Yohana, Dinda and Afi had just finished their class on Tuesday afternoon when they decided to watch a movie together. Instead of going to a mainstream movie theater in a mall near their campus in Senayan, South Jakarta, they went to an independent one named Subtitles in Dharmawangsa.

Subtitles offers a more intimate movie-watching experience. It has five mini theaters, each of which can only accommodate five to eight people, with ticket prices ranging from Rp 100,000 (US$7) on weekdays to Rp 300,000 on weekends. There are more than 4,000 original DVDs piled on several shelves in its lounge for people to choose from.

“We’re in the mood to watch a thriller-fantasy movie, which is not playing in mainstream theaters right now,” Yohana said, adding that it was their first time to watch a movie at Subtitles.

The limited selection and strict censorship of movies in mainstream theaters have made many movie lovers turn their heads to independent cinemas. Along with Subtitles, there are two other renowned independent cinemas in the city — Kineforum in Cikini, Central Jakarta, and Kinosaurus in Kemang, South Jakarta.

“The founders of Subtitles, Enrico Pitono and two of his friends, are all movie buffs who have been collecting hundreds of original DVDs for ages. Circa 1999, they decided to open a movie library in Menteng [Central Jakarta],” said the venue’s operational manager, Adella Fauzi.

They moved to Dharmawangsa in 2004.

Subtitles’ movie collection consists of various genres, Adella added, from Hollywood action flicks, animated fantasy movies, foreign dramas, documentaries, TV series, to classic pieces like The Sound of Music and Little House on the Prairie.

“But the most wanted movie here is Fifty Shades Darker, maybe because it is too awkward to watch such an erotic romantic drama film at home, and there were too many censored parts when it was shown in the cinema,” she said.

“We aim to not only offer alternative choices, but also to enlighten people about movies and to appreciate it. We’re not only ‘watching’ it, but we also can learn about the arts and even life lessons from it,” she added.

While Subtitles lets its customers decide which movie to watch, Kineforum and Kinosaurus have their own movie screening schedule, which is regularly published on their website and on social media channels.

Kineforum, established in 2006, is organized by the Jakarta Arts Council (DKJ). With a small theater that can only accommodate a maximum of 45 people, Kineforum offers movies that are rarely played in mainstream cinemas. In addition, Kineforum also regularly holds discussions involving filmmakers.

Kinosaurus adopts a similar program into their business, screening films not shown in mainstream cinemas and holding discussions with filmmakers. A ticket to a movie screening there costs just Rp 50,000. Unlike regular cinemas, Kinosaurus’ theater is a modified living room with various kinds of chairs, like beanbags, sofas and rattan chairs.

A writer and a TV journalist, Dodi Prananda said he frequently watches movies at such independent cinemas to gain a wider perspective to enrich his writing.

Indonesian films have a special charm for him, so he is willing to sacrifice anything to watch the country’s classic and independent movies.

The moment he realized that he needed to watch more movies at independent cinemas was when he watched Indonesian movie Selamat Pagi, Malam (In the Absence of the Sun). According to Dodi, the movie has gay characters and several implicit sex scenes.

“At first I watched it at a mainstream cinema, but I was disappointed because too many parts had been censored. Then I watched the complete version several weeks later at Kineforum,” he explained.

Even though Dodi observed no increasing demand in the market of alternative cinema — he said he always met the same group of people in every movie screening — he wished that such cinemas would keep operating in the long term. “That’s where we can watch films that mainstream cinemas don’t show,” Dodi said.

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