Wim Umboh

Wim Umboh

Born in North Sulawesi, Umboh was orphaned at the age of eight and later adopted by a Chinese-Indonesian doctor. After high school, he moved to Jakarta and found work at Golden Arrow Studios as a janitor and, later, translator. In 1955 he made his screen debut as a director with Dibalik Dinding. During his career, which spanned more than forty years, Umboh directed close to fifty movies, which garnered 29 Citra Awards from the Indonesian Film Festival. He was diagnosed with liver cancer in 1978 but, after recovering, he continued to work until his death from complications of diabetes and a stroke. Umboh was married three times and had two children.
An authoritarian director who strove for perfection, Umboh was known for experimenting with different technologies and, according to fellow director Teguh Karya, memorised the entire dialogue of his films during shooting. He preferred medium and close-up shots. Umboh influenced numerous Indonesian directors, including Karya, Slamet Rahardjo, Garin Nugroho, and Arifin C. Noer, and his work launched the careers of several Indonesian stars, including Sophan Sophiaan and Roy Marten. Among his most famous works are Pengantin Remadja, Mama (1972), and Pengemis dan Tukang Becak (The Beggar and the Pedicab Driver; 1978), the last of which was Umboh's personal favourite.
Umboh was born in Wauilinei, Manado, North Sulawesi, Dutch East Indies, on 26 March 1933 to a Chinese-Indonesian family. He had 11 siblings. When Umboh was seven, their mother died, and when his father died the following year Umboh was adopted by a Chinese-Indonesian doctor named Liem. After being adopted, he received the Chinese name Liem Yan Yung and began learning Mandarin. While working part-time as a shoemaker, he finished high school; in high school he began writing scripts for stageplays. In 1952 Umboh decided to go to Jakarta.
Umboh was introduced to the film industry in 1953 by Boes Boestami, who secured him a job as a janitor at Golden Arrow Studios, owned by Chok Chin Hsin. He later became a Mandarin-Indonesian translator for imported films and studied filmmaking from Chok. In the 1950s, he was a member of the Senen Artists' Group, a group which met at Senen in Jakarta.
Umboh made his directorial debut with Dibalik Dinding in 1955. This was followed in 1956 by Terang Bulan Terang di Tengah Kali (Moonlight Shining in the Middle of the Stream), which also marked the 1st acting role of future director Sjumandjaja. That same year, he married R.O. Unarsih, with whom he had had a daughter named Maria the following year; the couple divorced in 1957. Umboh founded Aries Film together with Any Mambo in 1960, and the studio released its 1st film, Istana Jang Hilang (The Missing Palace). Three years later, he directed his daughter in Bintang Ketjil (Small Star).
By August 1980 Umboh had recovered enough strength to direct his next film, Disini Cinta Pertama Kali Bersemi, based on the novel by Mira W. Shortly before directing Putri Seorang Jenderal (A General's Daughter; an adaptation of Motinggo Busye's novel of the same name) in 1981, Umboh divorced Roemokoy. Umboh converted to Islam in 1983 and changed his name to Ahmad Salim. On 24 August of the following year Umboh married Inne Ermina Chomid, a police officer's daughter of Sundanese descent 28 years his junior. As his health was improving, Umboh continued to make films, including Kabut Perkawinan (The Fog of Wedlock; 1984). Umboh and Chomid had a son, William Umboh Ikhsan Salim, in 1986.
Umboh was an authoritarian perfectionist, who often reshot scenes he felt flawed and refused input from the actors. He sometimes worked together with other directors, including Sjumandjaja, Misbach Yusa Biran, and Arifin C. Noer, to improve the film's flow. These collaborations influenced the atmosphere of the films; for example, films shot with Noer like Sesuatu yang Indah came across as surrealistic, while collaborations with Sjumandjaja were more realistic. Shooting scripts were often prepared minutes before shooting, but, according to Karya, Umboh memorised each line of dialogue and used his recollection during dubbing.

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