"Indonesia Calling" Film, Weapon of Struggle: About the Works of Joris Ivens
The rehabilitation of a person once accused of 'treason' does not happen overnight. This is evidenced by the extraordinarily long period before the Dutch government acknowledged its mistreatment of its country's sole internationally acclaimed documentary filmmaker: Joris Ivens. This year he turned 90 and received the 'Gouden Leeuw' Award. "The camera is a weapon," said Ivens, who recorded various struggle scenes, including trade union actions in Australia supporting Indonesia's independence struggle. Artien Utrecht notes the connection between the film medium and commitment to struggle and deep observation.
On September 11, 1985, almost three years ago, and forty years since the event that caused a rift between Ivens and his government, Dutch Minister of Culture Eelco Brinkman personally visited Ivens at his home in Paris to award him the 'Het Gouden Kalf' (Golden Calf) medal along with 100,000 guilders while uttering words of "liberation" that "history has vindicated Ivens more than his opponents at the time".
The phrase "his opponents at the time" clearly refers to the Dutch ministers and government officials who, one after another, made it difficult for Ivens to work in his own country, among other things by revoking his passport and ignoring him for four decades. The attempts at reconciliation that previously came from several officials were always rejected by Ivens on the grounds that they were not accompanied by an official mea culpa from their government.
One of the past events that once led to this famous 'cinematographer' being blacklisted was the termination of his work contract with the Dutch government in 1945 and the production of the film 'Indonesia Calling' regarding the strike by port workers in Sydney, who refused to load weapons that the Dutch were to use in their military action against the Republic of Indonesia.
Sydney 1945-1946
The news of the outbreak of World War II shocked Ivens, who was then residing in the United States. Together with Frank Capra's team, he subsequently produced a propaganda film challenging Japan's position in that war: 'Know your Enemy: Japan'. It was this film that in 1944 prompted the Dutch government-in-exile in London to request Ivens to act as film commissioner in the Dutch East Indies.
The goal was for Ivens to document "the liberation of the Dutch East Indies from Japanese occupation" and lead the production of educational films that would later prove beneficial in the development of this colony. Governor Van der Plas, who offered Ivens such a high position, even felt it necessary to emphasize his government's determination to "help the Indonesian people form their democratic and independent state", as he realized that "the war had given rise to new historical demands".
This offer was accepted by Ivens – according to his own admission, not without an element of opportunism – based on the illusion that this position would at least give him the opportunity to use the medium of film for the benefit of the Indonesian people. And with the intention of merely securing his position, a work contract was drawn up, stating that he would fulfill his responsibilities as film commissioner: “as long as the liberation of Indonesia proceeds according to democratic principles and in mutual respect between the Dutch and Indonesian parties.” Sydney was chosen as a temporary post for Ivens before the end of the Japanese occupation.
However, the Dutch plan was thwarted by the Proclamation of Independence of the Republic of Indonesia. For Ivens, who always longed for the freedom of the oppressed and colonized people, this news of the proclamation was certainly heartening. It soon became clear to him that the Dutch government had provided its own answer to this new development.
Surrounding Ivens, the voices of the Dutch side accusing Soekarno as a Japanese puppet grew louder and louder. And from behind the window of his room, facing Sydney's harbor, Ivens witnessed the formation of Dutch military intervention forces: within just a few days, all combat equipment, including troops, had been gathered and loaded into a series of ships ready to receive orders to depart.
In such circumstances, it was impossible for Ivens and his film crew to obtain permission to depart. His films in the past were no guarantee that Ivens would remain loyal to the colonial government in the conflict that was about to break out. On the contrary, the risk to the Netherlands was too great: upon arrival in Indonesia, the crew might instead turn their cameras against the aggressor.
Ivens was anxious and felt compelled to take action. On 21 November 1945 he held a press conference where his indictment of the Dutch attitude toward Indonesia was announced to the outside world. The termination of his contract with the Dutch government became a fact. However, Ivens maintained that it was not he who had breached the contract but rather the Netherlands, whose attitude toward the Republic of Indonesia failed to respect the principles of democracy and the people's right to choose their own government as stipulated in the contract, in accordance with the Atlantic Charter.
That step was immediately followed by another. Ivens simply threw himself into the flow of events surrounding Sydney Harbour at that time. These developments began with the refusal of Indonesian crew members to board Dutch ships in the port, which were already fully loaded with ammunition and weapons.
After negotiations and intimidation of this Indonesian seafarers' union failed to yield results, the Dutch contacted the Australian port workers' union. The Australian workers initially stated their willingness to sail those ships to Jakarta on the condition that there were no weapons in the cargo.
The Dutch swore that the cargo consisted only of Red Cross crates containing food and medicine. However, after several representatives of those workers subsequently checked the contents of the crates, it was sufficient reason to launch a strike action. Within a few weeks, this action grew into an international solidarity movement, supported by 14 trade unions in Sydney representing five nationalities. Also, a group of Indian seafarers, who had initially been persuaded by the Dutch to sail those ships, returned to port within a few hours after being successfully convinced by representatives from all the unions there.
