Star Film (Dutch East Indies company)
Logo, 1941
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| Private | |
| Industry | Film |
| Fate | Dissolved |
| Founded | Batavia, Dutch East Indies (1940) |
| Defunct | 1992 |
| Headquarters | Batavia, Dutch East Indies |
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Area served
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Dutch East Indies |
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Key people
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| Products | Motion pictures |
Star Film was a film production company in the Dutch East Indies. Established by Chinese-Indonesian businessman Jo Eng Sek and Chinese cameraman Cho' Chin Hsin in 1940, it produced five black-and-white films in 1940 and 1941; two of these were directed by Jo, and the remainder were directed by Wu Tsun. Another film was under production when the studio was closed following the Japanese occupation of the Dutch East Indies. Star helped establish the careers of actors such as S Waldy and Elly Joenara, and produced screenplays written by Rd Ariffien and Saeroen; its output, however, is probably lost.
Star Film was established by Jo Eng Sek, who had previous film experience as co-producer of Si Tjonat (1929), and Shanghai-based cameraman Cho' Chin Hsin; for much of the life of the company, Jo would take the role of producer while Cho' would be on camera. The company's headquarters were located at Prinsenlaan, Batavia (now Mangga Besar, Jakarta). The company released its first film, Pah Wongso Pendekar Boediman, in April 1941. For this detective film, Star signed L. V. Wijnhamer Jr., an Indo social worker popular with the ethnic Chinese community. The film was a commercial success, allowing the company to expand.
Later Jo signed Rd Ariffien as a screenwriter; the studio touted this as a victory, owing to Ariffien's wide network as a journalist. He wrote a single work for the company, Tjioeng Wanara, based on the Sundanese legend as retold by M. A. Salmoen in a 1938 Balai Pustaka-published edition; this was directed and produced by Jo. Several actors cast for the film continued with Star for the remainder of its existence, including comedian S Waldy and future film producer Elly Joenara. However, Ariffien left Star owing to dissatisfaction over Tjioeng Wanara.
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