Welcome to the Center for Southeast Asian Studies Film Archive. This archive represents the bulk of Southeast Asian films purchased by the Center since 2006 for use in academic and community outreach program screenings. A number of the films collected here were also translated and subtitled by University of Hawaiʻi students enrolled in the course ASAN 491s Subtitling Southeast Asian Films, the first program of its kind in the United States.

Many of the films noted here are now cataloged in the University of Hawai‘i’s Wong Audio-Visual Center and may be available for classroom use through Inter Library Loan. This archive is intended to serve as a resource for educators and students interested in the cinema of Southeast Asia, and we will continue to add to this resource as our film program grows. Funding for this collection was contributed in part by the U.S. Department of Education and the School of Pacific & Asian Studies, University of Hawai‘i.

Click on the following links:

CSEAS Film Series Archive
* Cambodia

* Indonesia

* Malaysia

* Myanmar (Burma)

* Philippines

* Singapore

* Thailand

* Viet Nam

CSEAS Co-sponsored Film Events

Film Resources: Publications

Links: Southeast Asia Online Film Archives

Links: Southeast Asia Online Film Reviews

Southeast Asia – General | Indonesia | Malaysia | Philippines | Singapore | Thailand | Viet Nam

Contemporary Asian Cinema: Popular Culture in a Global Frame
by Anne Tereska Ciecko
Berg Publishers, 2006

This book presents the most authoritative assessment of contemporary Asian cinema available. Each chapter describes the cultural aspects of popular film production, analyzing key films in the context of the national, the regional and the global. Topics covered include: film theory and Asian cinema, popular film genres, major industry figures, the "art film", connections between the state and commercial interests, cultural policies, representations of national identity, trends in international co-production, and more.

Berg Publishers | Goodreads | Amazon

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Film in South East Asia: Views from the Region
Edited by David Hanan
SEAPAVAA, 2001

Structured in sections devoted to ten “national” cinemas, Film in South East Asia is positioned by David Hanan as a generator and promoter of discourse regarding the film history both within and across the geo-political boundaries of the featured countries. Most of the essays trace chronological histories of industrial and cultural practices within this spirit of national difference and co-operation. In many cases, the authors are or have been involved with state organisations, local publications and/or in making films respective to their domestic fields of interest. Eight countries from South East Asia – the Philippines, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia – are represented. Regardless of its problematic approach to the enunciation of the national, Film in South East Asia is a sweeping, informative and often fascinating work that treats its subjects with liberal doses of affection, nostalgia and concern. The authors are always lucid and concise, which often supplies enthralling reading. Each section contains short bibliographies and filmographies that help indicate authorial viewpoints and the key areas they address. Film in South East Asia is an excellent introduction for the curious, a useful reference for the analytical and a necessary addition to an under explored sphere of English language film literature.
- James Brown

Goodreads | Amazon | Screening the Past review

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Malaysian Cinema, Asian Film
by William Van der Heide
Amsterdam University Press, 2002

This monograph departs from traditional studies of national cinema by accentuating the intercultural and intertextual links between Malaysian films and Asian (as well as European and American) film practices. Using cross-cultural analysis, the author characterizes Malaysia as a pluralist society consisting of a multiplicity of cultural identities. Malaysian film reflects this remarkable heterogeneity, particularly evident in the impact of the Indian and Hong Kong cinema. Detailed analyses of a selection of Malaysian films highlight their cultural complexities, while noting the tension between cultural inclusivity and ethnic exclusivity at the heart of this cinema.

Goodreads | Amazon

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Yasmin Ahmad's Films
by Amir Muhammad
Matahari Books, 2009

Yasmin Ahmad left a vibrant legacy, and it is still strange to talk about her in the past tense. In order to deal with his grief, Amir Muhammad, fellow Malaysian filmmaker and friend, watched anew her six feature-length films (Rabun, Sepet, Gubra, Mukhsin, Muallaf and Talentime), as well as several of her most popular commercials. Neither an obituary nor a conventional work of film criticism, this book was written just a month after her funeral and is Amir's personal look at the stories, but with quite a few tangents of his own. Chatty and informative, Yasmin Ahmad's Films can be devoured not only by established fans but newcomers to her work. It is also a tribute to one of Malaysia's most amazing daughters.

