Regionalism as anti-colonialism: imaginaries of area in South East Asian omnibus film and database art

This article responds to debates about the complicity or outdatedness of regionalism in Area Studies by analyzing creative works by local artists that reimagine South East Asia as 'area': Ho Tzu Nyen's interactive database The Critical Dictionary of Southeast Asia (CDOSEA) (2012–present); and two omnibus films – the Asian Film Archive's Fragment (2015) and the former Luang Prabang Film Festival's Mekong 2030 (2020), which feature acclaimed South East Asian filmmakers such as Lav Diaz, U-Wei Haji Saari, Anocha Suwichakornpong, Nawapol Thamrongrattanarit and Tan Chui Mui. Diverging from Caroline Ha Thuc's earlier South East Asia Research article by revisiting vernacular concepts of sovereignty and collectivity such as mandala and zomia in subaltern historical and anthropological writings, it examines how these works highlight the commonality of motifs of ecology, performance, mobility and spirituality. While the digital artwork CDOSEA algorithmically rearranges constellations of images, words and sounds commonly associated with the region, the omnibus films Mekong 2030 and Fragment combine diverse, fragmentary narratives from different locations within a single anthology. Transforming 'area' from an object of neocolonial knowledge production to a source of autonomous collective agency, the article explores how these works visualize a provisional community defined by its plurality, fluidity and inclusiveness.