Screening Realities: A study of the relationship of negotiation between Southeast Asian documentary filmmakers and the cultural institutes in the Netherlands considering investing in them

Abstract

This case study looks at the relationship between the Southeast Asian documentary filmmakers and different cultural institutes in the Netherlands, to see how both parties negotiate their network in order to achieve what they need. This research is based on relevant literature about independent Southeast Asian cinema and interviews with Southeast Asian filmmakers and people working at cultural institutes in the Netherlands. Considering the Actor-Network Theory, these sources suggest that there was at one point a certain platform, but that the relationship is one that needs constant attention and work for the platform to remain, so as to be beneficial to the cultural institutes and the filmmakers themselves, as the network needs to be actively used.