Goong: Sound Through Fire

Sukoharjo in Central Java is one of the few remaining centres of bronze gong forging in Indonesia. Goong: Sound Through Fire follows the creation of a large Sundanese gong (goong) in Sutarno’s forge in Jatiteken, Sukoharjo. The film takes an immersive, multi-sensory approach, featuring the rich, multi-layered soundscape of the forge and the ever-shifting colours and intensities of the fire through the different phases of the craftsmen’s work, guided by the occasional interjections of Sutarno.

This film is part of the shorts collection Crafted Sound: On instrument-making, sonic heritage, and changing musical cultures (94mins), which also includes the films, Mind, Hands, Work by Scott Valois Linford and The Musical Valley: Otavalo Indigenous Musicians at the Crossroads of Transnational Circulations, by Jérémie Voirol.