JUS Soema Di Pradja still remembers where to go to borrow a movie when Saturday night rolled around. “I’d go to Aunt Iet’s house to borrow a movie to watch with a group of friends,” said Jus. After all, lending out movies wasn’t a difficult matter for Maria. She was the Chair of the Film Censorship Committee. Every movie set to be screened in theaters had to pass through her hands first.
Jus wasn’t the only one with memories of watching movies for free thanks to Maria Ullfah. Abbi Djajadiningrat, Maria’s nephew, had a similar experience. “Back then, I used to love being taken to watch movies at Studio 5, which was located between Jalan Sunda and Jalan Agus Salim,” said Abbi.
Maria served as Chair of the Film Censorship Committee from 1950 to 1961. At that time, movies were a prestigious form of entertainment for certain circles. Several foreign film companies also had offices in Indonesia; one of the most well-known was the American Motion Picture Association in Indonesia (AMPAI). Bill Palmer, the company’s director, knew Maria and was close to the PSI (Socialist Party of Indonesia, a party Maria was closely related with) circle.
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