DUSTIN NGUYEN: (JP/Deanne Whitfield)

The 21st Singapore International Film Festival (SIFF) was held in Singapore from April 4-14, with an exciting line up of independent films from the region, Asian cinema and world cinema.

Dustin Nguyen, a Vietnamese-American actor who shot to fame in the 1987 TV drama series 21 Jump Street and who starred in the 2005 Australian independent film Little Fish, was invited by the SIFF committee to be a member of the festival's official judging panel.

The Jakarta Post caught up with Nguyen on the sidelines of the SIFF to get his perspective of the festival and the Indonesian independent films he watched and judged as a SIFF jury member.

Question: What do you think of this year's SIFF?

Answer: It's my first time at the SIFF, it's interesting because I've been to quite a few film festivals but this is the first time I've really been exposed to Indonesian films, Malaysian films and Filipino films. And these are not the kind of films that typically get to America. In America, the big film festivals have Asian films but they are usually Chinese, Japanese and Korean films. So it's been really refreshing actually as a juror ... I've watched 12 films over the last three days.

A lot of these films (at the SIFF) are from emerging film makers that have a lot of potential as story tellers and it's nice to see a film festival that supports these film makers. It's been terrific for me.

What impression did you get of local films?

They are so diverse, I think from the outside looking in you can easily say that they are Southeast Asian films, but each are unique in there own way -- Malaysian film has its own characteristic, Filipino film has its own character as does Indonesian film and Singapore film of course has its own style.

Even though it's a small area, I think the films are so diverse in topics as well as their story-telling style. Some are very documentary-looking and others are quite polished, sort of mainstream films, so it's quite diverse. It was a tough decision to pick the best film for the grand jury prize because they are all just so different.

What comments do you have about the Indonesian movies you watched? (Mereka Bilang Saya Monyet (They Say I'm a Monkey) directed by Djenar Maesa Ayu, and Kantata Takwa directed by Eros Djarot, Gotot Prakosa and Slamet Rahardjo Djarot)

Both are very different films. I don't know much about Indonesia, but one of my favorite places in the world actually is Bali, I love it there. But Indonesia as a culture -- I know very little about, and certainly Indonesian films I haven't been exposed to.

Kantata Takwa was quite refreshing for me because I didn't know the music and the musicians, and for me I thought the music was tremendous. The film has a very experimental feel to it, like a big long music video; very surreal, very deep, very philosophical. I felt it was very natural that it was an Indonesian film; I expected a certain depth and philosophy.

The film I didn't expect was the other one (Mereka Bilang Saya Monyet). I thought it was very -- again this is my own view of course, so pardon me -- I just thought it was very 'un-Indonesian'. I thought it was a very commercial film the way it was made; it was well made, well acted, but it seems to me it had more of a Western sensibility than Kantata Takwa ... so those two films were very different and very refreshing and it's not something that I expected from Indonesian cinema. Besides those two films, I don't know what other Indonesian films are like, but those I thought were two very extreme examples.

In your opinion, what does it take for an Asian indie film to be accepted abroad?

For me, I'm an optimist. I truly believe that if the story works, if the character works on a universal level, then it will be embraced by a wider audience ... because at the end of the day I think there are certain themes that are universal; family, love, friendship. And if you tell the story well, you can find an audience universally. Now having said that, you still have the obstacles of marketing and luck.

But what would make a film cross over internationally I think ... well look at the films that have crossed over like Hero, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, what is it about these films that saw them cross over? It seems to me it's usually action or comedy that tends to cross over because it seems to be the universal language.

Drama has a very hard time crossing over, that's just been my observation. So, I think if you have the right product that's universal and you get lucky enough where you have the right distributors behind you, then you can have some success.

You've been on the SIFF judging panel with young, local film star Nicolas Saputra for the past few days. What has been your impression of him?

I think he's a very smart guy ... his taste is quite refined in films. During the deliberation, he had some very interesting input on films, I was very impressed. I think he is a very likable young man as well and I wish him luck. I really enjoyed working with him.

i-box:

Throughout the months of April, May and June, cinema buffs can watch independent films that have been honored for their originality and diversity on the STAR MOVIE channel's "Indie Spirit" schedule, every Tuesday at 8 p.m. Viewers can catch all the excitement of "Indie Spirit" with Screentime host Nicholas Saputra on Channel *V*'s Popparazzi, every Friday at 7 p.m.

Little Fish, starring Dustin Nguyen and Oscar winner Cate Blanchett, is included in the "Indie Spirit" line up and will be screened on STAR MOVIES on May 20.

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