Raden is a Japanese termRaden.

nationalist figure, he entered the film industry in 1940 after a period in theatre and radio. During his 25-year career, he was involved in some 36 films in various positions. He later became head editor of the film magazine ''Varia''.

Early career

Ariffien was born in

Cimahi Cimahi () is a landlocked city located immediately west of the larger city of Bandung, in West Java Province, Indonesia and within the Bandung Metropolitan Area. It covers an area of 42.43 km2 and had a population at the 2010 Census of 541 ...

Dutch East Indies The Dutch East Indies, also known as the Netherlands East Indies (; ), was a Dutch Empire, Dutch colony with territory mostly comprising the modern state of Indonesia, which Proclamation of Indonesian Independence, declared independence on 17 Au ...

, on 23 June 1902. He received a primary-level education. Beginning in 1923 he became involved with the nascent

nationalist Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation,Anthony D. Smith, Smith, A ...

and

labour movement The labour movement is the collective organisation of working people to further their shared political and economic interests. It consists of the trade union or labour union movement, as well as political parties of labour. It can be considere ...

s, writing articles for several newspapers. He spent three years in prison during the late 1920s and, shortly after joining the

Indonesian National Party The Indonesian National Party (, PNI) was the name used by several nationalist political parties in Indonesia from 1927 until 1973. The first PNI was established by future President Sukarno. After independence, the new PNI supplied a number of pri ...

(), saw another two years in prison from 1930 to 1931. He later focused his energies on the theatre. By the mid-1930s he had joined the Bolero troupe, under the direction of Andjar Asmara. After leaving the troupe he spent some time directing

radio drama Radio drama (or audio drama, audio play, radio play, radio theatre, or audio theatre) is a dramatized, dramatised, purely acoustic performance. With no visual component, radio drama depends on dialogue, music and sound effects to help the liste ...

s. By 1940 Ariffien had entered film, making his debut on ''

Harta Berdarah ''Harta Berdarah'' (; Indonesian language, Indonesian for ''Bloody Treasure)'' is a 1940 action film from the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia). Set in the Middle Ages, the film stars R Sukran and Hadidjah as a pirate and a princess who fall in ...

'' (''Bloody Treasure''). He co-directed the film, which followed a rich yet terrible man getting his comeuppance, with R. Hu for Union Films. The following year he made '' Asmara Moerni'' (''Pure Passion''), drawing the nationalist figure

Adnan Kapau Gani Major general TNI ( Tit.) Dr. Adnan Kapau Gani or commonly abbreviated as A.K. Gani (16 September 1905 – 23 December 1968) was an Indonesian doctor, politician, actor and military figure. He served as Deputy Prime Minister in the Cabinet o ...

to act in the film, which was targeted at well-educated audiences; the film was generally well received. He wrote one more film,

Star A star is a luminous spheroid of plasma (physics), plasma held together by Self-gravitation, self-gravity. The List of nearest stars and brown dwarfs, nearest star to Earth is the Sun. Many other stars are visible to the naked eye at night sk ...

's '' Tjioeng Wanara'', and directed another, '' Wanita dan Satria'', that year. After the

Empire of Japan The Empire of Japan, also known as the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan, was the Japanese nation state that existed from the Meiji Restoration on January 3, 1868, until the Constitution of Japan took effect on May 3, 1947. From Japan–Kor ...

occupied the Indies beginning in 1942, Ariffien worked with the Cultural Board (Keimin Bunka Syidosyo) and was given two opportunities to direct

propaganda films Propaganda Films (stylized as PЯOPAGAИDA FILMS) was a production company founded in Los Angeles in 1986 by American producer Steve Golin, Icelandic producer Sigurjón Sighvatsson, English director Nigel Dick, and American directors David Fi ...

for the studio ''

Nippon Eigasha Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

''. However, the Indonesian film historian

Misbach Yusa Biran Misbach Yusa Biran (11 September 1933 – 11 April 2012) was an Indonesian writer, director and columnist who pioneered the Indonesian film archives. Personal life Biran was born in Rangkasbitung, in the Lebak Regency, to a Minangkaba ...

suggests that a Japanese man named Kurata Bunjin was the actual director of these works, with Rd Ariffien as his assistant. The first, '' Berdjoang'', was released in 1943 and was meant to entice Indonesians to join the army fighting for Japan; it was the only domestically produced

feature film A feature film or feature-length film (often abbreviated to feature), also called a theatrical film, is a film (Film, motion picture, "movie" or simply “picture”) with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole present ...

released in the Dutch East Indies during the occupation. The second, a short film entitled ''Keseberang'', followed in 1944.

Later career

Following the

Japanese surrender The surrender of the Empire of Japan in World War II was announced by Emperor Hirohito on 15 August and formally signed on 2 September 1945, ending the war. By the end of July 1945, the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) was incapable of condu ...

in 1945 Ariffien took the equipment from ''Nippon Eigasha'' and fled to

Yogyakarta Yogyakarta is the capital city of the Special Region of Yogyakarta in Indonesia, in the south-central part of the island of Java. As the only Indonesian royal city still ruled by Hamengkubuwono, a monarchy, Yogyakarta is regarded as an importan ...

