The documentary film The Diaspora and the State: Legacy of the Chinese in Bandung, directed by Javier Maverick Tristan in collaboration with Jalis Panca Bakti, Dimas Ananda Satria, Keean Razaqa Bintang, and Faraz Rabbani Rayyan—all students in the English Literature Program at the Faculty of Cultural Sciences, Padjadjaran University (FIB Unpad)—has been selected for Djourno Fest. This film, which began as a final project for the Advanced Studies in Literature (ASL) course, was developed from research conducted as part of the Student Creativity Program (PKM) and later realized as a documentary based on field research. Exploring the legacy of the Chinese community in Bandung, the film examines how colonial heritage continues to shape the social landscape and collective memory of the community to this day.
Picture from: Instagram Djourno Fest
Throughout the development process, Javier was assisted by faculty members from the English Literature Program at the Faculty of Cultural Sciences, Padjadjaran University (Unpad): Ari Jogaiswara Adipurwawidjana, Lestari Manggong, and Randy Ridwansyah. Together with his team, Javier interviewed a number of sources, including the director of the Indonesian Chinese Museum in Bandung, local business owners, and independent researchers of Chinese history. From this series of interviews, they discovered that the colonial-era urban layout still influences the social spaces of Bandung. One example of this is the Chinese community’s residential area, which has developed along the railroad tracks since the colonial era as a buffer zone between the European quarter and the indigenous settlements.
The film also highlights the collective memory of the Chinese community in Bandung, which is not entirely centered on the events of 1998. Based on interview findings, Javier discovered that some members of the community actually recall more instances of discrimination that occurred during the 1960s through the early 1970s. These findings suggest that local history is often overlooked, even though it holds experiences that continue to shape people’s lives.
The film The Diaspora and the State: Legacy of the Chinese in Bandung is scheduled to screen at Djourno Fest on July 25, 2026, at the Center for Japanese Language Studies, University of Indonesia (UI). For Javier, this achievement is not merely about being selected for a festival, but also about creating a space to share experiences, identities, and history that have rarely been explored through the medium of film. He hopes the film will encourage people to view history from a more diverse range of perspectives and to recognize that every community’s experiences have a story worth hearing.
This film demonstrates how academic research can be translated into creative works that address issues of history, identity, and diversity, in line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)—specifically SDG 4 (Quality Education) through research-based learning, and SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities) through fostering a better understanding of diversity and the experiences of minority groups.
