Nia Dinata
| Nia Dinata | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
Nurkurniati Aisyah Dewi 4 March 1970 Djakarta, Indonesia |
| Residence | Jakarta |
| Nationality | Indonesian |
| Alma mater | Elizabethtown College |
| Occupation | Director, producer, screenwriter |
| Years active | 1998 – present |
| Notable work | |
Nurkurniati Aisyah Dewi (born 4 March 1970 in Jakarta, Indonesia), better known as Nia Dinata, is an award-winning Indonesian film director. Her movies are known for tackling subjects controversial or "risky" in Indonesia such as homosexuality, migrant workers, and polygamy.
Dinata began her film career directing video clips and commercials in the mid-1990s until directing the made-for-television Mencari Pelangi in 1998. Three years later, she directed her first feature film, Ca-bau-kan, after founding her own production house. The next film she directed, 2003's Arisan!, was critically acclaimed and one of her most successful works. Her third directorial effort, 2006's Berbagi Suami, was controversial yet successful.
Dinata has faced heavy censorship and controversy in Indonesia because of the subjects she covers. However, she has also won critical acclaim internationally, being called Indonesia's "most talented new filmmaker" in 2006. Two of the films she direct have been submitted to the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.
Dinata was born Nurkurniati Aisyah Dewi in Jakarta on 4 March 1970. As a child, Dinata watched movies weekly. After finishing high school, she received a bachelor's degree in mass communications from Elizabethtown College in Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania, where she became interested in cinematography. She then took a filmmaking course at New York University. After returning to Indonesia, she took her first job as an apprentice reporter for Seputar Indonesia. She later began directing video clips and commercials with Iguana Productions in the mid-1990s, studying the techniques on her own.
Dinata made her directorial debut with the 1998 made-for-television film Mencari Pelangi (Looking for the Rainbow), which won two national awards. She then started her own production company, Kalyana Shira Film, around 1999. Her first feature film, Ca-bau-kan, was produced by Kalyana Shira and dealt with the trials and tribulations of Chinese Indonesians in pre-independence Indonesia. After being trimmed from its original running time of 160 minutes to 124 minutes for commercial viability, the film—adapted from the novel by Remy Sylado—was critically panned; Dinata herself was satisfied, saying it was "as good as it could be for that short running time". She produced Sekar Ayu Asmara's debut, Biola Tak Berdawai, the following year.
...
Wikipedia