Thus began one of the most effective acts of solidarity with the Indonesian people's struggle against Dutch aggression at the start of the 1945–1949 revolution. 'Indonesia Calling' is a recording of how that action grew day by day. The film was made with minimal means: scraps of leftover film stock that Ivens happened to collect here and there, and his antique camera, similar to the one he used to make one of his first artistic works, namely 'De Brug' (The Bridge) in Rotterdam in 1928. With this equipment, camerawoman Marion Michelle could only shoot shots lasting 12 to 14 seconds.
Funding for the film was gradually collected by The Waterfront Union of Australia, which produced it. It turned out that Kodak refused to sell negative film to The Waterfront Union. Another obstacle was continuous interference by Dutch and Australian police during shooting. However, through the skill and quick thinking of the team, these obstacles were overcome, and the film was finally completed.
The Dutch government's reaction to Ivens' actions was reported in newspaper columns: by terminating his contract, Ivens had insulted the Queen, and with 'Indonesia Calling', he had betrayed his country. Rumors also quickly spread about Ivens, suggesting that the film had been produced using equipment and materials belonging to the Dutch government. "How good it would have been if this were true; certainly the technical quality of this film would be better," Ivens commented on these rumors.
The Australian government banned the export of the film. Two 16-millimeter copies were then smuggled into Indonesia, via Singapore and subsequently by a fishing boat that breached the Dutch blockade. It was only several months later, through radio news, that Ivens learned his work had truly reached its destination and achieved its target.
By penetrating the strict surveillance of the Dutch authorities, the film apparently made it to Jakarta and was then screened in villages in Central and East Java. And only those caught up in the daily struggle against the Dutch at the time could recount how this film inspired fighting spirit, because –contrary to Dutch propaganda– it showed the extent of support from abroad for the Indonesian people's resistance.
History is what determines
"History writes my scripts," was another of Ivens' remarks. There were no obstacles for Ivens to constantly move forward to the front lines wherever in the world, often before the general public identified those places as the front lines. 'Spanish Earth' – a documentary about the civil war in Spain in 1937, whose commentary was written by famous writer Ernest Hemingway – was a warning against the threat of fascism in Europe, while 'The 400 Million,' made in China two years later depicting the struggle of the nationalists there, essentially pointed to the emergence of Japan as a new power in the Pacific region, a few years before the attack on Pearl Harbour.
A documentarist, who makes his films with clear commitment and records events while the fire is hottest, cannot avoid political risks. The course of history moves in a certain direction, and the filmmaker follows this direction.
However, that direction can suddenly change, pulled by an undercurrent previously unseen. In such circumstances, the filmmaker faces three possibilities: he gets stuck on the road, drifts along with the current while staying above it, or is not dragged away by it, because he holds onto human values that always endure amidst all struggles and historical 'deviations'.
This is where the guiding principles determining the scenarios of Ivens' films are located. Following the course of history, he did not get stuck or go with the flow, because the values that he held were very fundamental, namely humans striving for freedom and the enhancement of their dignity.
The latter is the red thread running through all his works, from 'Borinage' (1934), which tells the fate and perseverance of coal mining workers in a village in Belgium, to 'Le dixseptieme Parallele' (The 17th Parallel) made by him in 1968 with his wife, Marceline Loridan, and which is a document about the defense of the Vietnamese people against US attacks.
One of Ivens' and Loridan's works that has recently achieved great success is a series of films lasting 12 hours under the name 'Comment Yukong deplaca les Montagnes' (How Yukong Moved the Mountains) made in the PRC during the Cultural Revolution. This serial received very favorable reception in the US and Western Europe and was broadcast in its entirety by television in almost all countries in that region. It contains excerpts of various aspects of life in the PRC: within families, in a factory, in opera groups, etc., and unlike most films about the PRC at that time, it is not merely a shallow 'travel report' nor does it present the Cultural Revolution as a fait accompli.
'Yukong', which was only allowed to be released in mainland China after the end of the Cultural Revolution, is the result of profound observations on the experiences and daily struggles of life of the people in this giant nation.
This year, 1988, Ivens celebrates his 90th birthday. In September, his latest film 'Le Vent' (wind), which was made possible among other things by a grant from NOS, the largest television company in the Netherlands, will have its premiere. As Ivens himself stated: "my work will continue, as long as my strength allows it."
Disclaimer:
This article is a reprint of the work by Artien Utrecht, published in Majalah Tanah Air Issue No. 3, September Edition, pages 153-156. This article was retyped as per the original text, except for paragraph structures that were too long and divided into shorter paragraphs to make them easier to read. In the magazine, Artien Utrecht's writing was one of twelve other writings. The following article was reproduced because it tells about one form of concrete solidarity of the international labor movement that transcends legal boundaries, in the form of a film titled Indonesia Calling. This film is one of those recommended as educational material for labor unions. Readers can watch the film Indonesia Calling at this link. To read the full article in Majalah Tanah Air, you can go here.
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