Mama'ku: A Journey from Jakarta to the Moluccas

Mama’ku: A Journey from Jakarta to the Moluccas combines the films Mama’ku and Sudah. On June 6, directors Sven Peetoom and Aldo Agaatsz will be present for a Q&A at Natlab! Mama’ku follows dancer Cheroney Pelupessy and her reticent mother as they navigate the oppressive past marked by migration, domestic violence, and intergenerational trauma during a trip to Indonesia. Sudah tells the story of Senna, a Manadonese woman making her first journey to Indonesia in search of her mother Annie and other family members, hoping to uncover her family history. Sven Peetoom is a filmmaker and founder of There Will Be Film, exploring the silenced colonial past of the Netherlands in Indonesia and its impact on succeeding generations. His debut film, Indisch Zwijgen (2022), sparked a movement. His second, Tussen Wal en Schip (2024), became one of the most successful documentary releases in the Netherlands with 42,000 viewers within five days. Cheroney Pelupessy is a choreographer and dancer who blends modern dance with Indonesian and Moluccan movements, examining how past stories live on in our bodies. Her significant work, KETURUNAN (2022), reflects her family history and the shared heritage of Indonesian and Moluccan communities in the Netherlands.