For almost two decades, new Asiancinema has been making headlines. China, Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Korea have all had their share of the limelight in movie theatres around theglobe. Filmmakers like Chen Kaige, Zhang Yimou, Lee Ang and Wong Kar Wai to name just a few, have been showered with prizes at major international competitions. Yet the cinemas of Southeast Asian countries have so far – and often undeservedly – refused to share the limelight. Most have rich and unique fi lm histories with creative and resourceful individuals who have made impressive artistic contributions to their respective countries' industries.
INDONESIAN CINEMA
Indie Hope
As in most Southeast Asian countries, the first feature made in Indonesia, which was then a Dutch colony, emerged at the end of the silent film era during the 1920s. A folklore tale about a creature endowed with magical powers, The Monkey Kasaroeng (Loetoeng kasaroeng) was made by two Dutch directors, G. Kruger and L. Heuveldorp, in 1926.
MALAYSIAN CINEMA
New Wave Rising The dawn of Malaysian cinema began with the founding of Merdeka studios, which was taken over by Shaw Brothers in 1967 when they relocated their Singapore film studio.
SINGAPORE CINEMA
Revival Story Social changes, urbanisation, television, Hollywood imports, the loss of the Indonesian market and, ultimately, the separation from Malaysia, precipitated the end of the Golden Era of filmmaking in Singapore. The two majors players, Shaw Brothers and Cathay, closed their studios in 1967 and 1972 respectively.
THAI CINEMA
A Taste for Horror The initiation of Thai cinema, one of the oldest in Southeast Asia, is linked to the Thai Royal family. As early as 1897, shortly after the Lumière brothers' travelling Southeast Asian film exhibition visited Thailand, King Chulalongkorn's European visit was recorded on film. The King was accompanied by his brother, Prince Sanbassatra, who brought home filmmaking equipment and started making films, becoming the country's first filmmaker. In 1905, the Japanese Cinematograph, Thailand's first permanent cinema, was opened by Japanese businessmen. Its enormous popularity stimulated the growth of more cinemas and the Thais even adopted the term nang yipun (Japanese film) as the name for "movies" in general.
VIETNAM CINEMA
At the Crossroads From 1975 to 1987, unified Vietnam was averaging 10–15 features and 50 documentaries a year, but after the shift from state-controlled to market economy in 1986, domestic production declined – a consequence of overseas imports and the growth of television and video. There was, however, a silver lining: Vietnamese films were also gaining attention abroad. Receiving top prizes at international film festivals, The Travelling Circus (Ganh xiec rong, 1988), directed by Viet Linh, was a tale about a small troupe of itinerant players who convince naive, starving villagers that they can conjure rice out of nothing. Other internationally lauded films included Sandy Lives (Doi cat, 1999) by Nguyen Thanh Van and Viet Linh's Mê Thao: There Was a Time When (Mê Thao – Thoi vang bong, 2002). In 2003,
Le Hoang's Bar Girls (Gai nhay, 2003),
with its realistic portrait of the sleazy nightlife in Ho Chi Minh City smashed all box-office records.
