Indonesia Calling

Indonesia Calling
Indonesia Calling
Directed by	Joris Ivens
Written by	Joris Ivens (script); Catherine Duncan (commentary)
Produced by	Waterside Workers Federation
Narrated by	Peter Finch
Cinematography	Marion Michelle
Edited by	Joris Ivens
Release date	1946;
Running time	22 minutes
Country	Australia
Language	English

Indonesia Calling is a 1946 Australian short documentary film directed by Joris Ivens and produced by the then Waterside Workers' Federation. The film gives a glimpse of immediate post-World War II Sydney as trade union seamen and waterside workers refuse to service Dutch ships (known as the "Black Armada") containing arms and ammunition destined for Indonesia to suppress the country's independence movement.^[1] Ivens filming of the events taking place gradually became a symbol even for those who had not seen the film and had a growing following in the Netherlands, long before the film had an audience.

Joris Ivens suffered persecution from his stance about the Dutch and Indonesia. Ivens had his Dutch passport seized by the Dutch authorities for a few months at a time in order to monitor his whereabouts. Finally, in 1985, the Dutch government presented Ivens with a Golden Calf. At the ceremony, the Dutch minister gave a speech and in his words, "Shortly after the war, your support for Indonesia's right to self-determination and your film Indonesia Calling brought you into conflict with the Dutch government […] I can now say that history has come down more on your side than on the side of your adversaries."

References[]

^ "Events on Australia's Film Front". The Mail (Adelaide, SA : 1912 - 1954). Adelaide, SA: National Library of Australia. 17 August 1946. p. 9 Supplement: SUNDAY MAGAZINE. Retrieved 11 February 2012.

Murray, Scott, ed. (1994). Australian Cinema. St.Leonards, NSW.: Allen & Unwin/AFC. p. 38. ISBN 1-86373-311-6.
Hans Schoots, Living Dangerously: A Biography of Joris Ivens (Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press, 2000)

External links[]

Indonesia Calling at IMDb
sensesofcinema.com: From Colonial Film Commissioner to Political Pariah: Joris Ivens and the Making of Indonesia Calling by Drew Cottle and Angela Keys
'Indonesia Calling: Joris Ivens In Australia', ABC Arts, Friday 3 December, 2010
Indonesia Calling at National Film and Sound Archive
Ivens.nl 'Indonesia Calling', The Legacy of Joris Ivens
'Joris Ivens' historic short film: Indonesia Calling' Jakarta Post, 16 August 2009
Indonesia Calling at Oz Movies

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[1] "Events on Australia's Film Front". The Mail (Adelaide, SA : 1912 - 1954). Adelaide, SA: National Library of Australia. 17 August 1946. p. 9 Supplement: SUNDAY MAGAZINE. Retrieved 11 February 2012.

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