Salman Aristo

Salman Aristo (born 1976) is an Indonesian screenwriter and film director best known for his work on Ayat-Ayat Cinta, Laskar Pelangi, Garuda di Dadaku, and Sang Penari.Born in Jakarta, Aristo became interested in films from a young age, though he did not consider a career in the industry until after graduating from university. At the suggestion of a friend, he wrote his first screenplay, Tak Pernah Kembali Sama. With feedback on the script from director Rudy Soedjarwo and after a period reading old, successful scripts, Aristo – at the time a film reviewer for a magazine – was able to befriend Hanung Bramantyo, who asked him to write a script about brownies. The resulting film, a critical success, led to Aristo receiving numerous requests for screenplays, including several adaptations of novels. In 2010, he released his directorial debut, Jakarta Maghrib.Aristo, who is married to fellow screenwriter Ginatri S. Noer, is influenced by several Western and Indonesian screenwriters, including Woody Allen, Robert Altman, Richard Linklater, Richard Curtis, Arifin C. Noer, and Asrul Sani. He has been nominated for three Citra Awards for screenwriting, although he has yet to win.

Aristo was born in Jakarta in 1976. As a child, he became interested in film when he and his family went to the movie theatre together; in an interview with Tabloid Nova, he recalled that one of the first films he saw was a comedy starring Warkop. After beginning junior high school in 1988, he began to go to the theatres to watch films on his own. Despite his enjoyment of film, he was initially active in an indie band.After senior high school, Aristo studied journalism at Padjadjaran University in Bandung, from which he graduated in 1999. While in university, he stayed active in the indie music scene with his band Silentium. After graduation he worked in journalism for a while before drifting to filmmaking upon the suggestion of Dedi Rakswaradana, later guitarist for the band Naff. Several months later, after moving back to Jakarta Aristo's first screenplay, a 90-page work titled Tak Pernah Kembali Sama (Never Been the Same Again), was read by director Rudy Soedjarwo. Soedjarwo gave the film several critiques, which drove Aristo to improve his writing.To do so, beginning in 2002 Aristo began regularly going to Usmar Ismail Film Documentation Center in Kuningan, Jakarta, to read screenplays. Among the works he read were several by Asrul Sani, which he found highly useful; he later recalled that the script for Kejarlah Daku Kau Kutangkap (Chase Me, I'll Catch You) was one of the best. In the meantime, he took a job as a film reviewer for a local music magazine, which gave him greater access to the industry.