BUTFF presents: Barry Prima Forever! @ Filmhaus WORM Rotterdam
BUTFF presents: Anticolonial IndoTrash @ Chassé Cinema Breda
(Other online-events are coming soon!)
The Indonesian film history has long remained unknown territory for most film lovers. Thanks to film freaks such as Pete Tombs (with his label Mondo Macabro) a lot of beautiful hidden treasures came to light. This is partly due to the DVD releases of his label and the publication of his book Mondo Macabro with the following chapter; Fantasy Films From Indonesia: a short history of Indonesian fantasy and action movies of the 70's and 80's. The chapter has a particular focus on the output of the Rapi Films studio, the makers behind such cinematic classics as Lady Terminator and Mystics in Bali.
Indonesian exploitation films were booming in the 70’s and 80’s. When Suharto came to power because of a military coup in 1965 he was open to trading with the West, in contrast to his predecessor Sukarno. This was good news for film enthusiasts because Indonesia became flooded with foreign films. When the censorship laws became last strict in 1970 all bets were off. Due to tax benefits, the film industry in Indonesia slowly blossomed from 1973 onwards and legislation caused a boost ito the local industry. For every three imported movies, one had to be made in their own country. Thanks to these rules we now have such cinematic treasures as Special Silencers and The Warrior.