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'Pengabdi Setan' to open three decades of Indonesian film at VFF
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Aficionados of Indonesian films released in the 1960s to 1990s are in for a treat with the Vintage Film Festival, which will be screening three decades of iconic films at CGV Cinemas in 10 cities. (Shutterstock/File)
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ans of the 1980 horror film, Pengabdi Setan (Satan's Slave) by director Sisworo Gautama Putra, can expect to enjoy the restored movie at the Vintage Film Festival (VFF).
The highly popular film will open the VFF, which runs from March 29 to April 29 at CGV Cinemas in 10 Indonesian cities.
Initiated by mobile ticketing service Go-Tix in collaboration with CGV Cinemas and FLiK entertainment ecosystem, the festival will screen feature films from the 1960s to 1990s.
"I've been wanting to screen old films that have been restored [and digitized] to HD or 4K quality," FLiK CEO Manoj Samtani said on Tuesday at the festival's opening in Jakarta, as quoted by Antara.
Pengabdi Setan was selected as the opening film because of the popularity of its 2017 remake directed by Joko Anwar.
Read also: The movie ‘Sekala Niskala’ won Grand Prix at Berlin International Film Festival 2018
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Vice president Rama Adrian of consumer solution company Loket said the many old Indonesian films had unique stories that contained moral values. "Unfortunately, those [films] are no longer available to be enjoyed by people today. Through these restoration efforts, we can finally save these old films," he said.
The festival, which opened simultaneously at cinemas in 10 cities, will feature a variety of genres, from drama to comedy, and to horror and action. Aside from Pengabdi Setan, film enthusiasts can expect screenings of Matt Dower (1969), Ateng Sok Aksi (1977), Ratu Ilmu Hitam (1981), Titian Serambut Dibelah Tujuh (1982), Warkop: Sama Juga Bohong (1986) and Catatan Si Boy and its five sequels (1987-1991).
Prior to their restoration, most of the movies recorded on celluloid film were in dire physical condition, damaged from tears, scratches, dust, fingerprint stains and from insects. The country's tropical climate and environment also affected the celluloid, making them vulnerable to mold or degradation into acidic vapor.
The restoration process starts with manually restoring the physical celluloid, which requires trained experts. The celluloid is then ready for scanning and transferring to a digital format. The final stage is to combine the manually and digitally restored film segments.
Each film lasting nearly two hours in duration is composed of hundreds of thousands of frames. The last stage might therefore takes weeks or even months, depending on the amount of damage sustained, as the film is restored frame by frame. (kes)
