Indonesian filmmakers had for decades been dealing with censorship in the name of politics and morality. And they have never been happy about it.

Ever since the dictator Soeharto was toppled in 1998, a number of filmmakers have persistently argued artists need to have greater freedom.

They have requested the Film Censorship Institute be disbanded. This is the government agency authorized to cut scenes they consider obscene or improper and to decide whether a film may be publicly screened.

The request was not granted, and they are now facing a new specter: the pornography law. Some filmmakers, however, said they were not afraid the law might curb their expression.

Film director Joko Anwar -- of Janji Joni (Joni's Promise) and Kala (...) fame -- considered the newly passed law redundant since it contained articles already covered by other regulations, among which is the law on child protection.

"Not only is it redundant, it provokes disunity, too," he told The Jakarta Post.

"Some provinces, as we know, have expressed their objection to the law because they have different moral values and interpretations (of what is considered pornographic)," he added.

Joko said even though the law might confine artistic expression, he believed filmmakers would not find it difficult to adjust to the constraints.

"We make films for Indonesian society. We know the moral boundaries well and we have considered them in every movie we've produced.

We always try to make movies which appeal to the widest possible audience, so the government doesn't need to worry we'll do something extreme," he said.

Hanung Bramantyo, director of the popular Islamic romance Ayat-ayat Cinta (Verses of Love), concurred with Joko, saying he already practiced self-censorship in making movies, regardless of any porn law.

"I have always relied on self-censorship in my movies. I know it's inappropriate to display kissing in Indonesian movies, let alone a sex scene.

"For me, the porn law is a waste of time and money. If we want to improve public morality, we have to do it through education," Hanung said.

Like Joko, Hanung seemed more concerned about the law's collision with the country's cultural diversity.

"Can a topless girl in (the Hindu) Galungan ceremony in Bali be considered an offender? Can people be legally sued when they watch blue movies in their homes?" he asked.

He said he did not expect the law would affect the creative industry.

"For artists like us, the kind of restraints imposed by the porn law will never kill our creativity. Art is not born out of total freedom, but it shouts about freedom.

With or without the porn law, we'll keep advancing as artists," he said.

One young and thriving scriptwriter, Yanuar Mahadi, said the porn law had created new creative challenges for his writing process.

"I've always wanted to make a movie about sex without being cheaply pornographic. This new law challenges me to create scripts that won't be considered pornographic and offensive," he said, adding creative people would always try to find a way.

The House of Representatives passed the porn bill into law last Thursday despite protests from human rights activists, pluralist organizations and some provincial governments.

Supporters of the law claim the law is necessary to protect the young generation from pornographic material.

Those who object to the law claim the law threatens national unity and is detrimental to freedom of expression.

Apart from its dubious definition of pornography, the law contains a contentious article which allows civilians to police social morals.

"The law is beautifully written, like a poem, but it is empty in meaning, especially when we take into account the lack of attention the drafters paid to resolving the law's internal paradoxes.

But that's how our government has made every law. They always produce beautiful words with empty meanings," Yanuar said.

He cited the passage in the law stating it "is based on respect towards humanity and pluralism". (hdt)

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