Peculiar Island is a study of life. People choose to inhabit a space in different, peculiar ways — and through that, much of their interiority can be seen. With a cinematic approach, Peculiar Island leans into distinct stories that call attention to our shared humanity. How do we choose to live? What makes it matter? Our first film, Blueprint 01: Kubu Taru, is a way for us to go deeper into those questions, if not to answer them.

Behind Peculiar Island is a small team of image-makers with a deep appreciation for process, for the why and how behind things being done. Perhaps because of this shared professional and personal sensibility, we are also drawn to other makers who work with their hands, guided by a particular instinct, the materials accessible to them, and the nature around them.

We are Adriel Buntario, Sharon Angelia, and Charlie Balch. After our initial collaboration, a journey to document the nuances of the culture and nature of the island we call home began naturally. Sharon and Adriel, through Sepaham, bring years of experience in image-making and production for local and international clients. Charlie is a cinematographer drawn to light, architecture, and the distinct ways a person glides through a space. We seek to highlight different traditions, both personal and shared, articulating that, despite this period of fast technological change, projects do not need to lose the meaning that made them important in the first place.

Peculiar Island came to be out of this mutual curiosity and fundamental recognition of the magic that is life. For Sharon, photography is a personal pursuit of self-mastery at the same time as being a reservoir of passion. She aims to shape a life that feels comfortable and pleasurable, but also offers her the time and mental capacity to appreciate the beauty that is all around her. Interested in human ways, she feels a magnetic pull towards the strangeness that naturally comes with the human experience.

Adriel sees architecture and cinematography as mirroring forces that complement each other; to him, they draw from the same heart: the manipulation of space, light, time, and human emotion. His goal is to communicate the beauty of architecture in a way that recalls the joy of cinema and of seeing stories told through it.

Charlie is influenced by a past project, Home on Apple TV+, on Realrich Sjarief of RAW Architecture. He sees the shrouded labour that goes into each building. Through that project, he discerned the intent in the little quirks that make each structure different, and became fascinated by the participatory relationship that a structure asks of those around it.

Through these different angles of seeing and feeling, Peculiar Island was made with one dream in mind: to highlight collaborations rooted in trust and respect. Blueprint 01: Kubu Taru, the first of many films in this undertaking, embodies these principles.

Peculiar Island may have begun as a quiet protest, but through this journey, it became something different in itself: a celebration of the peculiar ones who choose to do things differently.

This series is passion-led and personally financed. These are stories that each of us at Peculiar Island feels should be shared. Through this independent project, unbound by commercial needs, our team was gifted the space to create with artistic freedom. For that, the journey itself is spectacular.

To tell the stories and beliefs that fortify thoughtful people, and let them travel through publications that share our interests, is our intent, first and foremost. We are filled with gratitude for the ability to do so.