Asian films must delve into local cultures

By Marselli Sumarno

JAKARTA (JP): In conjunction with the 40th Asia Pacific Film Festival in Jakarta, the International Liaison Center for Film and Television School (CILECT) Asia Pacific conference opened on July 22 and will run until July 26.

CILECT was established in Cannes, France, in May 1995. Members of the association, which is divided into regional branches, mainly consist of film and TV schools all over the world. The aim of the association is to promote and foster cooperation among film and TV teaching and research institutions as well as among the teachers and students.

The present CILECT Asia Pacific conference is attended by 51 delegates representing 27 institutions. The host school is the Faculty of Film and Television (FFTV), Jakarta Institute of the Arts.

FFTV is currently the only film and TV school in Southeast Asia. Since its establishment in 1971, FFTV has been closely linked with the film and TV industry in Indonesia. Most of its lecturers are film professionals, while the faculty thus far has produced about 300 graduates.

Over the past nine years, many FFTV graduates have gained Citra awards for various categories at the Indonesian film festivals, including director Garin Nugroho, film editors Norman Benny, Karson Hady, Arturo G. Pradjawisastra, and soundman Hartanto.

At present, Indonesia's film industry is unfortunately facing its bleakest day. Production has plummeted in quantity, while good films are very rare. Interestingly, the television industry is flourishing with the operation of a number of private TV stations. With this in mind, what measures are needed to develop local films in the future?

Discussions during the first CILECT Asia-Pacific conference in Beijing in 1991 focused on cultural policies exercised by the government in each country in light of the inroads of American culture through films. Defending the presence of American films, some then said the public liked only American products because they were good. However, quality is not seen as the only factor, as the system of distribution also has to be taken into account.

The film industry in developed European countries, France in particular, has also lost out to Hollywood products. However, this is certainly not a reason for us in Asia to sit idly, lamenting that there is little chance when even a country with a developed film industry has lost to Hollywood.

Indonesian filmmakers need not dream about emulating Hollywood's film industry with its sophisticated technology. What they need to do is to call on the government to allow them, in this globalization era, to process their works in excellent laboratories abroad and to cut taxes for the importation of the latest film equipment.

Nevertheless, there is no guarantee that they will later be able to compete with Hollywood's products. Hollywood's film technology and its marketing strategy will certainly continue to develop. Therefore, the best measure to adopt is "speaking in an Asian voice".

Nations in Asia vary in culture, race, religion and prosperity. There is a plurality among them. But in most cases, the countries share some dualistic experiences: modern life mixed with traditional beliefs, democracy blended with feudalism and so forth.

As far as films are concerned, this situation can turn out be an advantage as it can be an abundant source of interesting stories. The problem is how to translate them into good movies? The answer could be the capability to delve deep into the culture of where we live. And this must be done with honesty. Is sophisticated technology necessary? I'd rather think it is more urgent to find a good theme rather than having sophisticated technology.

Many Asian films have pushed their way onto the world's stage, thanks to the ability of the makers to delve deep into their own culture. To mention among a few: The Ballad of Narayama (Japan), Salaam Bombay (India), The Wedding Banquet (Taiwan), The Red Shorgum (China) and Farewell my Concubine (China).

The question now is: Can these works -- however wonderful they are -- compete with Hollywood's products? If we bear in mind the fact that the Asia-Pacific population constitutes more than half of the world's population and that some of the countries in the region have become economic giants, we may actually convince ourselves that making Asia the market for Asian films is not just a daydream.

Let us take for an example what happens in our television industry. Today, domestic programs and those from the Asia- Pacific region are more popular than those from Hollywood. For example: wayang stories from India, Japanese cartoons, Hong Kong kung fu films and Mexican soap operas. This proves that Asian TV products can outdo American products.

Thus, with good themes dug out from our own culture, honesty in reflecting them and adequate skills at translating them into pictures, we can in fact beat American products. When good products are available, the remainder of the problem is how to distribute them with good marketing strategy.