Is a national film industry revival possible or just a dream?
Is a national film industry revival possible or just a dream?
By Gotot Prakosa
JAKARTA (JP): George Kamarullah organized a discussion
entitled Revival of the Indonesian Film Industry on Nov. 16 at
Cipta III Gallery in Taman Ismail Marzuki arts center. George is
an active filmmaker and is a cameramen and film editor by
profession.
George believed that it might be possible to bring about a
revival by bringing together representatives of various
organizations active in the national film industry.
He suggested that they sit down together with representatives
of the ministries of information, home affairs, trade, education,
and arts and culture for rational discussions on the national
film industry.
It was hoped that the ensuing debate would result in the
emergence of a common vision for the national film industry which
would form a platform from which to launch an attempt to change
the way films are viewed, namely from crafts to industrial
products.
George said that to strengthen the national film industry it
would not be enough to meet the challenge armed with only one
point of view, for example viewing films as mere commodities.
He also said that there was a dearth of skilled personnel in
the Indonesian film making world.
He pointed out that education institutes catering to students
aspiring to a career in film making do not produce enough skilled
personnel. The Jakarta Institute of Arts (IKJ) Film School turns
out only 20 graduates every year, not much for a country of 200
million people.
Furthermore, only a small proportion of these graduates
dedicate themselves to films, with the majority going on to
careers in television production. The same can be said of film
courses run by the Citra Foundation.
George said the country will need to wait until at least 2010
before it will be possible to treat film making as an industrial
activity.
But to get to that point, film makers must begin promoting the
idea immediately. He suggested introducing studies of the film
industry in the elementary school curriculum, just like drawing
and literature. At least then, George maintained, a knowledge of
films would be instilled at a very early stage.
This way, when someone decides to study films at university
level, he or she will not have to start from scratch. Another
advantage would be laymen's improved appreciation of films,
something which George said would help the public to tell the
good films from the bad ones.
The Indonesian film industry had its heyday during the 1970s
and the 1980s. During this period, an average of over 130 titles
were produced every year. Unfortunately, film production has been
in steady decline since 1990.
In 1990, 115 titles were produced and in 1991 this number fell
to 57. In 1992, 1994 and 1995 37, 24 and 16 titles were produced
respectively. In 1996, production rose slightly to 29 titles, but
this fell again to 27 titles in 1997.
Many theories have been forwarded to explain this sharp
decline. It has been attributed to causes as varied as monopoly
rights in the distribution sector -- held by Sineplex 21, a
company owned by the Subentra group -- and Indonesia's entry to
the Motion Picture Export Association of America.
The association controls the distribution of all American
films in Indonesia. Another reason for the sharp drop is the
growth in television film production. You don't have to pay and
you can watch the films from the comfort of your own home.
On the domestic front, many government polices favor film
distributors ahead of film makers.
In any case, that was all before the economic crisis hit the
country in July 1997.
It is undeniable that efforts have been made to promote the
Indonesian film industry. In 1974, while minister of information,
Mashuri introduced a levy on imported films. The levy was set at
Rp 3 million on each film imported and the money was to be paid
into a fund which would later be used to promote Indonesian
films.
Collection of the levy was entrusted to the National Film
Council (DFN). When the council became the National Film Advisory
Board in 1992, the government took charge of collecting the
levies, leaving the board to advise the minister of information
on film matters.
Members of the board are all presidential appointees. The
board's chairman, Djohan Tjasmadi, once went on the record to
deny that he was guilty of misuse of the funds raised through the
levy on film imports. Over Rp 200 billion was collected through
the levy, of which only Rp 3 billion remains.
The disappearance of money in the fund became of such concern
that the matter was raised by the Committee for Concern Over
National Films. It was alleged that Ministry of Information had
embezzled some of the money while most of the remainder had been
spend on projects completely unrelated to the national film
industry.
Dewabrata, who is a former director general of radio,
television and films in the ministry, said the funds were spent
on organizing annual Indonesian Film Festivals up to 1990 and on
subsidizing the production of good films.
It was hoped these films would do well at international film
festivals and thereby promote Indonesian culture. Films
subsidized using money from the fund include Titian Serambut
Dibelah Tujuh by Chairul Umam, Perawan di Sarang Penyamun by
Asrul Sani, Daun Di Atas Bantal by Garin Nugroho, Telegram by
Slamet Rahardjo and Sri by Marselli Sumarno.
Part of the money was spent on sending Indonesian delegations
to foreign film festivals, Dewabrata said.
Mualim Suketi said he regretted that use of the huge fund had
not been transparently accounted for.
The film maker also said that subsidies were only given to a
select group of people consisting largely of established industry
names. Only Garin and Slamet used the subsidies to produce
innovation pieces of work, he said, adding that it would have
been better to use the money to help young up-and-coming films
makers such as IKJ graduates, some of whom have won awards in
international festivals for their work.
At the discussion, it turned out that George's views on the
matter were not universally popular because he believes that
efforts to revive the national film industry should be
spearheaded by the government.
Five days earlier on Nov. 11, Rosihan Anwar, Abdi Surya Adhi
and the chairman of the Indonesian Association of Film Producers
met President Habibie. They told him about the present condition
of the national film industry and asked for government financial
assistance.
Many participants in the discussion disagreed with George's
view and said that the desired revival should not be made to rely
upon government assistance.
Although nobody disputes the fact that the national film
industry is in the doldrums, factions within the industry differ
widely on the best way to bring about a revival. To them I say:
All ways are possible. The most important thing is action.
(The writer is a filmmaker and a lecturer at FFTV, IKJ)