Indonesian documentary films: A sinking Noah's ark
Indonesian documentary films: A sinking Noah's ark
By Antariksawan Jusuf
JAKARTA (JP): When film producer Shanty Harmayn asked for a
definition of a documentary, her students at the Jakarta Art
Institute (IKJ) answered in various ways: films with no story
lines, flora and fauna and even boring films.
Documentaries have often been misunderstood in Indonesia.
Among film producers, documentaries also mean government
propaganda films.
"The driving power of documentaries is the story," Shanty
said. She was speaking during a five-day workshop on the
marketing management of documentary film production which ended
on Dec. 5. The workshop was expected to be the last of its kind
held by the directorate of film and video recording of the now-
defunct information ministry.
Shanty, who holds a master's degree in documentary film and
video production from Stanford, California, is currently working
on a three-episode production entitled Libraries on Fire which
likens the death of an old leader of a tribal society to the
burning of books.
She was also the organizer of the recent Jakarta International
Film Festival which screened several feature-length documentaries
such as The Great Post Way and My America (or Honk if You Love
Buddha).
When talking about mainstream documentaries in Indonesia, the
picture is bleak. The number of Indonesian documentary film
makers remains insignificant compared to the 375 listed
production firms. Documentary production refers to regular names:
Des Alwi, Garin Nugroho, Dhea Sudarman, Mira Lesmana and friends.
An official at the information ministry, in charge of issuing
licenses for production, said there was an average of about 150
annual productions in Indonesia. "Only one or two are produced by
Indonesian firms," the official said.
"It is just like our fish being poached by foreign fishing
fleets," a participant of the workshop said.
The Indonesian film producing firms act as a local partner,
arranging the "dirty work" for foreign firms. The Indonesian
firms seek permits from the information ministry, the forestry
ministry and the Military Intelligent Body (BIA), as well as
renting equipment and organizing transportation.
The director of PT Gemini Satria Film, Dirgonomastu, who has
been involved in documentary film making for more than 20 years,
has organized such productions with several foreign firms, mainly
the BBC's Natural Unit. "On average 20 productions a month,"
Dirgono said, but sadly he does not have the license rights to
such films.
The situation, these days, has worsened. Crippled by the
economic crisis, Indonesian film producers are unable to cope
with the increasing costs of film making. Normally, documentary
films are shot in 16 mm or 35 mm film which is now unaffordable.
A can of 16 mm film for a ten minute shot now costs Rp 900,000
(US$120).
In many ways, Indonesian television stations are to be blamed
for not having an appetite for local documentaries. Not many
documentaries are aired on television, despite the fact that
thousands of stories are waiting to be written and screened in
this vast and diverse country. There are enough stories about
Indonesia's cultures, people, places, religious ceremonies and
flora and fauna to fill Noah's ark many times over.
However, stations argue that Indonesian documentary films do
not attract viewers. As most stations are commercial (state-owned
TVRI is soon set to go that way too), they broadcast programs
which have selling points. The big "Rs" of small screen economies
-- that of rating and revenue -- is a decisive factor in stations
acquiring programs.
Anak Seribu Pulau (ASP, Children of the Archipelago) is a good
example of cooperation between documentary producers and
commercial networks. The 13-episode, half hour series, ASP was
successfully broadcast by five commercial networks. Produced by
Miles production and directed, among others, by Garin Nugroho and
Nan Achnas, the series is about the lives of Indonesian children
across the archipelago.
Other documentaries, such as the traveling documentary Jalan-
Jalan of SCTV, Horison of Indosiar, are mostly produced by in-
house production teams. TPI and ANteve screen several wildlife
documentaries, but all of them are imported.
The other problem is that Indonesian producers mostly rely on
their own distribution channels. It would be much helpful if they
concentrated on the production. The marketing is conducted by
other firms which have extensive networks with television
stations which air documentaries.
Besides local TV networks, Indonesian producers are expected
to create their own unexplored markets such as selling films to
movie theaters, cable TV, VCDs, or home video. Or seeking what
Shanty called "creative financing" by finding related
institutions to provide financial support to produce the films.
She cited an example: the "blockbuster" documentary film My
America (or Honk if You Love Buddha) had more than ten
foundations involved in the financing. The film, with its unique
comedy approach, was a big success both in the United States and
during its screening at the Jakarta International Film Festival.
The overseas markets of the television industry may be the
best alternative. In a developed country like Japan, a 30-minute
documentary can sell for between US$3,000-$7,000. In other
countries, such as India, documentaries sell for higher prices
than children's programs, music and entertainment and sports
programs. The prices (see table below) fluctuate and are
dependent on a number of factors including age, quality and local
content.
At the end of the workshop, the participants -- from
production houses, television stations, State Film Production
(PPFN) and the Communication Technology Center (Pustekom Diknas)
-- agreed to set up a society for documentary films. The group is
expected to help nurture the growth of Indonesian documentary
film productions. Although skeptics, such as the speaker of the
workshop and film director Nan T. Achnas, believe such forums
will only develop a web of red tape for producers.