Discover Borneo : On screen (Cinema / TV)

Although Borneo hasn't played host to any major film shoots, there are plenty of cinemas to choose from, whether you're a movie buff or not. While you're there, take the opportunity to learn more about Malay and Indonesian cinemas and about the astonishing seventh art of Borneo. From auteur films to historical blockbusters, from hilarious comedies to moving dramas, you'll be spoilt for choice. However, don't expect to recognize the settings of Kuching, Bandar Seri Begawan or Samarinda, as the region's productions have tended to take place on adjacent islands or on the mainland. There are a few exceptions, however: you'll see Jessica Alba in the Malaysian jungle in Forbidden Love, or actor Nick Nolte as an American soldier in the classic Farewell to the King. And maybe you'll be brave enough to face down a giant anaconda alongside the characters in Anaconda, filmed in the jungles of Kalimantan..

National and international cinema in Malaysian Borneo

The history of Malay cinema is woven mainly on the mainland. After an initial burst of activity in the 1930s, which was quickly snuffed out by the Second World War, Malay cinema took off again in the 1950s, before drying up in the 1960s and 70s. It wasn't until the 1980s that Malay cinema, boosted by video production and financial support from the government, was able to flourish again. Since the 2010s, dozens of films have emerged from Malay studios every year, ranging from comedies and horror films to arthouse nuggets that are making the rounds at international festivals. Such is the case of Flower in the Pocket by Liew Seng Tat, which won an award at Rotterdam in 2007. More recently, Malaysian cinema has enjoyed a resurgence in popularity thanks to large-scale productions such as Mat Kilau, an epic historical fresco that became the biggest box-office success in Malaysian history in just a few weeks. In 2023, the state of Sarawak hosted the filming of Pagari Bulan, a war drama recounting the misadventures of Bulan, a young Malay living under the yoke of Japanese occupation during the Second World War. Twenty years earlier, Kuching was the setting for the Anglo-German-American film Amour interdit, starring Jessica Alba and Hugh Dancy. The story of a young English writer sent as a representative of the crown to a Malay tribe, and the love affair that gradually develops between him and a Malay woman played by Jessica Alba, despite her Mexican origins. The film was shot on a grand scale for the region, with a specially built longhouse not far from the Batang Ai Longhouse Resort, where the cast stayed during production. You'll also recognize the landscapes of Matang Family Park, not far from the capital, in the film.

Another landmark Hollywood production shot in Malaysian Borneo is John Milius' Farewell to the King (1989), adapted from Pierre Schoendoerffer's novel of the same name. Featuring an American soldier who escapes capture by the Japanese by hiding among the indigenous tribes, the film tells the story of his rise to become king of the tribe. A slightly dated production, but nonetheless worthy of interest from a historical-cinematographic point of view. For cinema in Malaysian Borneo, check out GSC The Spring in Kuching, 10Star Cinemas in Sandakan or one of Kota Kinabalu's many cinemas, such as City Cineplex.

Indonesian cinema in brief and Borneo

With more than 2,000 screens on its soil, numerous cinemas and a century-long history, Indonesian cinema is not easy to present in a few lines. Born in the 1920s, it flourished in the 1930s before being muzzled by the Japanese occupation and then by the dictatorship. Despite an international breakthrough in the 1980s, and the screening of Tjoet Nja' Dhien, Eros Djarot's biopic recounting the anti-colonial struggle of war leader Cut Nyak Dhien, at the Cannes Film Festival's Critics' Week, Indonesian cinema faltered in the 1990s. Lacking state support and subject to censorship, it wasn't until the turn of the century that Indonesian cinema rose from the ashes, with productions such as The Raid (2011) by Welsh filmmaker Gareth Evans and Satan's Slaves (2017) by Joko Anwar. Today, thanks to new government support and an expanded distribution network, Indonesian cinema is continuing to win back its audiences and international festivals. Director Edwin's comedy Vengeance Is Mine, All Others Pay Cash (2021) recently won the Golden Leopard at the Locarno Film Festival, while Yuni, the latest film by Indonesian filmmaker Kamila Andini, won the Platform Prize at the prestigious Toronto Film Festival the same year.

However, the number of outstanding films shot on the island of Borneo is much smaller. It's not the scenery that's lacking, but rather the infrastructure and production companies, which are more inclined to set up on the islands of Java or Sumatra, close to the most populated areas. The international shooting of the horror film Anaconda: The Hunt of Blood Orchid (2004), a horrific adventure featuring treasure hunters battling a giant snake in the Kalimantan jungle.

If you want to see a movie in the region, there are around fifteen cinemas to choose from. Visit the CGV Plaza in Samarinda or Balikpapan, for example, or the more traditional Studio Cine 21 in Samarinda. Banjarmasin also boasts several complexes, such as Studio XXI.

Brunei, a country without cinema?

Films produced in Brunei can be counted on the fingers of one hand, sadly enough. Caught between a lack of resources, a non-existent industry and heavy state control, local filmmakers are crushed by international productions, of which Malay cinema is a large part. But Brunei cinema nevertheless exists through its few films, and the local and international film buffs who live there. In 1968, Gema Dari Menara or Echoes from the Minaret became the very first Bruneian feature film to be screened in the country's few cinemas. Commissioned by the country's religious institutions, the film, co-produced with Malaysia, depicts a family in crisis in the 1960s, as the country faces growing Western influence. A film that reflects an era, it's a great way to discover the country's history if you're lucky enough to find a copy. After this one-off occurrence, we'll have to wait until 2013 for a second Bruneian film to be made, this time focusing on comedy.Ada Apa Dengan Rina was released in 2013, and toured the world. The film is available on DVD, as is the third Bruneian film, Yasmine, a martial arts film released a few months later. If you're lucky, you'll even be able to see these films on the big screen, in one of the cinemas in Bandar Seri Begawan (The Mall Cineplex) or Kuala Belait (Times Cineplex).