Southeast Asian independent cinema: a world cinema movement

This chapter gives an overview of the Southeast Asian independent cinema and addresses a number of core questions: In what ways is this cinema independent? What is the cinematic and social significance of these films? How have they been discussed in the literature on Southeast Asian cinema? To what extent can these films be seen as part of a pan-Southeast Asian film movement? As a new type of independent filmmaking that emerged suddenly and rapidly gained success, Southeast Asian independent cinema would appear to conform to this idea. At the same time, independent cinema must negotiate the existing structures of the market, which creates a dominant, profit-driven or "mainstream" cinema. In order to explore more fully, it is necessary to examine Southeast Asian independent cinema's regional identity. The problems involved in discerning a set of clear, pan-regional qualities within Southeast Asian independent cinema makes it difficult for us to view it as a fully homogenous film movement.