Ermina Zaenah (11 November 1927 – 4 January 2009) was an Indonesian actress and film producer who was active in the 1950s and 1960s. She was part of

Classical Indonesian Cinema Classical Indonesian cinema is a term used in film criticism to describe both a narrative and visual style of Indonesian filmmaking which first developed in the 1926 to 1965. History 1926–1945: Colonial era and emergence of the classical sty ...

Life and career

Zaenah was born on 11 November 1927 in

Jambi Jambi is a province of Indonesia. It is located on the east coast of central Sumatra and spans to the Barisan Mountains in the west. Its capital and largest city is Jambi. The province has a land area of 50,160.05 km2, and a sea area of 3, ...

Dutch East Indies The Dutch East Indies, also known as the Netherlands East Indies ( nl, Nederlands(ch)-Indië; ), was a Dutch colony consisting of what is now Indonesia. It was formed from the nationalised trading posts of the Dutch East India Company, which ...

, to Mar'i Yusuf. She had a younger brother, Marzuki Yusuf. Zaenah was married to Nurdin Syam, a navy captain who later became a director at Persari, in 1943. As of 1979, she was resided in

Bandung Bandung ( su, ᮘᮔ᮪ᮓᮥᮀ, Bandung, ; ) is the capital city of the Indonesian province of West Java. It has a population of 2,452,943 within its city limits according to the official estimates as at mid 2021, making it the fourth most ...

, West Java. Aside from acting in stage plays, Zaenah led her own musical group, the Los Suita Rama, and performed topeng dance. In 1951, Zaenah entered the film industry. Originally she performed in productions by a number of companies, including Golden Arrow, Fred Young's Bintang Surabaya, and Tan and Wong Bros. In 1953 she migrated to

Djamaluddin Malik Djamaluddin Malik (13 February, 1917 – 8 June, 1970) was a prominent Indonesian film producer, politician, entrepreneur. He founded the Jakarta Indonesian company Persari Film. Personal life Malik was born in Padang, Indonesia, Padang, West S ...

's Persari, starring in several films for the company, including ''

Supir Istimewa ''Supir Istimewa'' ("Special Chauffeur") is a 1954 Indonesian film directed by Rempo Urip and produced by Djamaluddin Malik for the Persari Film Corporation. Starring MS Priyadi, Ermina Zaenah, , and Djauhari Effendi, the film follows a wealthy y ...

'', ''Pegawai Tinggi'' (cited by ''Film Varia'' as Zaenah's greatest opportunity to gain domestic fame equal to

Titien Sumarni Raden Ajeng Titien Sumarni (28 December 1935 – 13 May 1966) was an Indonesian actress active in the 1950s. Born in Surabaya, she moved to Tasikmalaya as a child and developed an interest in stage acting, trained by her uncle and future hu ...

), and ''Bintang Baru''. E Zaenah Film Varia Jan 1956 p8

In the 1960s, as the domestic film industry was suffering, Zaenah moved behind the camera. She worked as

producer Producer or producers may refer to: Occupations *Producer (agriculture), a farm operator *A stakeholder of economic production *Film producer, supervises the making of films **Executive producer, contributes to a film's budget and usually does not ...

on four films: ''Kamar 13'' (''Room 13'', 1961), ''Lagu dan Buku'' (''Song and Book'', 1961), ''Bakti'' (''Service'', 1963), and ''Ekspedisi Terakhir'' (''The Last Expedition'', 1964). She returned to the theater for a short time when she toured Java with the group Sapta Daya. Her fellow actors during this tour included

Astaman Astaman (also known as Tirtosari; 1903–1980) was an Indonesian actor active from the 1910s until the mid-1970s. He was a leading actor in the influential theatre company Dardanella and, after entering the film industry with 1940s ''Kartinah'' ...

Awaludin Awaludin or Awaluddin (November 11, 1916 in Padang - February 24, 1980, in Jakarta) was an Indonesian actor, known for his roles from the 1950s-1970s. He was nominated for the Citra Award for Best Supporting Actor at the Indonesian Film Festival f ...

, and M. Budharasa. Zaenah was married to her second husband, John R. Sibih, the President Director of Gema Masa Film, in 1965, and was attended by actress Sri Redjeki. By the 1970s, she was working as an entrepreneur, focusing on mercantile efforts. Zaenah died in Cimahi, West Java, on 4 January 2009, at the age of 81.

Filmography

During her sixteen-year career, Zaenah acted in thirty two films. She also produced four productions.

Cast

*''Aku dan Masjarakat'' (1951) *''Seruni Laju'' (1951) *''Pelarian dari Pagar Besi'' (1951) *''Pembalasan'' (1951) *''Bermain dengan Api'' (1952) *''Kekal Abadi'' (1952) *''Kisah Kenangan'' (1952) *''Tiga Pendekar Teruna'' (1952) *''Sangkar Emas'' (1952) *''Siapa Dia'' (1952) *''Surja'' (1952) *''Ajah Kikir'' (1953) *''Asmara Murni'' (1953) *''Bagdad'' (1953) *''Bawang Merah Bawang Putih'' (1953) *''Kenari'' (1953) *''Bintang Baru'' (1954) *''Gara-gara Djanda Muda'' (1954) *''Kasih Sajang'' (1954) *''Pegawai Tinggi'' (1954) *''

'' (1954) *''Gadis Sesat'' (1955) *''Hadiah 10.000'' (1955) *''Berdjumpa Kembali'' (1955) *''Lagak Internasional'' (1955) *''Harta Angker'' (1956) *''Kamar Kosong'' (1956) *''Buruh Bengkel'' (1956) *''Sendja Indah'' (1957) *''Ibu Mertua'' (1960) *''Nyi Blorong'' (1982) *''Perkawinan Nyi Blorong'' (1983)

Crew

* ''Kamar 13'' (1961) * ''Lagu dan Buku'' (1961) * ''Bakti'' (1963) * ''Ekspedisi Terakhir'' (1964)

References

Works cited

* * * * * *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Zaenah, Ermina 1927 births 2009 deaths Indonesian film actresses Indonesian people of Malay descent People from Jambi Indonesian film producers