List of film directors of the Dutch East Indies

The Wong brothers (one pictured) were the first ethnic Chinese directors in the Indies.

Bachtiar Effendi, the earliest recorded native Indonesian director.

Andjar Asmara, a journalist, became a director in 1940.

Usmar Ismail, who made his debut in 1949, would later be called the father of Indonesian film.^[1]

Twenty-nine people are recorded as having directed fictional films in the Dutch East Indies between 1926, when L. Heuveldorp released Loetoeng Kasaroeng, the colony's first domestically produced film,^[2] and 1949, when the Dutch formally recognised Indonesia's sovereignty after a four-year revolution, leaving the Dutch East Indies defunct.^{[lower-alpha 1][3]} Thirteen directors active in the Indies continued to direct films after 1950, including Usmar Ismail: his 1950 film Darah dan Doa (The Long March) is generally considered the first truly Indonesian film.^[4]

The colony's first directors, Heuveldorp and G. Kruger, were of European or mixed descent.^[5] They were followed by ethnic Chinese soon after, when Nelson Wong made his debut in 1928 with Lily van Java;^[6] other Chinese directors included Lie Tek Swie (1929), Wong's brothers Joshua and Othniel (1930), and The Teng Chun (1931). Ethnic Chinese directors dominated the colony's cinema for the remainder of its existence.^[7] The first native director, Bachtiar Effendi, made his debut in 1932 with the talkie Njai Dasima;^[8] another native director would not appear until Andjar Asmara and Rd Ariffien made their debuts in 1940.^[9][10]

The directors active in the Indies came from various backgrounds. Some, like The Teng Chun, Fred Young, and the Wongs, had been interested in film since their youth.^[11] Others, such as Njoo Cheong Seng and Andjar, had a background in theatre.^[12] Still others, including Albert Balink and Ismail, were journalists by trade.^[13][14] They were all men; the first woman to direct a film in the Indonesian archipelago, Ratna Asmara, made her debut after the Indies were dissolved.^[15] Between them, the 29 men directed some 103 films, at times working collaboratively; it was not unusual for them to take more than one role in production.^[7] However, they generally had less creative control than the producer.^[16]

The following list is sorted alphabetically by default, with further sorting capability in certain fields; owing to differing naming conventions between cultures, not all entries are sorted by last name. The list only counts fictional films directed by the subjects and does not include films from other genres or films in which the person held other roles. The names of persons credited with an abbreviated name are written in full, where available.

Film directors

Key

Indicates continued directorial activity after 1949

Film directors of the Dutch East Indies

Name	Fictional film debut	Debut year	Films directed before 1949	Total films directed	Ref(s).
Andjar Asmara	Kartinah	1940	5	5	[17]
Ariffien, RadenRaden Ariffien	Harta Berdarah	1940	4	32	[lower-alpha 2][10]
Balink, AlbertAlbert Balink	Pareh	1935	2	2	[18]
Boen Kim Nam	Mega Mendoeng	1941	1	1	[19]
Carli, Ph.Ph. Carli	De Stem des Bloeds	1930	3	3	[20][21]
Duarte, Henry L.Henry L. Duarte	Selendang Delima	1941	1	12	[lower-alpha 3][22]
Effendi, BachtiarBachtiar Effendi	Njai Dasima	1932	1	4	[23]
Franken, MannusMannus Franken	Pareh	1935	2	2	[lower-alpha 4][24]
Heuveldorp, L.L. Heuveldorp	Loetoeng Kasaroeng	1926	1	1	[25]
Hu, R.R. Hu	Harta Berdarah	1940	2	4	[26]
Ismail, UsmarUsmar Ismail	Harta Karun	1949	2	28	[lower-alpha 5][27]
Jo An Djan	Kedok Ketawa	1940	5	6	[28][29]
Jo Eng Sek	Pah Wongso Pendekar Boediman	1940	3	3	[30]
Koesoema, B.B. Koesoema	Djatoeh Berkait	1944	1	1	[lower-alpha 6][31]
Kruger, G.G. Kruger	Eulis Atjih	1927	3	3	[32]
Lie Tek Swie	Njai Dasima	1929	6	6	[33]
Njoo Cheong Seng	Kris Mataram	1940	5	8	[34]
Perbatasari, InoeInoe Perbatasari	Elang Darat	1941	3	5	[35]
Roestam Sutan Palindih	Di Menara	1943	3	3	[lower-alpha 7][36][37]
Said Hamid Junid, MohammadMohammad Said Hamid Junid	Boenga Sembodja	1942	3	19	[lower-alpha 8][38]
Schilling, M. H.M. H. Schilling	Sinjo Tjo Main di Film	1931	2	2	[39]
Sutan Usman Karim	Panggilan Darah	1941	2	2	[lower-alpha 9][40]
Tan Tjoei Hock	Dasima	1940	9	9	[lower-alpha 10][41]
The Teng Chun	Boenga Roos dari Tjikembang	1931	16	17	[42]
Wong, JoshuaJoshua Wong	Lari ke Arab	1930	10	12	[lower-alpha 11][43][44]
Wong, NelsonNelson Wong	Lily van Java	1928	6	6	[lower-alpha 11][43][45]
Wong, OthnielOthniel Wong	Lari ke Arab	1930	10	13	[lower-alpha 11][43][46]
Wu Tsun	Lintah Darat	1941	4	4	[47]
Young, FredFred Young	Sehidup Semati	1949	2	23	[lower-alpha 12][48]

Explanatory notes

Footnotes

Works cited

Cinema of the Dutch East Indies
	Films Actors Cinematographers Directors Producers Score composers Screenwriters