Union Films

Union Films was a film production company based in Batavia, Dutch East Indies. Established in 1940, it produced seven black-and-white films before it was dissolved in 1942. Company was funded by ethnic Chinese businessman Ang Hock Liem, who is credited as producer for the majority of company’s releases.

About Union Films in brief

Summary Union FilmsUnion Films was a film production company based in Batavia, Dutch East Indies. Established in 1940, it produced seven black-and-white films before it was dissolved in 1942. The company’s films were directed by four men, mostly ethnic Chinese, and launched the careers of actors such as Rendra Karno and Djoewariah. Following the Japanese occupation of the Indies in March 1942, Union was dissolved, though its films continued to be screened into the mid 1940s. All of Union’s films are now thought to have been lost, though the company’s final two films are thought to be still in existence. Company was funded by ethnic Chinese businessman Ang Hock Liem, who is credited as producer for the majority of company’s releases.

Union was headquartered in Prinsenlaan, Batavia, and, according to a press release, established to “improve the quality of Indonesian art”. The company released its first film, Kedok Ketawa, in July 1940. This was followed by a series of films penned by Saeroen which were increasingly oriented towards the Indies’ growing intelligentsia and attempted to distance themselves from the theatrical conventions which were common in the contemporary film industry. In July 1941 Union released Wanita dan Satria, a Djoewsariah vehicle which follows a well-born womaniser who abuses his social status to gain women’s trust.