Restoring the Future

Alex Sihar was involved in the restoration project of Lewat Djam Malam, a neo-noir film directed by Usmar Ismail in 1954. Usmar Ismail is the godfather of Indonesian cinema who was also considered by Singaporean filmmakers as the figure who was involved in developing Singapore’s film industry.

The funding of this restoration project came from National Museum of Singapore (NMS) which used 1/3 of NMS annual budget. Later, World Cinema Foundation lead by Martin Scorsese decided to join the funding. The film was first screened at NMS in March 2012 and then shown at 2012 Cannes Film Festival as part of the World Classic Cinema.

Alex Sihar is the founder and director of Konfiden Foundation (Yayasan Konfiden), a foundation that is engaged in the development, knowledge dissemination and utilization of audio-visual media. He was serving as the chairman of the Film Committee as a member of the Jakarta Arts Council (Dewan Kesenian Jakarta). In 2012, through Yayasan Konfiden, he participated in the restoration of the classic Indonesian film by Usmar Ismail titled Lewat Djam Malam, in cooperation with the National Museum of Singapore and World Cinema Foundation.