Depok-Students of the Media Production study program, Vocational Education Program, Universitas Indonesia (UI), have successfully created a documentary film entitled African Roots: The Hearts of Little Black Sheep and passed the Alumni UI Movie Award Competition (IMAC Film Festival 2025), and has been screened at Taman Ismail Marzuki on February 14, 2025.
This documentary by Piring Kotor Production tells the story of four young people of African-Indonesian descent who share their identities, cultures, and the discrimination they experienced while growing up in Indonesia. The four sources are Christian Jordan Immanuel, Mercy Queen Prince Ufomba, Janet Alo Igboke, and Marylin Nnnenna Igboke.
(Photo: African Roots: The Hearts of Little Black Sheep film poster)
Jordan Gersson Salim, as the film director; Danendro Putra Nuswantoro, as the producer; and Marylin Nnena Igboke, as the Director of Photography, are first semester students and have gained knowledge that greatly supports the film production process. Gersson said, “One of the experiences I gained was the Introduction to Media Production class taught by Raditya Dika. He was really open to my questions about the film and answered my confusion in the process of making the film.”
Furthermore, Gersson revealed that the message of inclusivity and diversity became a new educational platform about African-Indonesian descendants. The idea of the lives of African-Indonesian descendants is very interesting and a shame to miss. In fact, issues about them have not been widely highlighted by Indonesian society.
(Photo: Jordan Gersson Salim, Media Production student and director of the film African Roots: The Hearts of Little Black Sheep)
Marylin, a source who is a Director of Photography, added that she also had an unpleasant experience related to race from her school teacher, “My father, who is Nigerian, was considered to often do habits such as smoking or drinking alcohol because these are things that black people usually do,” said Marylin.
Furthermore, Janet also said that she often received negative views while at school, especially from her classmates. “I was often ostracized because I looked different, both in terms of race and religion. In fact, they also said inappropriate and racist words,” said Janet. Despite facing negative stereotypes about black people, they are still proud of their identity and existence. In fact, these differences are considered a gift.
(Photo: Gersson and team during a film screening at the 2025 IMAC Film Festival)
The documentary film, which was produced for approximately two months, was successfully one of the films curated and screened at the MMTC Film Parade #11. A competition held by the Yogyakarta Multi Media College (MMTC).
As students who focus on the creative industry, Gersson and his team carry out various fairly complex production processes. Starting from researching sources, shooting, to editing that contains interesting storylines from interview materials. UI Vocational continues to strive to be a place for students to be productive in creating various creative works. Through the film African Roots: The Hearts of Little Black Sheep, Gersson and his team hope to get a positive response and make the name of Universitas Indonesia proud at the national level in the field of film.
