Indonesia premiers Tim Bui: ‘Prison Team’

Prison Team with coach

By Audra Gustin

One of Jakarta’s biggest cinemas, Blitzmegaplex at Grand Indonesia Mall, was packed tonight for an unlikely premiere: Tim Bui, or literally “Prison Team.”

An off-shoot of SFCG’s immensely popular “The Team,” a multi-episode, dramatic TV and radio series, Tim Bui joins the ranks of seventeen similar series shown across Africa, the Middle East, and Asia. Each one is written by local writers and includes national stars and citizens alike.

But this Team has a twist: it takes place in a fictional prison on the island of Java.

The prisoners that live there are a microcosm of Indonesia – they come from diverse socioeconomic, religious, and ethnic backgrounds. Moreover, they have been accused of a variety of criminal acts, from terrorism to drug trafficking, and have fallen into ethnic prison gangs of Javanese and Batak.

Over the course of the series, through the formation of a football team, Tim Bui explores how entrenched differences can be overcome and conflicts transformed within Indonesian society.

Tim Bui confronts important social issues in contemporary Indonesia, such as intolerance toward minorities, corruption, institutional reform, women’s leadership, de-radicalisation of convicted terrorists, and disengagement with violence.

Starting February 19th, the thirteen episodes will be airing every Sunday at 1.30pm on Metro TV. The series will also feature a number of major Indonesian stars and major rock band Slank, who wrote the theme song Punyai Cinta (‘Got Love’) and music video.

Follow Tim Bui‘s progress through Twitter: @Tim_BUI or #timbui. You can also watch the trailer for the series on our youtube channel.

Audra Gustin, a student of intercultural communication, is finishing her M.A. in International Communication from American University. She is currently an intern with SFCG’s Communications Department in Washington, DC.