35 musical beginners went to compete in a prominent folk-competitions in Europe to preserve and promote angklung, an Indonesian heritage. They must succeed otherwise they will ruin the angklung’s reputation. This film is more than a story about Angklung – which by the way was recognised by UNESCO as world’s intangible cultural heritage in 2010. It is about a journey into the unknown for a large group of young people – their first international travel, chaotic schedules, meeting and touching the hearts of people from different cultures. It’s a journey that none of them will ever forget.
Director’s Statement
Angklung is not just a musical instrument. It is full of noble values, ranging from togetherness, solidarity, mutual respect, harmony, responsibility to unity and diversity. Spreading angklung is not only spreading the music, but also spreading peace, love and the meaning of believe and hard work.
The Journey is a picture of majority of us, ordinary people who dream big things. For many of us, they seem unachievable. However, if you believe in what you’re doing and work really hard to make it a reality, with God’s power, nothing is impossible.
Biography
Maulana M. Syuhada holds a PhD degree in Management Science from Lancaster University, UK. His passion in arts, music, and culture, has led him to engage in many activities that promote Indonesian arts and culture. He co-founded some traditional music groups, such as Angklung Hamburg Orchestra, Sabilulungan, and Lancaster Angklung Orchestra. He is the author of “40 Days in Europe”, a memoir about his experience leading an angklung group in a seemingly “impossible journey” across Europe for 40 days. In 2015, he founded Tim Muhibah Angklung, where he made another four journey to Europe (2016 & 2018), Australia (2018) and USA (2022). His films are built around the story of his orchestra, including “The Journey: Angklung Goes To Europe” (2023), which was his directorial debut.