Appointed by the Dutch government as a filmcommissioner of the Dutch East Indies, Joris Ivens was supposed make educational and informational films and to film the liberation of Indonesia. However, when it became clear that the Dutch government had no intentions to make Indonesia an independent country, Joris Ivens resigned his post, stating that the Dutch were not working on Indonesia's independence, but on a re-colonialization of it. After his resignation he started working on a film which should be a pamflet for the independence of Indonesia. Indonesia Calling became a semi-clandestinely shot agitational film, with a clear message. Aesthetics was not important; the film has its strength in the contents of the message.