Profile of Imam Tantowi, All-round Filmmaker for Behind-the-Scenes Tasks

Imam Tantowi (screenshot)

JAKARTA - The Indonesian Film Festival (FFI) was held on Wednesday, November 20 at ICE BSD. Every year, FFI gives awards to figures who have made contributions in the film industry.

This year, the Lifetime Achievement award was given to Imam Tantowi, a director and screenwriter who is active in Indonesian films. He also contributed to the television industry, where he worked on various soap operas.

Imam Tantowi admitted that receiving this award was like waking up from a dream after not being involved in Indonesian films for decades.

"It was like waking up from a dream after not being in films for decades. Switching to television since the first film came out," said Imam Tantowi at ICE BSD, Tangerang, Wednesday, November 20.

Imam expressed his gratitude to the committee for giving the award, which was the last award of his life.

"Thank you to the committee for giving this extraordinary award. This may be the last award in my life," said Imam Tantowi.

He continued that he never thought that there would still be people who appreciated him as someone who had contributed to Indonesian films.

"Initially on television there were several directings. This is truly extraordinary, very surprising. It turns out that there are still people who appreciate him," he said.

Check out the complete profile of Imam Tantowi below:

Imam Tantowi was born on August 13, 1946, is a director and screenwriter. Before reaching his highest career, Tanotwi had tried all the tasks behind the scenes. Almost all tasks can be done. He started his career by following a drama in 1966 before working on a film poster.

Then, he moved to Jakarta to develop his career in the film world. He got the opportunity to work on the film Let the Seasons Change in 1971 as a decorator.

The next two years, he became the artistic director for the film Si Rano. He also had time to continue his studies in the cinematography department at the Film Television Employee Organization Education Bureau to develop his knowledge in the world of film.

In 1977, he was trusted to be an assistant director and worked on the film Tukang Kawin, continuing to Dang Ding Dong. In 1982, he officially became a director.

The man born in Tegal began to spread his wings to become a screenwriter. Ira Maya and Kakek Ateng were the first films for which he wrote the script.

Thanks to his screenwriting career, Imam Tantowi won the FFI award for best screenwriter. Some of the films were Si Badung, Soerabaia 45, and Bintang Film.

In the 90s, he began writing scripts for television soap operas and also won. He managed to win the Vidia Cup as the best original story writer in the 1995 Indonesian Sinetron Festival for the soap operas Madu Racun and Anak Singkong.

A year later, he won an award for the soap opera Jejak Sang Guru. From the 1996 Indonesian Soap Opera Festival, he also won an award for the soap opera Suami-Suami Takut Istri. From the soap opera, he also received an award as the best original comedy story writer.

In the 2000s, he still wrote several scripts for soap operas, such as Ketika Cinta Bertasbih, Tukang Bubur Naik Haji Series, 7 Manusia Harimau, Seleb, Calon Presiden, Istri-Istri Akhir Zaman, and Dia Bukan Manusia in 2020.