We speak to award-winning film-maker Mouly Surya about film in her home country, the future of the creative arts and why hard work is more important than talent
We are witnessing a dazzling new Golden Age of cinema—but it’s not happening in Hollywood, Bollywood or even Nollywood. With a population of 260 million, Indonesia is fast becoming one of Asia’s biggest film markets.
International and local films are taking in huge revenues. Avengers: Infinity War grossed more than US$25m earlier this year and The Nun opened on US$7m. Domestic production is also booming. Falcon Pictures’ romantic drama Dilan 1990 grossed an estimated US$16.6m, while Joko Anwar’s horror Satan’s Slaves, co-produced by Rapi Films and South Korea’s CJ E&M, took around US$11m.
However, there are still also only 1,600 screens in Indonesia, or just 0.4 screens per 100,000 people. That compares with 14 screens per 100,000 people in the US and 1.8 in China. As a result, only 13 percent of Indonesians have cinemas in their neighbourhood, meaning it is much more difficult for them to watch a new release than for almost any other nation in Asia.
But not for much longer. Investors are flooding in to capitalise on this potential and building cinemas around the country. For the first time since its heyday in the 1980s, Indonesia is turning into a film-making hub in its own right. This is largely down to government support. Determined to grow Indonesia's film industry, President Joko Widodo's government has relaxed restrictions on international investment in cinemas and in local films.
As a result, the Cinemaxx brand, which currently has 45 locations with 226 screens, is aiming to quadruple that number to 1,000 screens within five years. Last month, Mexican exhibition giant Cinepolis announced it had acquired a minority stake in Cinemaxx, which should help it with this ambitious project.
Along with government aid, the rising wealth in the country is a factor. Average monthly wages rose about 3 percent to US$200 last year, while inflation and joblessness are near the lowest levels in decades. Indonesians with spare cash are flocking to malls —and they expect to see a shiny new cinema inside.
“There have been huge changes in Indonesian society and therefore in film recently,” says Clairice Halim, Gen.T's Indonesia editor. “The open franchise system allows for more cross-country and cross-culture influence in the local movie world, thanks to the government lifting the ban on foreign investment four years ago. Since then, new players who are willing to spend money on better quality films have joined in. The rise of technology and social media also allows Indonesia's millennial generation to learn and to emulate global forces in the movie industry, making them more willing to support and to contribute to the local industry."
