Himawan Pratista

Himawan Pratista lahir di Yogyakarta pada 3 Maret 1974. Sejak usia balita sudah mulai menonton film. Mengenyam pendidikan di Jurusan Arsitektur Universitas Atmajaya, namun selama kuliah tetap intens menonton film. Setelah lulus menjadi Sarjana Arsitektur, di sela-sela pekerjaannya ia mulai lebih serius mengamati film dari era klasik hingga kini.

Kiprah Personal

Pertemuannya dengan para dosen senior IKJ (Institut Kesenian Jakarta) yang mengajar di sebuah akademi Film di Yogyakarta merubah jalan hidupnya. Oleh karena pengetahuan serta referensi filmnya yang luas, ia ditarik menjadi dosen film yang mengampu mata kuliah Sejarah Film di Akademi Komunikasi Indonesia, Yogyakarta sejak tahun 2003 – 2019. Di sela-sela mengajar, ia menulis artikel tentang sejarah film dan sutradara berpengaruh hingga ribuan lembar untuk Institut Kesenian Jakarta. Tahun 2004, ia juga mulai mengajar mata kuliah Pengantar Seni Film dan Teori Film hingga tahun 2019. Tahun 2008, ia menulis buku film berjudul Memahami Film, yang memilah seni film menjadi unsur naratif dan sinematik. Buku ini menjadi acuan referensi literatur film bagi SMK hingga Program Studi TV, Film, serta Komunikasi di seluruh Indonesia. Buku ini telah terjual lebih dari 2000 eks sejak dua tahun rilis cetaknya. Ia seringkali juga menjadi pembicara di berbagai diskusi, pelatihan, seminar film, hingga menulis jurnal akademik.  Buku terbarunya, Memahami Film – Edisi Kedua, telah dirilis bulan Juli tahun 2017 dan hingga kini telah memasuki cetakan ketiga. Penulis juga terlibat sebagai editor dan salah satu penulis dalam Buku Kompilasi Buletin Film Montase Vol 1 – 3 serta Buku 30 Film Indonesia Terlaris 2002 – 2018. Baru lalu, tulisannya, “Pengabdi Setan 2: Communion, Sebuah Tribute Horor untuk Horor?” masuk dalam shorlist (15 besar) Kritik Film Terbaik dalam Festival Film Indonesia 2022.

Kiprah Bersama Komunitas Film Montase

Tahun 2006, Himawan bersama rekan-rekannya mendirikan Komunitas Film Montase. Komunitas ini menerbitkan buletin independen yang terbit hingga 27 edisi yang berisi pengetahuan, artikel, informasi, serta ulasan film, baik dalam dan luar negeri. Pada tahun 2016, situs ulasan film montasefilm.com resmi dirilis. Hingga kini, ia telah menulis hingga lebih dari 1000 artikel dan ulasan film di situs tersebut. Dalam perkembangannya pula, sejak tahun 2013, Komunitas Film Montase mulai memproduksi film-film pendek baik fiksi maupun dokumenter indie. Film pendek debutnya, Umbul (fiksi/2013) dan Grabag (dokumenter/2013) mendapat apresiasi sangat baik di berbagai festival film besar di tanah air. Hingga kini, ia selalu terlibat dalam semua produksi film-film Montase Productions, baik sebagai produser, supervisi, penulis naskah, serta editor. Film-film pendek ini sebagian besar berprestasi di berbagai ajang festival film di seluruh nusantara bahkan hingga festival film bertaraf internasional. Beberapa film yang disutradarainya, antara lain: The Last Show, Pagebluk/The Plague (feature), serta The Waste on the Hills. Tahun 2015, Himawan berhasil membawa Komunitas Film Montase menjadi komunitas film terbaik se-Indonesia dalam ajang festival film bergengsi, Apresiasi Film Indonesia (AFI) 2015. Tahun 2021, ia menjadi ketua lembaga non-profit – Perkumpulan Montase Film Independen.

Hingga kini, ia masih tinggal di Yogyakarta, menonton dan mengulas film, serta ikut terlibat dalam produksi film fiksi maupun dokumenter yang diproduksi Montase Productions. Saat ini, selain aktif dalam kegiatan di Komunitas Film Montase, ia mengajar Mata Kuliah Kritik Film di Institut Seni Indonesia (ISI) Yogyakarta.

Himawan Pratista was born in Yogyakarta on March 3, 1974. Since he was a toddler, he has started watching movies. He was educated at the Department of Architecture, Atmajaya University, but he still watched movies intensely during college. After graduating with a bachelor’s degree in architecture, in between his work, he began to observe films from the classical era to the present.

Personal Experience

His meeting with senior lecturers from IKJ (Jakarta Arts Institute) who teach at a film academy in Yogyakarta changed his life. Because of his extensive film knowledge and references, he was hired as a film lecturer in charge of the Film History course at the Indonesian Communication Academy, Yogyakarta, 2003 – 2019. He wrote articles on film history and influential directors in thousands of pages in between teaching. For the Jakarta Institute of the Arts. He also taught Introduction to Film Art and Film Theory from the following year until 2019. In 2008, he wrote a book entitled Understanding Film, which divides film art into narrative and cinematic elements. This book is for film literature for Vocational High Schools to TV, Film, and Communication Study Programs throughout Indonesia. This book has sold more than 2000 copies two years of its release in print. He is often a speaker at various discussions, training, and film seminars and writes academic journals. His latest book, Understanding Film – Second Edition, was released in July 2017 and is now in the third printing. The author is also an editor and one of the writers in the Book Compilation of Bulletin Film Montase Vol 1 – 3 and the Book 30 Best Selling Indonesian Films 2002 – 2018. Recently, his article, “Satan Slave’s 2: Communion, A Horror Tribute to Horror?” was shortlisted (15 top) Best Film Critic at the 2022 Indonesian Film Festival.

Montase Film Community

In 2006, Himawan and his colleagues founded the Montase Film Community. This community publishes independent bulletins that have been published in up to 27 editions containing knowledge, articles, information, and film reviews, both domestically and internationally. In 2016, the film review site montasefilm.com was officially released. He has written over 1000 articles and film reviews on the site. In its development, since 2013, the Montase Film Community has started to produce short films, both fiction and indie documentaries. His debut short films, Umbul (fiction/2013) and Grabag (documentary/2013), received excellent appreciation at various major film festivals. Until now, he has always been involved in all the productions of Montase Productions films as a producer, supervisor, scriptwriter, and editor. Most of these short films have excelled in various film festivals throughout the country and even international film festivals. Among others, some of the films he directed: The Last Show, Pagebluk/The Plague (feature), and The Waste on the Hills. In 2015, Himawan brought the Montase Film Community to the best film community in Indonesia at the prestigious film festival, Apresiasi Film Indonesia (AFI) 2015. In 2021, he became the chairman of a non-profit organization – the Independent Film Montase Association.

Until now, he still lives in Yogyakarta, watching and reviewing films and being involved in producing fiction films and documentaries produced by Montase Productions. Currently, besides being active in the Montase Film Community, he teaches Film Criticism at the Yogyakarta Art Institute (ISI Yogyakarta).