Film covers life of famed Indonesian artist Nyoman Wenten and, ultimately, his collaboration with Hill<\/b>
\nAfter 40 years of spreading his home country\u2019s music to the world, Indonesian composer Nyoman Wenten was ready to retire. But one opportunity stopped him from doing just that: He wanted to hit a million views with Judith Hill on Youtube.
\u201cThis journey is so special to me,\u201d Wenten told TheWrap\u2019s Sharon Waxman at a Q&A on Monday following a screening of a documentary on his work \u201cBali: Beats of Paradise,\u201d also Indonesia\u2019s entry into the Oscar foreign film race. Wenten was joined on the Q&A stage by Hill, director Livi Zheng and producer Julia Gouw.
\u201cBali\u201d traces Wenten\u2019s life, who grew up on the small island of Bali, Indonesia, all the way to his music video collaboration with singer-songwriter Hill, who has appeared on \u201cThe Voice,\u201d \u201cMichael Jackson\u2019s This is It\u201d and the Oscar-winning documentary \u201c20 Feet from Stardom.\u201d The thread that connects Wenten\u2019s career from beginning to now is gamelan music.
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Gamelan is a type of ensemble Indonesian music predominately featuring percussion instruments like drums, xylophones and a Balinese form of the glockenspiel. Zheng told the audience at the Landmark Theatre in Los Angeles that through the filmmaking process, she discovered the Bali culture is immersed in music in a way she had never seen before.
\u201cIn Bali, music and culture is a part of their entire life,\u201d she said. \u201cEveryone is an artist in some way.\u201d
And that includes Wenten. But before the well-regarded gamelan performer got word of the project, the idea for the film started churning when Hill connected with Zheng about a possible collaboration with Wenten, who is also a faculty member at the California Institute for the Arts. Hill studied music composition in college and has been fascinated with gamelan music ever since.
\u201cThe gamelan music really connected with me. There was so much mystery and power to it. It was so commanding,\u201d Hill said.
So Zheng, who also recently met Wenten, asked him about possibly working with Hill on a new music project.
\u201cI said, \u2018Are you talking to me?’\u201d Wenten recalled of his disbelief.
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Wenten happily agreed to participate in the project. The decision to film it came after Zheng left a gamelan concert she was hired to film \u2014 mesmerized. She knew if the power of the music can be put to film, the music could resonate to a lot more people.
The entire music video process was two weeks, Zheng said. That included rehearsals to blend gamelan music with the funk music Hill brought in and a one-day shoot in Joshua Tree, California.
The result was \u201cQueen of the Hill,\u201d a video released two months before the film opens, that slowly reached one million views on YouTube for Wenten.
\u201cIn the next few years I\u2019ll retire and return to my village. But after [the film], I might be here for a very long time,\u201d Wenten joked to the audience.
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Producer Gouw said she hopes that, with the film, people can be exposed to the musical culture of the fourth largest nation in the world. A type of music, Hill added, that can bring people together no matter their background.
\u201cIt\u2019s about bringing cultures together through music,\u201d Hill said. \u201cIt\u2019s about overcoming hatred and animosity because music is the universal language that can bring people together.\u201d
\u201cBali: Beats of Paradise\u201d premieres in select theaters on Friday.<\/p>\n

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