Loetoeng Kasaroeng

Loetoeng Kasaroeng is a 1926 fantasy film from the Dutch East Indies modernday Indonesia which was directed and produced by L. Heuveldorp. An adaptation of the Sundanese folktale Lutung Kasarung The Lost Lutung, the film tells of a young girl who falls in love with a magical lutung and stars the children of noblemen. Details on its performance are unavailable, although it is known to have been of poor technical quality and thought to have performed poorly. It was the first film produced in the country and the first to feature a nativeIndonesian cast. It is likely a lost film.

The cast was drawn entirely from the priyayi noble class, under the coordination of school headmaster Kartabrata. Among the cast were children of WiranatakusumahV, the regent of Bandung he had agreed to help fund the film to promote Sundanese culture, and had previously brought the story to the stage. Further subsidies had come from the Ministry of Defence, which donated trucks to ease filming.Filming had begun by August1926, when several scenes were shot in a cave that had been excavated for the production on Karang Hill. Heuveldorp, unable to force the actors to play their roles seriously, shot several scenes with them acting as they wished before showing them the results upon realising that their acting had been disappointing, the cast began to listen to stage directions. Afterwards they began rehearsing each scene at least twice, with Kartabrata standing behind the cameraman and giving directions. ........

Source: Wikipedia