Memories of My Body

Indonesian film artist, Garin Nugroho’s new film, set on the exotic island of Java, is bustling with love, sensuality, dance and violence.
Juno was just a kid when his father abandoned him. Left on his own, he joins a traditional dance school where men not only take up dancing, but also style their own feminine appearance and learn how to adopt sensual, feminine moves. The bubble in which Juno is raised clashes with Indonesia’s violent, social and political environment. The dancer’s own personal body becomes a battlefield in the face of a complicated, conservative reality.
Memories of my Body is a work celebrating the folklore and cultural wealth of a complex country with a trauma-heavy history; all of which are hidden in the body of Juno, the film’s protagonist. An extraordinary, riveting cinematic piece chronicling the identity formation and coming-of-age journey of a boy from society’s periphery all the way through to adulthood.