, establishing Berita Film Indonesia there. During this time, with the

Indonesian National Revolution The Indonesian National Revolution (), also known as the Indonesian War of Independence (, ), was an armed conflict and diplomatic struggle between the Republic of Indonesia and the Dutch Empire and an internal social revolution during A ...

in full force, he focused mainly on

newsreel A newsreel is a form of short documentary film, containing news, news stories and items of topical interest, that was prevalent between the 1910s and the mid 1970s. Typically presented in a Movie theater, cinema, newsreels were a source of cu ...

s. Ariffien made his return to feature film in 1950, after the Dutch recognised Indonesia's independence, with ''Meratap Hati'' (''Mourning the Heart''), which showed a woman's misery after she was abandoned by her husband. The mid- to late-1950s was his most productive period; he completed more than half his films in the six-year period. Ariffien joined Andjar Asmara in 1958 at the magazine ''Varia'', working as an assistant. This preceded a drop in the number of films he made. In 1961, after Andjar's death, Ariffien became the leader of ''Varia''. He would make his last film, ''Takkan Lari Gunung Dikedjar'' (literally ''The Mountain Won't Run if Chased'') in 1965. The film showed a

love triangle A love triangle is a scenario or circumstance, usually depicted as a rivalry, in which two people are pursuing or involved in a romantic relationship with one person, or in which one person in a romantic relationship with someone is simultaneo ...

between a doctor's wife, a singer, and his girlfriend. Ariffien is recorded as editor of ''Varia'' as late as 1978.

Filmography

Ariffien was involved with some 36 films, directing 33 (most of which he wrote himself); he also acted in one film.

Cast

*''Taufan'' (1952)

Crew

*''

'' (''Bloody Treasure''; 1940) – Director *'' Asmara Moerni'' (''Pure Passion''; 1941) – Director and scriptwriter *'' Tjioeng Wanara'' (1941) – Scriptwriter *'' Wanita dan Satria'' (''The Woman and the Hero''; 1941) – Director *'' Berdjoang'' (''Hope of the South''; 1943) – Director and scriptwriter *''Keseberang'' (''To the Other Side''; 1944; short film) – Director *''Meratap Hati'' (''Mourning the Heart''; 1950) – Director *''Budi Utama'' (1951) – Director *''Rakjat Memilih'' (''The People Choose''; 1951) – Director *''Dewi dan Pemilihan Umum'' (''Dewi and the Election''; 1954) – Director *''Djakarta Diwaktu Malam'' (''Jakarta at Night''; 1954) – Director *''Eulis Atjih'' (1954) – Director *''Antara Tugas dan Tjinta'' (''Between Duty and Love''; 1954) – Director *''Konde Tjioda'' (1954) – Director and scriptwriter *''Lain Dulu Lain Sekarang'' (''Different Then, Different Now''; 1954) – Director and scriptwriter *''Gado-gado Djakarta'' (''A Mix of Jakarta''; 1955) – Director, screenwriter, and cinematographer *''Gali Lobang Tutup Lobang'' (''Dig and Cover Holes''; 1955) – Director *''Habis Manis Sepah Dibuang'' (1955) – Director *''Hanja Sepekan'' (''Only a Week''; 1955) – Screenwriter *''Hari Minggu'' (''Sunday''; 1955) – Director *''Ratu Kentjana'' (1955) – Director and screenwriter *''Korupsi'' (''Corruption''; 1956) – Director *''Pegawai Negeri'' (''Civil Servant''; 1956) – Director *''Konsepsi Ajah'' (''Father's Conception''; 1957) – Director and screenwriter *''Apa jang Kunanti?'' (''What am I Awaiting?''; 1957) – Director and screenwriter *''Bunga dan Samurai'' (''Flowers and Samurai''; 1958) – Director and screenwriter *''Wanita Indonesia'' (''Indonesian Women''; 1958) – Director *''Dibalik Dinding Sekolah'' (''Behind the School Walls''; 1961) – Director *''Kumbang dan Bunga'' (''Bee and the Flower''; 1961) – Director *''Limapuluh Megaton'' (''Fifty Megatons''; 1961) – Director *''Dara Kembar'' (''Twin Girls''; 1960) – Director and screenwriter *''Kekota'' (''To the City''; 1960) – Director *''Pendjual Koran'' (''Paperboy''; 1960) – Director and screenwriter *''Si Mamang'' (1960) – Director and screenwriter *''Takkan Lari Gunung Dikedjar'' (''The Mountain Won't Run if Chased''; 1965) – Director

References

Footnotes Bibliography * * * * * * * * * * *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ariffien, Rd 1902 births 1976 deaths 20th-century Indonesian screenwriters Film directors from the Dutch East Indies Indonesian collaborators with Imperial Japan Indonesian film directors People from Cimahi Place of death missing Screenwriters from the Dutch East Indies