Journey to the end of oblivion (2011)

Language consultant, assistant & sound man to 'Journey to the End of Oblivion (working title), Production Vilbrekprod, La Chaux-de Fonds (CH), October 2011

46-year-old Marthin, the son of a Dutch mother and an Indonesian father, Selfianus Djelau, is in search of his Indonesian roots from which he has been severed since the age of five. His desire is to reclaim this name and this multiraciality inherited from a father he never knew and whose personal history is intimately linked to the history of his country.

Selfianus Djelau and his friend Mozes Mangar arrived in the Netherlands in 1951 along with some 12,500 Indonesians, Moluccan soldiers of the Dutch colonial army and their families. Selfianus and Mozes, both hailing from the Aru Isles, were officially expatriated "on a temporary basis" and obliged, as were their companions-in-arms, to leave the Moluccan archipelago after the decolonisation and the unification of Indonesia.

Today, Marthin accompanies 80 year-old Mozes, sole survivor of the 36 Arunese soldiers, who is starting on a last journey to his native village. Marthin will be slowly immersing himself in a world forgotten by time and will discover an extensive Arunese family who welcomes him as a hero.

Images above: Marthin Djelau and family, Aru, The Moluccan Islands, Indonesia

The reconstruction of Marthin's identity, and Mozes' farewell to his family takes us on a journey between two countries, the land of exile and the land of the heart.

Details

• 'Journey to the End of Oblivion' - working title/unfinished
• Vilbrekprod, La Chaux-de Fonds (CH), October 2011
• www.vilbrekprod.com
• www.youtube.com