Local animated film industry still not fully alive

By Gotot Prakosa

JAKARTA (JP): The development of animated films in Indonesia, which is the subject of an exhibition which opened on Saturday, has depended heavily on the television industry.

The first animated film here was made by Pak Ooq, or Dukut Hendayana, who studied at Walt Disney Studios in the 1950s. Upon his return from the United States, Ooq, who worked with the National Film Production Center, made Dul Memilih (Dul Chooses), an animated short used as election propaganda.

Animated films did not develop well. The technique was limited to details for propaganda films, such as the diagrams and for showing aspects -- like a mountain erupting and the creation of plankton -- which were difficult through live-action techniques.

Animation was also used for diagrams of irrigation networks, the population growth graphic and credit titles.

In 1968, state television network TVRI was founded and animated films began taking their first real steps to development. The organizing of the Mini Film Festival by the Jakarta Art Council beginning in the 1970s also led to experimental animated films made by amateurs, including those from the Jakarta Arts Institute and the arts school of the Bandung Institute of Technology.

New experimental films grabbed the awards almost every time the annual contest was held. At the time TVRI also showed commercials, which resulted in the establishment of production houses, including those specializing in animation. PT Anima Indah is among the prominent animation production houses, which has produced animated filmmakers like Dwi Koendoro and Wagiono Sunaryo. The development of commercials in television and movies at the time helped promote animated films (even though only in ads) which were well-received by the public.

The National Film Production Center later produced Si Huma and other animated films on events from national history with a simple animated technique called filmograph, which used big pictures shot with a camera at various angles. The strength of the narration played a great role in the animation.

At the end of 1970s the showing of ads on TVRI became controversial and eventually the government banned it, which effectively killed off animation's development in the country. Many small studios and production houses closed. The Jakarta Arts Council also stopped the Mini Film Festival in the 1980s when the city administration reduced the subsidy to the council.

Only experimental animated films survive today because filmmakers can find a place at international film festivals. Experimental animated films, along with short films made by the School of Film and Television of the Jakarta Arts Institute, are often honored internationally.

The government has put weight on economic development and overlooked cultural development, including film. Today, in the field of feature films, we see the government's siding with business. There is also the glaring foreign monopoly in the distribution of films, which has been blamed for the collapse of the national film industry.

At the beginning of the 1990s, private television stations RCTI, TPI, SCTV, ANTeve and Indosiar hit the air, breathing new life into animated film development through TV show ads. At the same time, there was also fast development in video and computer technology. Television also needed to display graphics on every program, like news, quizzes, game shows, sinetron dramatic series and video clips, to strengthen viewer recognition; all of this was made using animation. It opened up a new job field which required new skills. To meet the demand, a school of animation was opened at the Indonesian Institute of Arts in Yogyakarta and Surakarta.

Indonesia does not lack skilled people in drawing. Japanese filmmakers like Toei hire Indonesians to draw the cartoons and a Korean company opened a studio in Indonesia. Some of the animation, after it is processed into film series like Dora Emon, Candy Candy and Johny Quest, is later imported for screening here.

It is difficult for local animated films to develop because the prices offered by local TV stations do not cover the production costs. The stations prefer to buy foreign films because they are cheaper and viewers are familiar with the characters as the comics are also available here. On the other hand, local products are expensive and that their quality is not as good as foreign ones.

It has led to many production houses going out of business or facing difficulties, and the poaching of employees from other firms.

The emergence of new media like VCDs, CD-Roms and the Internet has created a new market in the local animation industry. A few studios have entered the market with their animated films. One of them is Studio Bening, which has produced eight animated films on VCD, from local folklore Timun Emas to Alibaba & 40 Penyamun (Ali Baba and the 40 Thieves) from 1001 Nights. There are also some video clips using fine animation techniques.

Hopes are high that animation will develop in Indonesia, with more animation schools and studios outside of Jakarta.

In an effort to spur growth, the Association of Indonesian Animated Filmmakers, along with the Directorate General of Culture and institutions including the School of Film and Television of the Jakarta Arts Institute, is organizing National Comics and Animation 2000 at the National Gallery on Jl. Medan Merdeka Timur, Central Jakarta, from Feb. 5 through Feb. 14.

The event will feature an exhibition of comics and animation from a number of animation studios in Jakarta and Bandung, an animated film festival and a seminar on animation, art and future technology. The seminar will be held on Feb. 12 with speakers including animation experts and observers, among them Daniel Harjanto, Jindol, Paquita Wijaya, Arswendo Atmowiloto and Seno Gumira Ajidharma.

-- The writer is a lecturer at the School of Film and Television, Jakarta Arts Institute.