Lilik Sudijo, a renowned Indonesian actor and film director, was born on May 14, 1930, and passed away on December 9, 2014. Throughout his illustrious career, he was involved in an impressive 75 productions, starting from his early days on stage alongside his father, Astaman, billed as Astaman Jr.
Sudijo's transition to film acting began in 1949 with a small role in Saputangan, also known as Handkerchief, followed by a handful of other film roles before he realized his true calling was behind the camera. He started from scratch, operating the clapperboard, writing scripts, and eventually made his directorial debut in 1954 with Tarmina, which won the Citra Awards for Best Director and Best Film at the Indonesian Film Festival the following year.
Sudijo directed several films before taking a hiatus to study film at the University of California in Los Angeles in the early 1960s. Throughout the years, he directed, wrote, and edited a wide range of films, but he is perhaps best known internationally for the cult classic The Queen of Black Magic, released in 1981, which has been remarkably well-distributed under various titles. It was also one of his only films to receive a theatrical release in the United States.
Sudijo retired from filmmaking after creating a trilogy of action, fantasy, and horror films under the Misteri dari Gunung Merapi moniker in 1989-90, and passed away in 2014, leaving behind a legacy in the Indonesian film industry.
