Djadoeg Djajakusuma[a] ([dʒaˈdʊʔ dʒajakuˈsuma]; 1 August 1918 – 28 October 1987) was an Indonesian film director and promoter of traditional art forms.

Born to a nobleman and his wife in Temanggung, Central Java, Djajakusuma became interested in the arts at a young age, choosing to pursue a career in theatre.

During the Japanese occupation from 1943 to 1945 he was a translator and actor, and in the four-year national revolution which followed he worked for the military's educational division, several news agencies, and in drama.

Although he continued to direct movies independently of Perfini, most of his energies were dedicated to promoting traditional art forms and teaching cinematography.

The dedicated but easily angered Djajakusuma was influenced by Usmar Ismail's realist views, although he focused more on traditional aspects of life.

Djajakusuma was born on 1 August 1918 in Parakan, Temanggung, Central Java, Dutch East Indies,[1] to a priyayi father, Raden Mas Aryo Djojokoesomo, and his wife Kasimah.

[4] When imported Hollywood films began to be screened, he was an avid viewer, watching Westerns and works starring Charlie Chaplin.

Accordingly, in early 1943 – almost a year after the Indies were occupied by the Empire of Japan – Djajakusuma moved to the colony's political centre, Jakarta, to find work.

[10] In his free time, Djajakusuma helped establish the amateur theatre company Maya, together with artists such as HB Jassin, Rosihan Anwar, and Usmar Ismail.

Expecting the Dutch colonial government to return, Djajakusuma and Ismail helped establish the Independent Artists (Seniman Merdeka) as a form of resistance.

After the arrival of the Netherlands Indies Civil Administration, the group sometimes attempted to spy on the Europeans or hide information which would be considered useful to the returning Dutch forces.

[13] There, he spent a time with the national news agency Antara[14] before joining the military's educational division, rising to the rank of captain.

[16] Despite his involvement in the press, he did not abandon the theatre; with Surjo Sumanto, he established a troupe which performed for soldiers and raised morale, sometimes travelling to the frontlines.

Meanwhile, Djajakusuma was put in charge of censoring radio broadcasts in Republican-held areas, a duty he held until the Dutch captured Yogyakarta on 19 December 1948.

He made his directorial debut in 1952 with Embun (Dewdrop), which showed the psychological troubles faced by soldiers upon returning to their village after the revolution.

[28] The release of Embun made Djajakusuma one of four directors to work for Perfini; the others were Ismail, Nya Abas Akup, and Wahyu Sihombing.

[29] Djajakusuma's next production, Terimalah Laguku (Take My Song; 1952), was a musical about an old, impoverished musician who sells his saxophone to help his former student's career.

[35] The following year Djajakusuma helped establish the Indonesian Screen Actors Guild (Persatuan Artis Film Indonesia; PARFI).

[4] His only film that year, the drama Arni, told of a man who married another woman while his sick wife went to Padang, Sumatra, for treatment.

[46] Djajakusuma released another comedy, Masa Topan dan Badai (Time of Cyclones and Storms), in 1963; the film centres around the family dynamics of a conservative father, liberal mother, and their two teenaged daughters who are in the throes of adolescence.

[47] The following year Djajakusuma directed his last film with Perfini, Rimba Bergema (Echoing Jungles), which was meant to promote the nation's rubber industry.

[4] Starring Rano Karno and Putu Wijaya as the title character, the film follows a young boy who forgets his roots after spending much of his childhood at sea.

In 1980 he made his last film appearance, and his only role on the big screen, acting in Ismail Soebardjo's Perempuan dalam Pasungan (Woman in Stocks).

[67] He and Sofia WD portrayed parents who regularly put their daughter in stocks to punish her for being disobedient;[68] in an interview with Suara Karya, Soebardjo recalled that, from the time he had written it, he had only considered Djajakusuma for the role.

[51] In 1983 Djajakusuma served as dean of the Faculty of Arts at IKJ,[70] and in 1984 he went to the Three Continents Festival in Nantes, France, where two of his films were shown to critical acclaim.

[71] Djajakusuma collapsed on 28 October 1987 while giving a speech in commemoration of the Youth Pledge at the IKJ, striking his head on a stone step.

[73] After his death, newspapers throughout Jakarta carried obituaries by such cultural and film figures as Alisjahbana, the producer Misbach Yusa Biran, and the Perfini cameraman Soemardjono.

However, while Ismail preferred to focus on national-level themes, Djajakusuma was more drawn to simple, locally relevant storylines with educational messages.

The award-winning director Teguh Karya cited the works of Djajakusuma, Usmar Ismail, and Asrul Sani as "legendary" and among his greatest influences.