Sjumandjaja

Sjumandjaja was an Indonesian writer, poet and screenwriter who was one of the pioneers of the Angkatan '45 literary movement. He was born in Batavia (now Jakarta) on 5 August 1933 to a Minangkabau family. His father was a journalist and his mother was a teacher. He studied veterinary medicine at the University of Indonesia, but also developed an interest in literature and theater. He published his first poetry collection, Tiga Menguak Takdir, with Chairil Anwar and Rivai Apin in 1950. He also co-authored the Surat Kepercayaan Gelanggang, a manifesto of the Angkatan '45 writers. He received a scholarship to study drama and cinema in Amsterdam and Los Angeles. He returned to Indonesia and became a lecturer at the University of Indonesia and a founder of the National Theater Academy. He wrote screenplays for several films by Usmar Ismail and Teguh Karya, and won four Citra Awards for best screenplay at the Indonesian Film Festival. He also wrote essays, short stories, novels, and translations. He married Farida Oetoyo, a journalist and activist, and had four children, two of whom followed his footsteps as writers: Aridya Yudhistira Sri Aksana Sjuman and Djenar Maesa Ayu Sjuman. He died of a stroke in Jakarta on 19 July 1985 and was buried at TPU Karet Bivak. He was also the uncle of actor Ismed M. Noor.