The introduction of the Simalakama documentary and associated retail brand into the global marketplace comes at an ideal time. In various global economic surveys, Indonesia is one of the leading and often cited top economic performers in East Asia and the Asia-Pacific region. For example, the World Economic Forum’s 2009-2010 Global Competitiveness Report ranks Indonesia 54 out of 133 countries, and it was highlighted for its progress towards becoming an efficiency-driven economy, similar to India. The World Bank and the International Finance Corporation released their Doing Business 2010 report that placed Indonesia 122 out of 183 economies, seven positions higher than in the previous year. In both examples, Indonesia has in the past three to five years made ongoing improvements meant to stimulate investments and opportunities. Meanwhile, tourism to Bunaken National Marine Park (BNMP) has increased in 2009. According to the North Sulawesi Tourism Promotion Board, BNMP receives more than 21,000 domestic visitors and more than 11,000 international guests from 40 countries annually. These visitors are drawn to BNMP for the outstanding diving and other marine related activities, the chance to immerse in an exotic local culture, and the yearly “Sail Bunaken” festivities that commemorate Indonesia’s independence from the Dutch. This annual August event includes Fleet Review from more than 30 navies, as well as an expo and seafood festival. The demonstrated outside interest in the region positions Simalakama to enjoy tremendous commercial success.
Recent years have brought a wave of news concerning Indonesia, including the unfortunate natural disasters that were so well-publicized in the Western media. In the wake of a deadly earthquake, and only 5 years after a Tsunami that killed over 200,000 people in the region, Indonesia represents a society that is in dire need of outside support, and has generated charitable and philanthropic interest. By focusing on the fragile but beautiful environment that surrounds the residents of BNMP, we will be presenting an environment-in-danger story, a story that has time and again enjoyed box office success. The wild popularity of An Inconvenient Truth and the success of lesser known, but very poignant, environmental films such as Hatch, Red Gold and King Corn, demonstrate audience interest in stories about microcosm environmental and cultural struggles not unlike those of BNMP. However, shooting and associated media within Indonesia has been limited primarily to journalism. Since very few projects are currently in production within the country – and even fewer in BNMP itself – now is an ideal time to present the story of a group of communities grappling with the challenges of environmental protection and sustainable development.
