Meet Deaniera Wibisono | Screenwriter

We had the good fortune of connecting with Deaniera Wibisono and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Deaniera, what inspires you?
My Dad. He’s a businessman back in Indonesia who started out with basically nothing and worked his way to running his own company and a massive network. I owe a lot of my entrepreneur qualities to him, and there’s a surprising amount of that that’s necessary even as a screenwriter in this industry. One could call it a certain air of paranoia, constantly looking out if someone’s out to get you, but capitalism is kind to no one. You have to stick up for your vision.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I remember staying with my grandpa on an island and chasing chickens he raised. At first, I was scared. Opa’s skin was lighter than mine and his eyes were blue, but grandma said Opa came during the Dutch colonization and stayed because he fell in love. I only met him a few more times after that, yet I noticed that he spoke our language. I asked my grandfather how he knew this; he was supposed to speak Dutch, not Bahasa. I remember visiting my dad’s colleague. Om Wayan dressed strangely. He wore a skirt, a flower behind his ear, and three grains of rice on his forehead. I wanted to play with the leaves he kept in his car, but he told me they were an offering to the gods and to respect his beliefs. Om Wayan described Indian Hinduism and his path to Moksha. I asked him how he knew this; he lives in Bali, not India. I remember being surrounded by water. My dad told me a story about the Bajau people of the Sulu Sea, a community of sea gypsies who don’t know their age and cannot read or write. Their concern is the ocean. They live in the present. The water is where they belong and their purpose to live. He said they understand something we don’t —a secret they share with the sea. I asked my dad how he knew this; he is Jawa, not Bajau. I remember questioning my “Chindo” heritage. My friends called themselves “Chindo” but they couldn’t speak Chinese or Indonesian. They go to ballrooms for Sweet Seventeens; to Singapore for weekends; and to mansions they called home. It’s an imitation of Western culture. I wanted to know what they thought of their future, they answer that they would run their parent’s business. I asked them how they knew this; their parents earned that place, they didn’t. I remember flying out due to protests around the city. My little sister asked why people fought if we were all Indonesian. Our country is young, we are a seventeen thousand cultures dispersed into islands, and we are still learning how to live together. We shouldn’t be fooled by social constructs. Indonesia has adapted so many cultures and combinations that there is no way to define it. That’s the privilege in calling seventeen thousand islands home, we refuse categorization. I remember all of this and much more. These are the stories I have to tell, they haven’t been told yet and it won’t be easy– but I’m set on it.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I’m a sucker for lowkey cinemas. I’d just take them on a tour of all of those: the New Beverly, Braindead, Alamo Drafthouse, Vidiots, Los Feliz, etc. And in between films we’d hit some local spots I’ve managed to sneak my way into: El Buen Gusto for Salvadorian food, Mama Lu’s for dumplings, La Rose Cafe has fantastic ube halaya, Myoung In for more dumpling, Soban because I’m an avid Bong Joon Ho fan. I’d drag them to Skylight or Reparations Club to browse books. And drinks at Lily’s Bar or The Wellesbourne. Honestly, there is no set schedule, when I’m not writing, I operate on vibes.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Janet Grillo! My advanced screenwriting instructor from NYU, she really believed in the stories I wanted to tell even though I was nervous about sharing my culture. Ola Shokunbi who is a massive talent in entertainment, he kind enough to make the industry a whole less scary to me. And two filmmakers from back home who had no business keeping in touch with me, yet talked to me as a peer: Garin Nugroho and Timo Tjahjanto.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/deanierawibisono/

Image Credits
Pablo Guillen.