Emerging from Suspended Animation
Amid the onslaught of Hollywood and the difficulties of funding and censorship, Indonesian cinema is making a comeback. More local works from young filmmakers are being screened, many "instant" films, produced with little cost. The dearth of cinema here in the past decade has produced a gulf between the old and the new. But, is there a happy ending: has a new Indonesian cinema arrived?
May 22, 2001
It's nighttime in Jakarta and the flame on top of the National Monument flickers. Young children, still gasping for breath, have been asked to line up for another 'take'. They gather hurriedly and a lift propels them high into the air. The camera rolls and the actors are ready. Indra Yudhistira, the filmmaker, shouts "action".
He wants to record the main characters gazing at the peak of the monument. But the scene has to be re-shot. The camera has re
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