, the programme evolved further with an expanded cinema presentation and a film screening as part of a ten-day networking and editing visit.
Despite the tight timeline, the project created meaningful opportunities for exchanging knowledge, working methods, and artistic perspectives between both sides.
BC: What is the main message or new understanding you gained from this project?
LLL: One of the key insights from this collaboration is how transnational exchange can help develop more ecologically mindful approaches to experimental filmmaking.
Analogue filmmaking traditionally relies on photochemical processes that produce toxic waste. Celluloid film must be developed using chemical solutions that can be harmful to the environment.
Oxford-based film artist, Karel Doing, has spent decades researching alternative methods using natural solutions derived from leaves and flower petals to partially replace these chemical processes.
Working with Lab Laba Laba, a collective based in tropical Indonesia, opened the possibility of expanding this methodology using vegetation commonly found in West Java. The collaboration therefore became not only an artistic exchange but also an exploration of more sustainable ways of working with film material.
BC: Were there any changes or obstacles?
LLL: The main challenge was access to production infrastructure. In the digital era, analogue filmmaking is often considered obsolete, which means cameras and related equipment are becoming increasingly difficult to find.
During filming, we encountered a problem with Karel Doing’s camera. The only backup camera available in Bandung came from the film department of Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia (UPI), and its viewfinder was not in very good condition.
Despite this limitation, we were able to complete the shoot successfully.
Another challenge involved visa arrangements. The initial artist visa application was rejected, so Karel eventually entered Indonesia using a visa on arrival, allowing the project to continue as planned.
BC: Share an anecdote or highlight from your journey.
LLL: Karel Doing first visited Indonesia in 2000 and returned again in 2002 to produce and present the film ‘A Journey to Tarakan’. That visit later developed into a series of long-distance collaborations with Indonesian artists until 2005.
Patterned Vegetation marks his first return to Indonesia in 23 years.
During the screenings and workshops, many Indonesian filmmakers and festival programmers attended the events. Several shared reflections on how Karel Doing’s work had influenced the development of experimental film practices in Indonesia.
These encounters created a meaningful moment of reflection, connecting past collaborations with a new generation of filmmakers.
