Ami Priyono passes away after stroke

Prominent movie director Ami Priyono, 61, took his last breath on Wednesday morning after suffering a stroke at his home on Jl. Sindanglaya in Cinere, Sawangan, south of Jakarta.

He is survived by his wife, feminist figure Julia Suryakusuma and son, Aditya Pryawardhana.

Ami most recently received treatment at the Puri Cinere hospital for a number of ailments, including hypertension, diabetes and lung problems.

Julia could not be reached for comment at her home.

A woman who answered the telephone in Julia's home said that she was currently resting.

"What we hope is that Pak Ami's soul now rests in peace. He passed away in his sleep at about 3 a.m. on Wednesday," said the woman who requested anonymity.

Ami was buried at the Poncol graveyard in Cinere on Wednesday afternoon.

The director and former head of the Jakarta Arts Council (DKJ) is most remembered for, among other things, his wide screen movies Cintaku di Kampus Biru (1976, My Love on the Blue Campus), and Jakarta-Jakarta (1977), which won five awards at the Indonesian Film Festival and took the awards for technique, presentation and theme at the Asian Film Festival in Sydney.

After the local film industry plunged into the trouble, Ami turned to television with his successful TV drama Salah Asoehan (Wrong Upbringing).

Born Lembu Amiluhur Priyawardhana in Jakarta, Amy was the only son of Prof. R. Priyono, a minister of education and culture under Sukarno.

He entered the School of Archeology at the University of Indonesia but dropped out prior to graduating, before going on to major in Artistic Arrangement at the Cinematography Academy, Moscow. (ylt)