Jakarta, IO – The Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology premieres the restored 1952 film “Dr. Samsi”.
The Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology (Kemendikbudristek) will launch the restored black-and-white film, “Dr. Samsi,” which was produced in 1952. Directed by Ratna Asmara, “Dr. Samsi” is one of the 35mm celluloid films stored in the Sinematek Indonesia collection, nearly decayed and incomplete.
The Directorate of Film, Music, and Media, under the Directorate General of Culture at Kemendikbudristek, promptly put all the efforts into restoring and saving the celluloid film and copying it onto a modern digital format.
According to Ahmad Mahendra, Director of Film, Music, and Media at the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology (Kemendikbudristek), the restoration of “Dr. Samsi” is expected to enrich and glorify the national cinema’s archive. According to him, Kemendikbudristek’s efforts in archiving and restoring the film show the Ministry’s concern for recognizing filmmakers and their contributions to the development of the Indonesian cinema industry.
Since 2019, archiving and preserving old Indonesian epic films has been executed through indexing and mapping Indonesian celluloid works. Following that, the Ministry has curated the films, based on several criteria.
Mahendra went on to say that Kemdikbudristek has so far restored four films:
1. “Darah dan Doa,” (The Long March), directed by Usmar Ismail, produced in 1950 and restored in 2013.
2. “Pagar Kawat Berduri,” directed by Asrul Sani, produced in 1961 and restored in 2017.
3. “Bintang Ketjil,” directed by Wim Umboh and Misbach Yusa Biran, a 1963 production, restored in 2018.
4. “Kereta Api Terakhir,” directed by Mochtar Soemodimedjo, a 1981 production, restored in 2019.
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“Dr. Samsi” tells the emotional journey of Doctor Samsi, a doctor who cares for a child, resulting from his illicit relationship with a woman, Sukaesih. The child, Sugiat, grows up without knowing the truth about his biological mother. Sugiat becomes a lawyer and is unaware of his true mother. When Sugiat returns to Indonesia as a lawyer, he has to handle the case of Sukaesih, who is accused of murdering her husband Leo.
“Produced in 1952, this film marks a significant development of the Indonesian film industry, which remains relevant to this day. This inspires contemporary cinema enthusiasts to explore universally-compelling film themes,” Mahendra concluded. (des/ast)