Goodreads | Amazon

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Critic After Dark: A Review of Philippine Cinema
by Noel Vera
BigO Books, 2005

Over the past decade or so, no one has written more knowledgeably, more consistently, and more passionately about Philippine cinema than Noel Vera.The book isn’t just about the strengths and weaknesses of individual Filipino movies. As the title suggests, it’s a review of Philippine cinema as a whole, and Vera completes the picture by devoting useful and informative sections to film festivals, interviews with film personalities, reviews of plays, and Catholic films (e.g., movies about Christ). He has a very interesting list of the 13 most important Filipino films as of 2000 (his top three, in order: 1. Tatlong Taong Walang Diyos; 2. Insiang; 3. Kisapmata.) He takes a look across time periods and genres to discuss films about society, films about sex, films about Manila, and personal visions. -Jose Dalisay Jr.

BigO Magazine | Goodreads | Criticine review

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Singapore Cinema
by Raphael Millet
Editions Didier Millet Pte Ltd, 2006

Filmmaking in Singapore has seen a dramatic revival since the 1990s with the success of movies such as "15", "Perth", "I Not Stupid" and "12 Storeys", and continues to be highly active with several new productions this year. Millet's "Singapore Cinema" seeks to place Singapore in its rightful context as a filmmaking hub attracting producers, directors and actors not just from the Malay archipelago, but also from China, India, and the Philippines. "Singapore Cinema" starts with the 1926 little-known production of "Xin Ke", a film about newly arrived Chinese immigrants, through its peak with the legendary Cathay and Shaw studios in the post-WWII period, and on to the rise of dynamic young filmmakers and the Singapore International Film Festival of today.

Goodreads | Amazon | Criticine Review

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A Century of Thai Cinema
by Dome Sukwong, Sawasdi Suwannapak and David Smyth
River Books Press Dist A C, 2006

Cinema was born in 1895. Just two years later it had reached Siam, where it quickly became hugely popular, with small booklets in Thai explaining the stories of the imported films. This is the first book to provide a visual history of Thai cinema and all its associated memorabilia, from advertisements and programmes to reproductions of highly collectable film posters.

Goodreads | Amazon

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General Southeast Asia | Cambodia | Indonesia | Laos | Malaysia | Myanmar | Singapore | Thailand | Viet Nam

ASEAN Media Portal Hosting new and archived multimedia clips on news, documentaries, culture, arts, heritage and tourism information of ASEAN’s member countries View website

Southeast Asia Pacific Audiovisual Archives Association An association of organizations and individuals involved in the development of audiovisual archiving in Southeast Asia, Australia and New Zealand and the Pacific Islands View website

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Bophana The Audiovisual Resource Center collects the images and sounds of the Cambodian memory and makes them available to a wide public and trains Cambodians in the audiovisual professions View website

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Sinematek Indonesia Online digital archive of Indonesian films View website

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National Film Archive and Video Centre Established in 1991, the National Fim Archive and Video Centre is charged with preserving the Lao film and video heritage View website

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National Archives of Malaysia The National Archives acts as a national resource and research center View website

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Myanmar Moving Image Center Myanmar Moving Image Center (MMIC) was started as an educational organization with an aim to provide a quality education on film and video for Myanmar people View website

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Asian Film Archive The Asian Film Archive is a non-governmental organisation founded to preserve the rich film heritage of Singapore and Asian Cinema View website

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Thai Film Archive The Thai Film Archive was established in 1984 as the National Film Archive as a unit under the Fine Arts Department View website (Thai language only)

View website(English)

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Vietnam Film Institute Established in 1979 the Vietnam Film Institute has been appointed by the government of Vietnam to undertake research studies on the art of cinema View website

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