Withering

Withering follows Bima and Nadia, mostly from inside a parked car at night. Bima has a bouquet he never gets to give. Nadia has finally found the words for something she has been carrying since the day they met. The film keeps cutting back to the bright, easy days in between, so you can feel how far apart they have drifted.

I wanted it to be about kindness that slowly turns into pressure. Bima keeps trying harder, in front of everyone, and Nadia keeps saying thank you because saying no feels cruel. Perunggu’s “33x” runs through all of it, loud in the memories and barely there in the car.

I wrote it with Mpiw, then directed, shot, and edited it myself in Sukabumi. GWM Soultree opened up their space for us and took good care of the whole crew during the shoot. Shot in 4:3.