There will be a special disclaimer with the film The East, which is about the Indonesian Independence Struggle in 1946. The producer and the Federation of Dutch East Indies (FIN) agreed after criticism of the film by FIN.
The FIN is afraid that the film gives an incorrect and one-sided picture of the situation in the former Dutch East Indies, the former Dutch colony now called Indonesia.
The trailer for the film in particular led to a lot of criticism. It depicts Dutch soldiers in black uniforms, KNIL captain Raymond Westerling wears a mustache and there is a gothic font. It would all refer to Nazi Germany.
Those images caused a lot of commotion, among others among the Indo-Dutch and war veterans. “Our heroes are dismissed as Nazis. This is a purely anti-Dutch propaganda film,” said Hans Moll, FIN chairman, earlier. New Amsterdam Film Company, the film producer, previously called the criticism premature.
The new disclaimer is good news for the FIN. “Those involved, but also viewers, have the right to know that the film is mainly an interpretation of the producer and the director,” says Moll.
The release of The East is scheduled for January 31.
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