Progress Report on Proposed SEAPAVAA Publication on South East Asian Film Provided to SEAPAVAA Conference in Kuala Lumpur 20/4/99

(David Hanan, Monash University)

Tentative Title of Proposed Book for Publication in the Year 2000
"Film in South East Asia – Indigenous Views"

Aim of the Publication

The primary aim of the publication is to provide succinct and readable accounts of the history of the cinema in each of the countries in South East Asia, but especially of those that are active members of SEAPAVAA. The history of each national cinema would be written separately by a well known critic, archivist, film historian or filmmaker from each country in the South East Asian region (including Australia and New Zealand), so that each cinema history is written from the point of a national rather than by an outsider or foreign "expert". In this way members of SEAPAVAA will come to have some knowledge of the history of each the national cinemas of their colleagues in SEAPAVAA, a knowledge which is informed by a perspective indigenous to that country. The Vietnam Film Institute has offered to publish the book in English and Vietnamese language editions.

It should be remembered that while the publication has been designed to answer to the needs of SEAPAVAA, there is a growing need for such a publication in an educational (film studies) context, and it may be possible to promote and distribute the book to university libraries throughout the world. No such publication of this kind – comprising a series of essays by authors indigenous to each of the countries – yet exists; though a potted overall survey book, which includes material on many South East Asian countries, has been published by one American academic.

Timeline

While initially the idea was to publish the book as early as late 1998, the response to the idea by some of the proposed authors contacted has been that they would like a six month period in which to write the entries, and others involved in the project (for example, the editor) have had unavoidable prior commitments. It is also apparent that the quality of the book will very likely be enhanced if the project is not rushed through. The projected time line for the book is now as follows:

• Formal issuing of invitations to authors. Late April 1999
• Final Deadline for contributions: 1 November 1999. Contributions may be submitted any time before this date, and preferably as soon as possible.
• Final Copy supplied to Vietnam: 1 March 2000 (As much edited materials as possible will be sent to Vietnam for translation as soon as it is available, and certainly by mid-December 1999)
• At the very latest we would expect to have this book available for the SEAPAVAA Conference in Singapore in the Year 2000 (in June?), where it could be launched and promoted to advantage.

Participating Countries and Proposed Authors

Editor

David Hanan, Senior Lecturer in Film and Television, Dept. of Visual Arts, Monash University, and former secretary of the Melbourne International Film Festival, has a broad knowledge of South East Asian film, and is a SEAPAVAA member.

Brief for Authors

The following brief for authors is propose:

You are asked to write a brief history of the cinema in your country, from its beginnings to the present, in most cases concentrating on the feature film industry, but with some reference to documentaries and newsreels, particularly if documentaries have played a significant role in the society and in the development of the industry. You may concentrate on movements, individual producers and directors, and/or studio systems, whichever is most important in your own country, but striving to achieve some balance between space allotted to the popular commercial cinema and other movements or people who may also be important. Some mention or discussion of the financial basis of the cinema or its various sectors should be included at some stage (for example whether funding is from the commercial industry or from government, what kinds of films have been most popular, and what kinds of government assistance are provided), also some mention should be made of the kinds of regularity frameworks operating (for example, censorship), and some indication of whether films have received distribution outside the country of production (and where). You are asked to include a list of up to 25 major films, giving date of production and director’s name, and to indicate 3 or 4 books for further reading, preferably in English, otherwise in the national language. Significant missing or lost films should certainly be mentioned.

Size of Individual Essays

On average we would expect each contribution to be about 15 pages (or 7000 words) in length, but where the film industry is or has been quite a large industry (Philippines, Indonesia, Vietnam, Australia, Thailand, Malaysia) a longer article would be welcome (an approximate limit of 9000 words), and where the cinema has been small, it would be appropriate to have articles considerably shorter than 7000 words (Laos, Cambodia, Singapore since 1972).

Illustrations

We request that each author provide us with at least 4 film stills (with appropriate captions) to be selected for inclusion. They should be sent by post to the National Film and Sound Archive, along with the diskette of the article and the print out. Photographs will be printed in Black and White.

Format for Submission

Since the aim is to produce a book that is eminently readable, copy should be provided without footnotes or endnotes. When specific film titles are mentioned in the text, the title should be given in the original language (or English transliteration), together with an English title (either the English title customarily used, if there is one, or a translation) and the year of production of the film. Where possible, articles should preferably by supplied on a computer disk, using a standard or convertible word processing program (e.g. Microsoft Word, WordPerfect, Lotus, Ami Pro or Wordstar) together with a print out.

Bio-data

Each author is asked to supply succinct and relevant biographical data about themselves amounting to no more than about 60 words.

Information to be Provided to Authors

It is suggested that in addition to the "Brief for Authors", much of the information in this report (names of other authors, aims of the publication, overall timeline etc.) could usefully be provided to all the authors.

Role of the Editor

The editor has contacted authors in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Burma and Australia, and secured initial indications of a willingness to provide contributions. The editor has been asked to help in finalising all the articles, particularly where such help is requested by the authors, many of the articles being written by authors whose first language is not English. David Hanan has much experience in helping to edit and revise the work of talented overseas postgraduate students in Australia whose first language is not English. The editor and Ray Edmondson (currently SEAPAVAA President) will be responsible for determining final copy in English. As someone who has been viewing South East Asian films for over 15 years, and is familiar with much of the international discussion of South East Asian film, as well as Asian cinema generally, David Hanan will also be writing an introduction to the book. A short "Foreword" to the book should be provided by the SEAPAVAA president. If agreement is forthcoming from the SEAPAVAA council the editor will also investigate possible sale venues and/or distribution arrangements for the book, though this issue may be taken up after the book has been edited.

