Wong brothers
The Wong brothers were three ethnic Chinese film directors and cameramen active in the cinema of the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia).
The sons of an Adventist preacher, the brothers – Nelson (1895–1945), Joshua (1906–1981), and Othniel (1908–1986) – received much of their education in the United States before going to Shanghai and establishing The Great Wall Productions.
When its owner Tio Tek Djien suggested he make a film with the troupe's star, Nelson insisted that his family be brought to the Indies.
The Indonesian film historian Misbach Yusa Biran writes that the brothers were born in China and later went to the United States, Nelson in 1920 and his family some time afterwards;[1] however, the Sinematek Indonesia publication Apa Siapa Orang Film Indonesia (Who and What: Indonesian Filmmakers) indicates that Nelson was born in San Francisco and raised in China,[2] and lists the brothers as attending several American schools as early as 1916.
However, he instead focused on learning about the developing film industry, spending time watching productions with The Teng Chun and Fred Young.
[5] By the mid-1920s the Wong brothers had left the US and moved to Shanghai, China, where they established The Great Wall, a film company sponsored by a Chinese-American.
[b][8] The brothers decided to complete Lily van Java (Lily of Java), a film which had been partially worked on by South Sea Film in Batavia (modern day Jakarta); South Sea had reportedly booked an American named Len Ross to direct, but after shooting several scenes he left the country.
[11] The brothers, under the banner Halimoen Film, began taking orders from several different studios, with Nelson, Joshua, and Othniel serving in various roles in the crew.
[12] In 1929 the brothers worked with Batavia Motion Pictures to produce the Chinese-oriented bandit film Si Tjonat,[13] which was fairly well received.
[17] In 1930 the Wongs produced Lari ke Arab (Escape to Arabia), an original script written by Joshua that the brothers worked on collaboratively; the film was originally entitled Lari ke Mekah (Escape to Mecca), but the Film Commissie (national censorship board) refused the title as it could be insulting to Muslims.
[24] However, Joshua and Othniel remained in the industry, and in late 1933 or early 1934 were introduced to Albert Balink, a reporter from the Soematra Post in Medan.
[25] Over a period of almost two years Joshua and Othniel worked with Balink to scout shooting locations and potential cast members, including joining a car chase which resulted in Rd.
[26] The resulting film, Pareh (Rice), followed the forbidden love between a fisherman and a farmer's daughter, and was edited in the Netherlands by co-director Mannus Franken.
[40] The brothers remained with Tan's through early 1940, directing the dramas Sorga Ka Toedjoe (Seventh Heaven)[41] Siti Akbari,[42] and Roekihati.
[44] The film, a love story between a noblewoman and commoner,[45] proved to be the Wongs' last production for eight years,[44] in part owing to the Japanese invasion which led to almost all studios being closed.
