Indonesia Film School

Indonesia may be on the other side of the world from Hollywood but Indonesian films are slowly carving a name of their own in the business. The movie industry in Indonesia under the 30-year iron-hand rule of former dictator Suharto almost reached the brink of collapse. The dictatorship of Suharto laid a firm hand on movie censorship and state control of the films. Because of that, Indonesian filmmakers had to grapple with the harsh atmosphere instigated by the government. The stringent regulations and pinning of the press made it harder to create Indonesian films, which impacted on the audience who lost their appetite in movies.

Since Suharto's ouster in May 1998, the Indonesian Movie Industry went through its turning point. Most of the Indonesian's felt like another history is coming to uphold and this time there would be less censorship and more room for creativity to flourish. However, the stepping down of a dictator did not immediately bear fruits. The young filmmakers and directors, faced a lack of financial resources, were not able to get full support from the government. Nevertheless, their collective efforts helped restore the vigor in the entertainment culture.

Indonesia film schools are among the sheer signs of growing entertainment industry. There are four established Indonesia film schools but due to the language barrier, only one Indonesia film school will be tackled in this article.

The Digital Studio College is an Indonesia film school that clearly benefited from the change of administration. DSC is an institution of higher learning and students who want to proceed with a career in entertainment can apply after finishing their secondary education or its equivalent. DSC's faculty is made of professionals in the business. So far there are no foreign instructors at DSC.

As a digital Indonesia film school, students can choose between programs that emphasize on Digital Design (Graphic Design and Multimedia), Digital Animation (3D Animation and Visual Effects), Digital Filmmaking (Film and Video Production), Advertising Communication, Art and Design Foundation, and Executive Track. These programs have been designed within 16 months to answer to the demands of a growing advertising industry, while the media industry in Indonesia has been looking for new talents to fill in several vacant positions.

For school year 2007, orientation is scheduled on September 20 while classes follows immediately on the 24th. This Indonesia film school requires a registration fee of Rp200,000 (about $22). Students will also be paying Rp29,000,000 (about $3,200) for the tuition fee.