Following the proclamation of Indonesian independence on August 17, 1945, the people of Yogyakarta rose to fight first the Japanese and later the Dutch, who tried to regain control over their former colony. Arifin C. Noer's ambitious Cinemascope epic, The Dawn, portrays historical events from Indonesia's struggle for independence while telling the story of one young boy, Temon, and his search for his father, who has been conscripted as a laborer by the Japanese. Temon's uncle, Ragil, is both a soldier in the revolution and a servant in the noble Romo family household. The response of the nobles to the chaos of revolution provides a counterpoint to Temon's story and its historical backdrop. "Noer's controlled style and structure avoid stereotype and chauvinism to engross us in a moving discourse on patriotism and war" (Museum of Modern Art). The Dawn was chosen from over 60 Indonesian feature films as the best National film of 1982. It was recently selected as part of The Museum of Modern Art's New Directors/New Films series. Arifin C. Noer, born in Cirebon, West Java, in 1941, is a leading playwright, stage actor and stage director in Indonesia, as well as a screenwriter and director. His recent films include My Harmonica (1979) and Yuyun, Mental Institution Patient (1980).