Riwayat Wayang Potehi

aimuzaki

A Ritual of Cloth, Memory, and Disappearance

2017 — Semarang, Surabaya, Jombang, Indonesia.

This documentary unveils the hidden history of wayang potehi — a Hokkien Chinese puppet tradition that arrived in Java centuries ago. Beyond cloth and wood, potehi carries a cosmology of loyalty, sacrifice, and divine intervention, born from diaspora and forged through repression.

Director // Writer // Videographer // Editor // Journalist // Music Director

Directing, Writing Storytelling, Filming, Research, Interview, Music Producing, Editing, Mixing & Mastering, Color Grading, Motion Graphic

Client

Kalacemeti Research & Archive — Art & Culture Research & Archivist Foundation – Wonosobo, Central Java, Indonesia

Reference

Elizabeth Priska Putri, S.Tr.I.Kom.

Producer – Official “Riwayat Wayang Potehi” Documentary Movie

Contact: priskaputf@gmail.com

Role

I directed, shot, edited, composed music, and conducted journalistic research for this film. From tracking oral histories to composing audiovisual moods, I was fully embedded in the storytelling process — across narrative, rhythm, and ritual.

Artistic Direction & Style

Inspired by Dziga Vertov’s observational method and Wong Kar Wai’s mood-driven editing, I used long developing shots and vérité-style framing to let the ritual breathe. Cutting was guided by emotional pulse, not technical beats — resulting in a dreamlike, music video-like flow that defies linear reportage.

Core Vibe & Genre

Ethno-cinema meets memory activism.

A film that doesn’t just document tradition — it mourns, honors, and resuscitates it.

Music & Sound

Original score blending Chinese instrumental textures, ambient minimalism, and field recordings. Music served not as background, but as narrative voice — accompanying the ghosts of silence left by history.

Tools & Techniques

Mirrorless camera (manual lensing for cinematic texture)
Handheld + locked-off mix, Zoom H5 audio rig
Adobe Premiere + analog film emulation LUTs
Custom sound design
All crafted for both digital & festival screening formats

“More than cloth and wood, potehi is a small body that carries the weight of forgotten memory. This film is my way of listening to it — and letting it speak again.”

Legenda dari Tanah Brahmana — A Spiritual Documentary from the Mist of Dieng

Kalacemeti Research & Archive