Entrants in national TV festival announced
Entrants in national TV festival announced
JAKARTA (JP): A special committee for the Indonesian Sinetron
Festival announced yesterday its selection of television dramas,
comedies, documentaries and short films to be included in the
December awards.
There are 81 entrants from sinetron (television miniseries) --
consisting of 740 episodes -- 26 comedy series, 24 short dramas,
one short comedy and some documentary films produced by 55
production houses, five private TV stations and three government
agencies between l995 and l997.
A spokesman for the committee, Ilham Bintang, said nine
members of the film industry, media and other fields were
involved in the selection process.
The team -- including R.M. Sunarto, Yaya Sutara, Efix Mulyadi,
Sandy Tyas, Wina Armada and Tipuk Nugroho -- worked for two
months to make their choices.
Ilham said the announcement of the selected titles will be
broadcast live on the state-owned TVRI and five other private TV
stations -- RCTI, SCTV, TPI, Indosiar and ANteve -- on Sept. 21.
The entrants will later be judged and the final nominations
announced in November, he said.
The annual festival, held since l993, has become a gala event
for the local film industry to reward its best achievers. The
nominees will compete for Vidya Awards.
The domestic movie industry, which has been on a downhill
slide since the early l990s, has continuously failed to deliver
films that meet the requirements of the prestigious Citra Awards
(local version of the Oscars).
The limited production of high-quality, wide-screen movies and
the uneven distribution between imported and domestic films has
been blamed for the deterioration.
The number of Indonesian wide-screen films produced here
plunged drastically from more than 100 titles annually in the
late 1980s and early 1990s to only 30 last year.
The government and the local movie industry have tried to
revive the sluggish film industry but competition has proved too
stiff in a market which is dominated by Hollywood products.
The production of Fatahillah, screened last June, has yet to
prove whether it can boost the domestic film industry.
With the rapid growth of the local television industry, film
makers have turned their attention and their artistic talents to
TV.
The growth of private TV stations and the corresponding need
to satisfy the appetite of local viewers has contributed to the
boom in miniseries and comedies.
There are such laudable examples as Si Doel Anak Sekolahan (Si
Doel, the graduate), Siti Nurbaya, and the latest miniseries
Bukan Perempuan Biasa (No Ordinary Women) starring Christine
Hakim.
Ilham said: "It is hoped that the festival will encourage the
local film community to improve their acting and the quality of
their products." (raw)