After the downfall of Suharto in 1998, Chinese Indonesians started to have the freedom to express their Chinese-ness identity in public space. It slowly showed the revival of Chinese identity in the media including films that visually depicted from memory, what they had respectively seen and experienced about Chinese-ness identity. Some films started to bear the Chinese themes, but the Chinese-ness identity that they knew was all about their experiences that were embedded in their memories during the 32 years of discrimination in the New Order Era.

The aim of this research is to trace clearly the representation of Chinese-ness identity in Indonesian films in the different era. Indonesian films that bear Chinese identity in the 1930s, in New Order Era, and Reformation Era showed a different way in representing Chinese-ness. Some films after 15 years of Reformation Era have a new perspective about Chinese-ness within the films in previous years that describe the discrimination and stereotypes about Chinese Indonesians. The development of Chinese-ness identity that is represented in these films show that Chinese Indonesians and non-Chinese Indonesians have already taken steps to further confront racial issues and will be able to face the global community in the globalization of the world.

Keywords: Chinese-ness identity, discrimination, Chinese Indonesian identity, Indonesian Film, China