Juno, a sensitive boy living in a Javanese village, is abandoned by his father, but finds solidarity in a traditional Lengger dance troupe. The nature of the dance involves men assuming female forms, which sparks a new sense of identity in Juno, to the horror of traditional members of the community.
Beautiful dance sequences merge with a powerful journey towards acceptance of self and the beauty of the body in Nugroho’s film. The release of the film sparked controversy in Indonesia, where the director received death threats when a petition to ban the film was signed by 93,000 people.
Eric Sasono is a Jakarta-based film critic who obtained his doctoral degree in film studies from King's College London. He co-founded the Indonesian Film Society, a London-based community group that hosts screenings and promotes Indonesian culture.
Barbican Cinema has been supported by the Culture Recovery Fund for Independent Cinemas in England which is administered by the BFI, as part of the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport’s £1.57bn Culture Recovery Fund supporting arts and cultural organisations in England affected by the impact of Covid-19. #HereForCulture.