Ismail was born in 1921 in
Bukittinggi,
West Sumatra. His father, Datuk Tumenggung Ismail, taught at the medical school in
Padang. His brother Abu Hanifah was also a well-known revolutionary and writer. Ismail attended
ASM-A Yogyakarta and later obtained a B.A. in
cinematography from the
University of California, Los Angeles in 1952. Ismail initially served in the army during the Dutch colonial rule. He served in the Indonesian army in Yogyakarta. During this time, he was a co-founder of a newspaper called
Rakyat, meaning "people" or "populace" in
Bahasa Indonesia. He worked as the head of the
Indonesian Journalists Association in 1946 and 1947. In 1948, he was arrested while working at national news agency
Antara for covering Dutch-Indonesian negotiations. After his release, Ismail's interest in filmmaking developed more seriously. He became active in a number of film and theater groups, including the Yogyakarta Union of Playwrights, the Indonesian National Academy of Theater, and the National Film Industry Conference Body (Indonesian: B
adan Musyawarah Perfilman Nasional). He is well-known as one of the founders of Indonesian National Film Corporation, together with
Djamaluddin Malik and others involved in the film industry. Ismail was also active in politics. He served as the chief of the Indonesian Association of Muslim Artists (Indonesian:
Lembaga Seniman Muslimin Indonesia, or
Lesbumi). He was also involved with
Nahdatul Ulama and served in the
People's Consultative Assembly from 1966 to 1969. Following his dream of becoming a film director, he established "Perfini Studios", Indonesia's first film studios, in the early fifties. One of his early films,
Darah dan Doa (English:
Blood and Prayer), is considered the first truly Indonesian film. Many of Ismail's films faced criticism from the government and censorship. His 1962 film
Anak Perawan di Sarang Penyamun (English: ''The Virgen in the Robber's Nest)
was boycotted by the Communist Party of Indonesia (Indonesian: Partai Komunis Indonesia
, or PKI''), as the film was judged take a position too
supportive of Malaysia. It remained blacklisted by the
New Order government after the
1965-66 Communist purges due to one of the leading actor's links to the PKI. He was perhaps best known internationally for his 1961 film
Fighters for Freedom, which documented
Indonesian independence from the Dutch and French. The film was entered into the
2nd Moscow International Film Festival, making it the first Indonesian-directed film to appear in an international film festival. A concert hall known as the Usmar Ismail Hall, which gives musical,
opera and theatrical performances, was established in his name in
Jakarta. He died on 2 January 1971 of a
stroke in Jakarta. He is buried in TPU Karet Bivak in Jakarta. ==Tributes==