LA Filmforum: Bachtiar Siagian's TURANG — live event
Los Angeles Filmforum presents the US Premiere of a classic film from 1958 (as far as we can tell!) of Turang, by Bachtiar Siagian. Discover a landmark of Indonesian cinema, recently restored and screened at the Rotterdam Film Festival and the Barbican in London. ~ Set against the backdrop of Indonesia’s struggle for independence from Dutch colonial rule, Turang tells the poignant love story of Tipi and freedom fighter Rusli—a narrative that captured the hearts of many in the region and reflected the emotional pulse of a generation in transition. In 1958, Turang screened to wide acclaim at the Afro-Asian Film Festival in Tashkent, Uzbekistan—a space created to foster cinematic collaboration among newly independent and decolonizing nations across Africa and Asia. Tragically, just a few years later, it was destroyed during the wave of anti-communist violence that swept through Indonesia, erasing a vital piece of the country’s cinematic memory. Today, we are privileged to witness its restoration—as a powerful act of narrative reclamation. – Zaina Bseiso ~ Bachtiar Siagian (1923-2002) was one of the greatest Indonesian filmmakers active between the nation’s independence and the events of autumn 1965. He was in charge of the 3rd Afro-Asia Film Festival in Jakarta, and was a member of Lekra, a leftist cultural organization (1950-1965). As a filmmaker and left-third wordlist, Bachtiar anchored his cinematic realism in the third-world social realities. Most of his films were lost due to the anti-communist violence by the New Order authoritarian regime in 1965, which led to the persecution and often the murder of left-wingers and others deemed subversive. Siagian, one of the most prominent members of Indonesia’s leading Communist cultural movement, Lembaga Kebudayaan Rakyat, ended up in prison for twelve years, never to direct a film again. ~ Additional program notes at: https://www.lafilmforum.org/schedule/
Starts: 2025-06-01T19:00:00Z
Ends: 2025-06-01T21:00:00Z
Where: 2220 Beverly Boulevard, Los Angeles, California 90057, United States
Price: $10.0