Djadoeg Djajakusuma

D. Djajakusuma was a prominent film director and promoter of traditional art forms in Indonesia. He was born in Temanggung, Central Java, Dutch East Indies on 1 August 1918. His father was a government official and his mother was a housewife. He developed an interest in the arts at a young age, especially in theatre and cinema. He studied at a European school and a trade school in Semarang, where he joined a drama club. During the Japanese occupation from 1943 to 1945, he worked as a translator and an actor for the Japanese propaganda agency. After the war, he continued his involvement in theatre and journalism, working for various newspapers and magazines. He also joined the military's educational division and participated in the national revolution against the Dutch colonial rule. In 1951, he was invited by Usmar Ismail, the founder of the National Film Corporation (Perfini), to join the company as a director. He made his directorial debut with Embun (Dew) in 1952, a film that depicted the social problems of rural Java. He went on to direct eleven more films with Perfini, mostly in the genre of drama and comedy, until he left the company in 1964. He was known for his realistic and traditionalist style, as well as his collaboration with prominent actors and actresses such as Bambang Irawan, Rendra Karno, and Chitra Dewi. Some of his notable films include Harimau Tjampa (The Tiger from Tjampa, 1953), Lewat Djam Malam (After the Curfew, 1954), Tiga Dara (Three Maidens, 1956), and Asrama Dara (Girls' Dormitory, 1958). After leaving Perfini, Djajakusuma returned to his passion for traditional theatre, especially wayang (shadow puppetry) and lenong (Betawi folk theatre). He founded several groups and institutions to promote and modernize these art forms, such as Sanggar Adi Luhung, Sanggar Bambu Runcing, and Lembaga Kesenian Jakarta. He also taught cinematography at the Jakarta Academy of Film and Television (Akademi Film dan Televisi Jakarta) and the Jakarta Institute of the Arts (Institut Kesenian Jakarta). He continued to direct films independently, but with less frequency and success. His last film was Ranjang Pengantin (The Nuptial Bed, 1974), a horror film based on a Sundanese legend. Djajakusuma suffered from poor health and high blood pressure for over a decade. He collapsed during a ceremony at the Jakarta Arts Council on 28 October 1987 and died shortly afterwards. He was buried at Karet Bivak Cemetery in Jakarta. He left behind a large collection of film stills from the colonial period, which inspired the film producer Misbach Yusa Biran to establish Sinematek Indonesia, a film archive and museum, in 1975. Djajakusuma is remembered as one of the pioneers of Indonesian cinema and a cultural critic who advocated for the preservation and development of traditional art forms. He received numerous awards and honors for his work, including a lifetime achievement award at the Indonesian Film Festival in 1985.