AVE MARYAM

The story takes place in 1998, in a nursing facility for nuns. Sister Maryam spends her days taking care of the residents, completely devoted to her chores and to God. However, when Yosef, a handsome and liberal pastor arrives at the facility, all things change. What begins with exchanging flirtatious glances on the sly develops into something more serious as Maryam and Yosef find themselves drawn irresistibly to each other. Finally, the Sister finds herself forced to make a choice between staying true to her vow or abandoning everything for the pursuit of personal happiness. The film was presented at the Hong Kong Asian Film Festival 2018 and the Jogja-Netpac Asian Film Festival 2019.

Ertanto Robby Soediskam (1983, Yakarta, Indonesia), also known as Robby Ertanto, is an independent director graduated from Jakarta Institute of Arts. He has produced several short films and feature films, screened in Indonesia and several international and local film festivals. Nominated for the Asian New Talent Award at the Hong Kong Asian Film Festival, Ertanto Robby Soediskam tackles with “Ave Maryam” a heartbreaking tale of forbidden love with an Indonesian twist, by offering rare insight into its Christian community.