1967 Bengkulu Indonesia

Hermanto
Born 1955
Bengkulu, Indonesia
Interviewed on February 4th, 2026
By Nicholas Nevin Tan

Django (1966)

(Translated from Indonesian)

(additional context is in italics)

What is the first movie you remember seeing?

I watched a lot of movies back then. A lot of westerns and Bruce Lee films. Cowboys.

(Interviewer: Which one was your first movie, or the one you remember the most?)

I don’t remember exactly, but it was probably Django. It was a cowboy movie. I used to watch films with my friends. It was the three of us. My friend, who was Indian, was the son of a theatre owner. Back then, all the theatres in Bengkulu (his hometown) were owned by Indians. 

I remember just walking into the theatres like we owned it. Because, well, one of us did. We would always sit in the front because we were short. Theatres back then didn’t have different levels for different rows. Everything was flat back then. So we always sat in the front because we didn’t want tall people blocking us. 

How old were you (approximately)?

This was in middle school. I was maybe 12-13. We were the only kids who were able to watch the movie growing up because kids weren’t supposed to. There was a minimum age. But my friend’s dad was fine with us watching. Or, actually, I don’t even know if my friend told his dad about the movies we watched. But yeah, we would boast about what we saw in school to our friends.

That was middle school. Right before I went to Jakarta (the big city) to work after graduating. You know, I didn’t even go to high school. Your grandmother was the same.

What do you remember about the movie?

It was a cowboy movie. I remember the gun scenes. You weren’t allowed to shoot people from behind. You had to be respectful. It was always face-to-face. A speed battle: whoever shot first would win. Also, the cowboys would always be riding their horses.

I don’t really remember anything about the movie, actually. I forgot the story. I just remember watching the battle scenes, and being amazed.

How did you get to the theater/venue?

The theatre was very close. The distance is probably similar to Green Lake (our current home) to Kosambi (our previous home, distance ~ 40-minute walk). So, I just walked there to meet up with them.

Was there a concession? Did you have a favorite candy?

No, no, no. Food wasn’t allowed in the theatre. It’s not like Jakarta now, where cinemas sell food and stuff. We weren’t allowed to bring anything in. Actually, I remember when I started working in Jakarta, it was super common for people to do Sunrise films.

The idea was that you would start your first movie at midnight. They give you food to snack on and everything. After your first movie, they have a quick break. Then, they show your second movie. So, you end up leaving at 4 AM. I used to do this with your grandma.

Do you remember the name of the theater? Were there ushers? 

The theatre was called Sampoerna (meaning ‘perfect’ in Indonesian). Yes, there were ushers that would greet you before you entered. For other people, they would always ask for a ticket. But since we were friends with the owner’s son, they always just let us in. It was amazing.

Hermanto is my maternal grandfather.