Inaugural ABU SONIC radio drama festival a success

The inaugural ABU SONIC Radio Drama Festival, hosted by RRI Indonesia, has been declared a success.

Some 40 ABU members and guests from throughout the Asia-Pacific gathered in Yogyakarta for three days from 27-29 November at the event hosted by Radio Republik Indonesia (RRI).

In his opening remarks, RRI Supervisory Board Chairman Mr Mistam welcomed everyone to Yogyakarta, “famous as a city of Arts and Culture”.

He spoke in praise of difference that can “create beautiful harmony, especially in drama as the festival celebrates work which links the two worlds of live theatre and radio drama.

“Admitted or not, the difference that has already coloured our activity is what actually unites us,” he said. “Let’s see the orchestra’s music performance as an example. The harmony they create is not from uniformity but it’s the result of the different musical instruments, different voices, different parts, different action, different sounds. They are able to arrange all differences to become a wonderful harmonization for life.”

He said this difference had become one of RRI’s mission and he believed that the presence of radio drama practitioners from different parts of the world in Yogyakarta would help build a better world.

The festival was in two parts – the radio drama contest and masterclasses and workshops.

The contest had more than 40 entries for the inaugural five categories: Long Form Drama, Mini Drama, Radio-Based Multimedia Drama, Radio Drama Youth Award and Docudrama.

A panel of radio professionals from Australia, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Romania and the United Kingdom judged the shortlisted entries for each category, together with their producers and others involved. Those producers of shortlisted entries who attended the festival had the chance to present the project to juries.

The contest was followed by masterclass on youth radio drama making, workshops on multiplatform storytelling and a study tour of a radio drama studio of RRI Yogyakarta.

ABU Head of Radio Ms Olya Booyar said: “The inaugural ABU SONIC proved a great success. The Festival showcased the Asia-Pacific’s rich story-telling tradition through radio drama in its many forms and ensured this important craft grows from strength to strength.”