UPI Film and Television Alumna Receives Award at IPSMF 2025 for “Guriang”
Bandung, 13 November 2025 - Guriang, a photographic artwork created by Anisah Rizki Fadika, alumna of the 2020 cohort of the Film and Television Study Program (FTV), Faculty of Art and Design Education, Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia (FPSD UPI), has earned the Favorite Winner of the General Photography Category at the International Photography and Short Movie Festival (IPSMF) 2025, held on Wednesday (12/11/2025).
(Source: FPSD Press, 2025).
This achievement further reinforces Anisah’s emerging career as a moving image artist, following her continued exploration of experimental works in both photography and film.
IPSMF 2025 Highlights the Theme “Nature’s Whisper”
IPSMF is an international film and photography festival organized annually by the Faculty of Communication and Social Sciences, Telkom University. In its tenth edition, IPSMF adopted the theme “Nature’s Whisper: Warning Signs of a Changing World”, a global call to heed nature’s subtle warnings amid escalating environmental change.
(Source: FPSD Press, 2025).
The theme inspired creators from various countries to produce works that are not only aesthetically compelling but also deliver a strong ecological message. This aligns with Anisah’s artistic trajectory, which merges local mythology with environmental preservation narratives.
“Guriang”: A Reinterpretation of Myth as an Ecological Reminder
In Guriang, Anisah revitalizes a mythopoetic figure she interprets as the Spirit of Nature of Mount Tangkuban Parahu. The character emerges from her reinterpretation of the Sangkuriang legend, which she reframes as a guardian of ecological balance in the Sundanese highlands.
(Source: FPSD Press, 2025).
The embodiment of Guriang is constructed using materials intimately connected to nature:
A paper mask textured like tree bark,
And a costume of threads and naturally wilted leaves,
symbolizing the sacred coexistence between humans and the natural world. Its presence becomes a visual metaphor for the human–environment relationship and the eternal cycle of death and regeneration.
Anisah explains that myths in the past often served as society’s mechanism for instilling reverence toward nature. Through the visual representation of Guriang, she aims to restore the myth’s ecological function within a contemporary context.
Part of a Larger Final Project
The Guriang photograph is one of the outputs of Anisah’s final project in the Film and Television Study Program. Alongside the photographic work, she also produced an experimental film titled Guriang Gunung, which serves as the main component of her capstone project.
The award at IPSMF 2025 marks a significant milestone in the early stages of her professional career as a moving image artist and opens new opportunities for her future works to reach a broader audience.
Kontributor FPSD PRESS: Muhammad Mikhail Zidane
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