Sugiharti Halim (2008): A Cinematic Portrayal of Chinese Indonesian's Ambiguous Identity

Sugiharti Halim (2008) provides a cinematic insight into the lives of Chinese Indonesians whose identities are perpetually labeled as liyan (other) in the eyes of the inlanders (pribumi). It narrates the story of Sugiharti Halim, a Chinese Indonesian girl, who struggles with her Indonesian sounding name which, instead of successfully assimilating her Chinese identity, makes her even more Chinese than before. This study aims to investigate the cinematic portrayal of Chinese Indonesian’s ambiguous identity as experienced by the female protagonist. The writer employs close textual analysis of the indie film and approaches the issue by the reading of cinematic codes (mise en scene) and the theoretical perspective of name giving developed by Watzlawik in 2016. The conflict highlited in this “indie” criticizes the position of Chinese filmmaker for being pigeoholed on the ground of their ethnicity as portrayed in most commercial films which put Chinese more as a marginalized group. Therefore, the study reveals that films have become a new means of politicizing the interest of certain ethnic group which somehow puts the Chinese Indonesians in their most vulnerable position. The study also concludes that independent films help the young Chinese filmmakers to reconnect with their Chinese heritage as they begin to pick up bits of their Chineseness which were previously miscontrued by the inherited ideals of the New Order regime.

‘Art-horror’ and ‘hardcore art-horror’ at the margins: Experimentation and extremity in contemporary independent horror

The changing forms of contemporary horror have been the subject of much discussion, both in popular journalism and scholarship. Amid an on-going discussion on the arrival and characteristics of what has been contentiously termed ‘post-horror’, this article seeks to situate recent independent American horror within the context of the recent art film, in keeping with the work of Geoff King, as well as the traditions of ‘art-horror’ as it has been referred to by Joan Hawkins. Using a series of examples taken from recent independent horror – including A Ghost Story (David Lowery 2017) and The Lighthouse (Robert Eggers 2019), as well as the micro-budget independent films of Phil Stevens – Falvey makes use of King’s work to explore the textual characteristics of recent ‘art-horror’. Falvey argues that films iterative of this mode employ experimentation and extremity (in various forms) to discursively position the films away from more generically recognizable studio horror films in a bid for critical distinction.

At Home in the World: Co-productions and Indian Alternative Cinema

Several Indian filmmakers and production houses making ‘alternative’ and ‘independent films’ have sought to develop co-production deals with European film funds, international film festivals, film markets and sales agents. Their bid is to build a profile with art house and ‘specialty cinema’ audiences in Europe, Asia and the USA, while also seeking to impact the Indian domestic market. This article analyses the assembling of such productions, and their aesthetic form, including a reflection on charges that their adaptation to international distribution requires a conformity to what is acceptable and intelligible to ‘international audiences’. It also explores how alternative films oriented to international art cinema affect the understanding of what constitutes ‘national cinemas’. The article explores these themes through two films, Qissa (2013) and The Lunchbox (2012).

On Virtuality and the Diasporic Imagination

This report covers the 10th edition of BlackStar Film Festival (BSFF), which took place virtually and in person over a week in early August 2021. The independent festival features work by Black, Brown and Indigenous makers, and aims to reach a wide audience whose identities and experiences are reflected in the films. Johnson considers the multifaceted symbolism of the Black Star as it is realized in the curatorial and institutional vision of the festival, and considers the affordances (and limitations) of virtuality toward greater distribution of, and access to, independent films in the places they represent. An extensive review of the shorts program includes reporting on category winners Lizard (Akinola Davies Jr), Dear Philadelphia (Renee Maria Osubu) and Elena (Michèle Stephenson). This is the first review of BSFF for Film Quarterly.

Propagandist or objective observer? Independent documentaries in/on Hong Kong's recent social movements

PurposeThis article explores recent changes in Hong Kong’s independent documentary filmmaking during a decade of escalating protests in the territory, focusing in particular on cinema's role in Hong Kong's “movement field.”Design/methodology/approachThe article focuses on Ying E Chi, an important distributor and promoter of Hong Kong independent films; the annual Hong Kong Independent Film Festival it organizes; three recent documentaries it distributes that are relevant to the 2019–2020 protests. The findings in this article are based on interviews, the textual analysis of relevant films and participant observation at film screenings.FindingsThis study argues that independent documentaries function in Hong Kong's “movement field” in three main ways: by contributing to and providing a space for civic discourse, by facilitating international advocacy and by engaging in memory work. Its contributions to civic culture, it asserts, are reflected in the films' observational aesthetic, which invites reflection and discussion. Public screenings and lengthy post-screening discussions are important ways in which these functions are realized.Originality/valueThis article builds on existing literature to propose a new way of thinking about cinema's role in Hong Kong social movements. It also analyses three important recent films that have not yet been covered much in existing academic literature.

Interrogating Patriarchy: Transgressive Discourses of ‘F-Rated’ Independent Hindi Films

Since its inception at the Bath Film Festival 2014, the ‘F-Rating’ has been adopted as a yardstick to foster equitable representation of women in film. The rise of a new sub-genre of Hindi ‘Indie’ cinema (Devasundaram, 2016, 2018) has been augmented by an array of bona fide Female-rated independent films. These films fulfil the triune criteria for F-Rating, featuring women both behind and in front of the camera – as directors, actors and scriptwriters. I argue that these distinct female voices in new independent Hindi cinema have engendered discursive filmic spaces of resistance – alternative articulations that transgress India’s patriarchal national master narrative. Indian cinema thus far has been presided over by Bollywood’s hegemonic bastion of male-dominated discourses. The mainstream industry continues to propagate gender-based wage disparity and hypersexualised representations of the female body via the serialised song and dance spectacle of the ‘item number’. The increasing presence of F-Rated Hindi films on the international film festival circuit and through wider releases, gestures towards these films’ melding of the global and local. Drawing on my curation work with the UK Asian Film Festival (UKAFF) and discursive analyses of seminal F-Rated films, this essay highlights the pivotal role played by F-Rated Hindi Indie films in opening up transdiscursive dimensions and creating national and global conversations around issues of gender inequities in India.

Independents in Black and White 1961–1967

In the 1960s, jazz is increasingly viewed as art music as opposed to popular music, and now it inspires art movies not pop entertainments: a wave of low-budget independent films in black and white. This chapter limns the influence of filmmaker John Cassavetes, via his low-budget film Shadows, and looks at how the director’s jazz story Too Late Blues is really a meditation on his film career. Two English films are discussed, one a horror anthology in which a jazz musician visiting the Caribbean engages in reckless cultural appropriation; the other is a jazz version of Othello featuring a Duke Ellington character. Ellington himself, as soundtrack composer, hijacks the ending of a studio jazz picture. Sammy Davis Jr. shoots a gritty jazz film after hours while starring on Broadway and comedian Dick Gregory plays a fictionalized Charlie Parker.