Lecture Performance by Lisabona Rahman
THE ISLAND OF BURU, Fritz Schadt, Soemardjono, Indonesia ca. 1973–76, digital file, OV, 28 min
INDONESIEN TANZT, Kotot Sukardi, Indonesia 1958, digital file, OV, 28 min
Sep 7, 2021 18:00 Arsenal Cinema, free admission

This event highlights two titles from a collection of films discovered in a Berlin antique shop in 2019. Produced in Indonesia between the late 1950s and the early 1990s, the films range from government public relations projects to documentation of Indonesian diplomatic corps activities in Germany. The films selected for this presentation represent different eras in Indonesian political history: THE ISLAND OF BURU is a propaganda piece by the military regime justifying Indonesia’s penal colony for communist political prisoners, while INDONESIEN TANZT compiles short dance films, an effort to introduce Indonesian arts abroad by the first regime of the newly independent nation. Each screening will be preceded by readings of texts written by individuals in or related to the film.