Southeast Asian cinema is the film industry and films produced in, or by natives of Southeast Asia. It includes any films produced in Brunei, Cambodia, East Timor, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. The majority of the films made in this region came from the Philippines, Thailand, and Indonesia where its filmmaking industries in these countries are already well-established with film directors such as Lino Brocka, Apichatpong Weerasethakul, and Joko Anwar are well-known outside of the region. Notable production studios in Southeast Asia include Star Cinema, Viva Films, TBA Studios and Reality Entertainment in the Philippines, GDH 559 and Sahamongkol Film International in Thailand, Rapi Films in Indonesia, Astro Shaw in Malaysia, Encore Films in Singapore, and Studio 68 in Vietnam [1]
Southeast Asian cinema is a sub-section of continental Asian cinema, which in turn comes under the umbrella term of World cinema, a term used in some anglophone countries to describe any foreign language films.
Chen ( ) is a common Chinese-language surname and one of the most common surnames in Asia. It is the most common surname in Taiwan (2010) and Singapore (2000). Chen is also the most common family name in Guangdong, Zhejiang, Fujian, Macau, and Hong Kong. It is the most common surname in Xiamen, the ancestral hometown of many overseas Hoklo.
Despite having a flourishing Chinese and Malay film industry in the 1950s and 1960s, Singapore's film industry declined after independence in 1965. Film production increased in the 1990s, which saw the first locally produced feature-length films. There were a few films that featured Singaporean actors and were set in Singapore, including Saint Jack, They Call Her Cleopatra Wong and Crazy Rich Asians.
The Bangkok International Film Festival (BKKIFF) is an international film festival held annually in Bangkok, Thailand, since 2003. In addition to film screenings, seminars, gala events and the Golden Kinnaree Awards.
Eric Khoo Kim Hai is a Singaporean film director and producer who is often credited for the revival of the Singapore modern film industry.
Pen-ek Ratanaruang is a Thai film director and screenwriter. He is best known for his arthouse work, Last Life in the Universe, and is considered to be one of Thai cinema's leading "new wave" auteurs, alongside Wisit Sasanatieng and Apichatpong Weerasethakul. He goes by the nickname Tom and is sometimes credited as Tom Pannet.
The cinema of Thailand dates back to the early days of filmmaking, when King Chulalongkorn's 1897 visit to Bern, Switzerland was recorded by François-Henri Lavancy-Clarke. The film was then brought to Bangkok, where it was exhibited. This sparked more interest in film by the Thai Royal Family and local businessmen, who brought in filmmaking equipment and started to exhibit foreign films. By the 1920s, a local film industry had started and in the 1930s, the Thai film industry had its first "golden age", with a number of studios producing films.
South Asian cinema refers to the cinema of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. The broader terms Asian cinema, Eastern cinema and Oriental cinema in common usage often encompass South Asia as well as East Asia and Southeast Asia.
The cinema of Vietnam originates in the 1920s and was largely influenced by wars that have been fought in the country from the 1940s to the 1970s.
The World Film Festival of Bangkok is an annual international film festival held in Bangkok, Thailand.
Herlina Christine Natalia Hakim is an Indonesian actress, film producer, and activist. Born to a devout Muslim family of mixed-race background in Jambi, she grew up in Yogyakarta, aspiring to be an architect or psychologist. This changed after she was discovered by Teguh Karya for his 1973 movie Cinta Pertama, a role which garnered her a Citra Award for Best Actress and convinced her to follow a career in acting. Since then, she has starred in numerous films, including 1977's Badai Pasti Berlalu and 1988's Tjoet Nja' Dhien; she also had a minor role in the 2010 Hollywood movie Eat Pray Love. As of 2011, she has won six Citra Awards, received a lifetime achievement award from the Cinemanila International Film Festival, and served as a member of the jury at the Cannes Film Festival.
The cinema of Indonesia refers to films produced domestically in Indonesia. The statutory Indonesian Film Board, or BPI, defines Indonesian films as "movies that are made by or using Indonesian resources whose Intellectual Property Right is owned either entirely or partly by Indonesian citizen or Indonesian legal entity".
Pleasure Factory is a 2007 Singaporean-Thai docudrama film set in Geylang, the red-light district of Singapore. Directed by Ekachai Uekrongtham, the film was selected for the Un Certain Regard competition at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival.
The Cinemanila International Film Festival is an annual film festival held in Manila, Philippines. It was founded by Filipino filmmaker Amable "Tikoy" Aguiluz in 1999. The focus of the festival is on the cinema of the Philippines as well as Southeast Asian cinema.
Do Thi Hai Yen is a Vietnamese actress. She was born in Bac Ninh Province and grew up in Hanoi where she graduated from the Vietnamese Ballet School after seven years of study.
Tjoet Nja' Dhien is a 1988 Indonesian film directed by Eros Djarot and starring Piet Burnama, Christine Hakim, Rudy Wowor, and Slamet Rahardjo. Based on the life's story of female Acehnese guerrilla leader Cut Nyak Dhien, it focuses on the six-year period between her second husband, Teuku Umar's death and her capture by the Dutch colonial army. Tjoet Nja' Dhien was released to critical acclaim, winning 9 Citra Awards, and was screened at the Selection de la Semaine de la Critique in Cannes, 1989. It also became Indonesia's submission to the 62nd Academy Awards for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, but was not nominated.
Slamet Rahardjo Djarot is an Indonesian actor, director, and screenwriter of Javanese-Bantenese descent. He is the elder brother of director, songwriter, and politician, Eros Djarot. Since his directorial debut in 1979 with Rembulan dan Matahari, he has directed and/or written twelve films; one of which, Langitku, Rumahku, was Indonesia's submission to the 63rd Academy Awards in 1991.
The Osaka Asian Film Festival is an annual film festival held in Osaka City, Osaka Prefecture, Japan in March. The festival began in 2005 and currently introduces Asian films.
The Luang Prabang Film Festival (LPFF) is a non-profit organization that provides a platform for showcasing Southeast Asia’s film industry.
Cinema in Laos emerged later than in nearby Vietnam and Cambodia.
The 2nd Hanoi International Film Festival opened on November 25 and closed on November 29, 2012 at Hanoi Friendship Cultural Palace, with the slogan "Asia-Pacific cinema unites and develops".