A very prolific actor-turned-director, Lilik (sometimes spelled "Liliek") Sudjio was involved in 75 productions over the course of his career. The son of Astaman (a famous Indonesian theatrical performer), Sudjio first joined him on the stage billed as Astaman Jr.. He transitioned over to film acting starting with a small role in 1949's Saputangan (aka Handkerchief) and, after just a handful of other film acting roles, decided he was more suited behind the camera. He was right. Starting from the ground up, first operating the clapperboard and then writing scripts, Sudjio would make his directorial debut in 1954 with Tarmina, which ended up winning Citra Awards for Best Director and Best Film at the Indonesian Film Festival the following year. He directed several other films before taking a hiatus to come to America to study film at the University of California in L.A. in the early 60s.
Sudjio would direct, write and edit a wide variety of films throughout the years, but is perhaps best known outside of his home country for the crazy Suzanna vehicle The Queen of Black Magic (1981), which has been remarkably well-distributed over the years under a variety of titles. It was also one of his only films to receive a theatrical release in the U.S. He retired from filmmaking after making a trio of action / fantasy / horror films under the Misteri dari Gunung Merapi ("Mystery of Mount Merapi") moniker in 1989-90 and passed away in 2014.
