Yogyakarta, February 13, 2026 – The Faculty of Cultural Sciences at Universitas Gadjah Mada held a screening of When The Water Horse Seeks A New Home at the 7th Floor Auditorium of Soegondo Building on Friday (13/2) at 2:00 p.m. WIB. The event was attended by Cultural Anthropology students of the Faculty and presented a cinematic work that traces the journey of Rohingya refugees through the story of a small object washed ashore on the coast of Aceh.
Written and directed by Andrianus Oetjoe Merdhi, the film is based on the discovery of a small plastic animal figurine left behind on an abandoned boat once used by Rohingya refugees. The vessel was found stranded on a remote beach in Aceh, nearly two thousand kilometers from the figurine’s place of origin. The small object serves as a silent marker of human movement, loss, and resilience amid displacement.
According to its synopsis, the film follows the object’s journey across oceans and borders in search of its owner. This search unfolds the human story behind the experiences of refuge and forced displacement endured by the Rohingya community.
The project was co-produced by Gerhard Hoffstaedter of the University of Brisbane. The production received support from the University of Bielefeld and Volkswagen Stiftung. The screening, attended by Cultural Anthropology students of the Faculty of Cultural Sciences UGM, provided a space for discussion on migration, identity, and collective memory. Through a reflective visual approach, the film invites audiences to understand the human dimension of cross-border displacement.
By focusing on a simple object, the film underscores that every trace left behind holds a story. Revisiting such traces becomes an important step in fostering empathy, broadening perspectives, and sustaining humanitarian values amid ongoing global dynamics.
[Public Relations of FIB UGM, Candra Solihin]
