In terms of annual production, the Indonesian film industry has made a spectacular recovery over the past 15 years going from near zero production in 1998-2000 to over one hundred films in 2015. As in many countries around the world, Indonesia underwent an indie revival in the early 2000s driven by cheap digital technology, but there was more to the recovery than just new technology. It was sustained by the wholesale rebuilding of a mainstream film industry, with predictable and consistent production values, attracting significant audiences to amortize costs, and becoming a part of popular culture.
The exponential increase in production required a number of fundamental shifts in how production was organized, who was making films, how films were funded, in audience engagement, and in the types of films being made. By conceptualizing these factors under the broader rubric of ‘going mainstream’ this presentation will show how local feature film is now a significant pop culture industry in contemporary Indonesia.
Dr Thomas Barker is Assistant Professor (Film and Television) at the University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus and currently Visiting Scholar at the Department of Theater, Film and Television at UCLA. He is revising his manuscript about Indonesian cinema after 1998 for HKU Press, and has published previously on Indonesian cinema, media, and the creative industries in Malaysia.
Cost : Free and open to the public.
Sponsor(s): Department of Film, Television and Digital Media