Role of Ray Edmondson

Ray Edmondson will be organising the issuing of the formal invitations to all of the authors (many of whom he has already contacted, particularly those closely associated with SEAPAVAA). Ray will be consulting with the Vietnam Film Institute over the most appropriate way for the invitations to be issued, given that the publishers will be the Vietnam Film Institute. It is agreed that the invitations will be issued as soon as possible, in order to give the authors six months to complete manuscripts and to meet the latest deadline (1 November 1999) allowing sufficient time for editorial work (and translation of a Vietnamese version) to be done and the publication process commenced in time for the book’s release in mid-2000. It needs to be determined exactly as to who the publishers are (the Vietnam Film Institute; or SEAPAVAA and the Vietnam Film Institute) and what rights and responsibilities each has in this arrangement. The nature of the copyright agreement should be conveyed to the authors.

Copyright

The question of whether copyright for each article rests with the authors or with the publishers needs to be clarified for all parties. In Australia, normally copyright on individual articles published as a collection rests with the authors of each article (who may republish the article elsewhere), but the publisher of the collection has the right to reissue the collection. We understand that in some countries in South East Asia copyright always remains with the publisher. In view of the fact that no payment is being offered to authors, I recommend that copyright for each article should remain with each of the authors, but that SEAPAVAA and the Vietnam Film Institute, as publishers, should have the right to republish the collection if they wish. This should be made clear to authors and be part of the letter of invitation.

Some Editorial Issues

1. Malay/Singapore division. Malay language films were made in studios in Singapore, particularly in the post war period of 1972, though Singapore separated form Malaysia in 1965. I have discussed by e-mail the division of labour re writing about the Singapore and Malaysian Film Industries, with Philip Cheah, the Singapore Programmer Film Festival. Philip has also been very helpful in suggesting possible authors in two of the countries (he is well positioned to do this).
   
   Philip agrees thinks that the most natural division of labour in the writing of this history is that the Singapore History should be covered by the writer on Malaysian film up until 1972 when the Cathay Keris Studios closed in Singapore. He himself would then cover the independent non-studio developments in Singapore since then. This division of labour is appropriate for, as Philip has pointed out, any discussion of the Singapore Studio films in the second half of the 60s after Singapore exits Malaysia needs to be done in the light of the earlier studio films of the 1950s, which Malaysians also see as their heritage. I have suggested this division to Baharudin Latif who I have recommended as the writer on Malay and Malaysian cinema. He appears to agree with this division.
   
   
2. Appendix on regional archives. I suggest that the book contains a short appendix which describes the resources and the development of each of the archives in the region. Although the book is not about archiving, it is important to profile the work of archives in preserving the audio visual heritage of the South East Asian region.

Reimbursement to Authors for Costs

SEAPAVAA has indicated to the editor that it is not in a position to offer payment to authors for their contributions, but all authors will receive at least one free copy of the publication. If it proves possible to arrange for significant sale and distribution of the publication, and the book sustains a second printing, maybe a small fee will be provided to authors, but the fee is unlikely to be large.

In those cases where authors are employees of SEAPAVAA institutional member organisations, SEAPAVAA expects the institution to cover costs incurred in the preparation of photos and in the initial dispatch of the material to Australia for editorial work. Authors not connected with such organisations will receive some reimbursement for costs.

(Please note: the Malaysian critic, Baharudin Latif, has asked whether the book is to be sold or not and has indicated that any agreement by him at this stage to contribute gratis will be on the basis that the publication will not be sold, but that he will be provided with at least one free copy, and preferably a few more. I think that he is absolutely right to make these conditions. Given that we will be dealing with at least 11 different countries, and with many people who do not know each other, we need to be absolutely clear about the terms on which authors are being invited to contribute, and whether or not any arrangements may change later, e.g. the decision to sell the publication. But it needs to be indicated that book will have only a small market.)

Number of Copies to be printed

The editor would like to know how many copies will be printed and how these copies will be distributed. While the current policy appears not to issue the book for sale, the editor believes that it will be seen as an increasingly useful resource as the countries in South East Asia gain in international profile over the next few years.

Could the Book be sold?

The editor believes it would be possible to sell the book to many university libraries in Australia and to up to 50 university libraries overseas. The Monash Asia Institute has offered to supply a database of 50 university libraries world-world that regularly buy publications on South East Asia, and it should be possible for SEAPAVAA to send out a subscription leaflet to them in advance. Other possibilities may be considered – a small number of copies could be placed with the NFT bookshop in London, for example. Both the editor and Deb Verhoeven (Australian contributor) will recommend the book for sale to students taking courses on film in the region (at Monash University I teach a course on Indonesian and South East Asian Film and Television). Does the National Film and Sound Archive of Australia propose to make the book available for sale in its branch offices and in its main bookshop? Will the book be available for sale in Vietnam in its Vietnamese language edition? Surely sale of the book is in fact something we should be aiming for, because this would be one way of further promoting South East Asia and its cinema? Maybe some of these decisions could be taken when the book has been edited. Nevertheless they should be kept in mind and this possibility foreshadowed to authors. If there is a plan to put the book on the "Internet" this should certainly be mentioned as well.

David Hanan
Department of Visual Arts
Monash University
Melbourne, Australia, 3168
Email: David.Hanan@arts.monash.edu.au