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The 19th Jogja-Netpac Asian Film Festival has wrapped in Yogyakarta (Jogja), Indonesia, with local feature “Yohanna” dominating the Indonesian Screen Awards while Neo Sora’s “Happyend” secured the festival’s top Golden Hanoman Award.

“Yohanna,” directed by Razka Robby Ertanto, collected five honors including best film, director, storytelling, performance, and cinematography (Odyssey Flores). Truong Minh Quy’s “Viet and Nam” took home the Silver Hanoman Award.

In other awards, “Ma – Cry of Silence” by The Maw Naing won the Netpac Award and Geber Award, while Hung Chen’s “When the Wind Rises” secured both the Blencong Award and Jaff Student Award. Behzad Nalbandi’s “Anita, Lost in the News” received a Special Jury Mention.

The festival program featured a masterclass with Taiwan-based auteur Tsai Ming Liang, which attracted filmmakers like Riri Riza, Mira Lesmana, Kamila Andini, and Jaff director Ifa Isfansyah. Three of Tsai’s works were screened: “Vive L’Amour...

After 1169 submitted projects and an incredibly challenging selection process, twelve feature films were selected to receive Hubert Bals Fund Development Support grants of €10,000 each. Among them, the six were from Asia. The winners include Kamila Andini, once more cementing the current prowess of Indonesian cinema, Palestinian Muayad Alayan, whose “A House in Jerusalem” screened in Rotterdam in 2023, Midhun Murali, whose animation “Kiss Wagon” won a special mention from the Grand Jury and the Fipresci award this year in Rotterdam. Check all the list below, along with Amp Articles on the recipients.

Conversation with the Sea, Muayad Alayan, Palestine

Four Seasons in Java, Kamila Andini, Indonesia

Goodbye for Now, Kasım Ördek, Turkey

Le goût de la pêche, Elene Mikaberidze, Georgia

MTV i.e. Mars to Venus, Midhun Murali, India

Notes of a Crocodile, Daphne Xu, Cambodia, China, Canada

Midhun Murali won a Tiger Special Jury Award at IFFR 2024 for the dazzling mixed-media fantasy Kiss Wagon.

International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR)’s Hubert Bals Fund (Hbf) has selected 12 feature film projects for its 2024 Development Support scheme.

The 12 projects, which will receive a grant of €10,000 to support their development, were selected from a record 1,150 submissions.

Scroll down for full list

They include Christopher Murray’s Piedras Gigantes which will be among the first Chilean national fiction feature films shot on Rapa Nui (Easter Island), the remote Pacific Ocean island.

Piedras Gigantes tells the story of the archaeologist Katherine Routledge arriving on the island in 1914, who played a conflicted role amidst an indigenous uprising. Murray’s The...

The inaugural Jaff Market from Indonesia has unveiled 10 feature projects for its Jaff Future Project (Jfp), a new project market held in collaboration with Australia’s Adelaide Film Festival (Aff) and set to take place from December 3-5 during the Jogja Netpac Asian Film Festival (Jaff) in Indonesia.

Seven of the projects are from Indonesia, including drama All Things Real And Unreal by Paul Agusta and animation Kancil by Adriano Rudiman, with one from Malaysia (crime thriller The Silent Village by Ho Yuhang) and two from Australia (horror drama Raesita Grey by Katrina Irawati Graham and documentary Until Death by Ben Golotta).

Yulia Evina Bhara,...

The Asia Contents Awards & Global Ott Awards, co-hosted by the Ministry of Science and Ict and Busan Metropolitan City, and co-organized by the Busan International Film Festival and the National It Industry Promotion Agency, opened grandly with actors Kang Ki-young and Tiffany Young as hosts, and performances by Nerd Connection and Tri.Be added to the festive atmosphere.

Blossoms Shanghai

First, in the Best Creative category, which recognizes works that contribute to the diversification of content through innovative ideas and fresh formats, director Wong Kar-wai’s first feature series Blossoms Shanghai was honored with the award. Hu Ge, the lead actor of Blossoms Shanghai, also won Best Lead Actor (Male), making the series a double winner. Imperfect Us, the most nominated work this year, earned two awards: Ariel Lin for Best Lead Actor (Female) and Tanya Chua’s “Learn to Live Again” for Best Original Song, a newly introduced category. The People’s Choice Award,...

Top prizes at Busan’s Asia Contents Awards & Global Ott Awards today went to Wong Kar-wai’s first feature series Blossoms Shanghai and Coupang Play’s Boyhood.

Blossoms Shanghai won the Best Creative prize and the series’ Hu Ge won Best Lead Actor (Male). Coupang Play’s Boyhood won Best Ott Original.

Best Director went to Indonesian co-directors Kamila Andini and Ifa Isfansyah for Cigarette Girl.

Imperfect Us, the most nominated work at this year’s awards, received two prizes: Best Lead Actor (Female) for Ariel Lin and Best Original Song for Tanya Chua’s “Learn to Live Again.”

The newly-introduced People’s Choice Award went to Byeon Woo-seok and Kim Hyeyoon from Lovely Runner after receiving approximately 600,000 votes from global viewers via Kinolights.

Netflix’s Mask Girl won Best Supporting Actor awards for both Ahn Jae-hong and Yeom Hye-ran.

The Best Writer honors were awarded to Ju Hwa-mi for The Atypical Family,...

Chinese drama series Blossoms Shanghai scooped two top prizes at the Asia Contents Awards & Global Ott Awards in Busan tonight (October 6).

The series, which marks the first foray into TV for auteur director Wong Kar-wai, won the best creative award for “the most outstanding work” as well as the best lead actor (male) prize for Hu Ge, who plays a self-made millionaire in 1990s Shanghai. The series was released on China’s Tencent Video streaming platform.

Scroll down for full list of winners

Further top prizes went to Coupang Play’s South Korean series Boyhood, which won best Ott original,...

Chinese drama series Blossoms Shanghai scooped two top prizes at the Asia Contents Awards & Global Ott Awards in Busan tonight (October 6).

The series, which marks the first foray into TV for auteur director Wong Kar-wai, won the best creative award for “the most outstanding work” as well as the best lead actor (male) prize for Hu Ge, who plays a self-made millionaire in 1990s Shanghai. The series was released on China’s Tencent Video streaming platform.

Scroll down for full list of winners

Further top prizes went to Coupang Play’s South Korean series Boyhood, which won best Ott original,...

Wong Kar-wai’s series debut “Blossoms Shanghai” won two of the top awards at the Busan International Film Festival‘s sixth annual Asia Contents Awards and Global Ott (streaming) Awards on Sunday. The Tencent Video Chinese series won best creative and best male lead actor for Hu Ge.

Kamila Andini and Ifa Isfansyah won best director for Indonesian Netflix series “Cigarette Girl.” The best female lead actor award went to Ariel Lin for Pts Taiwan’s “Imperfect Us.”

Coupang Play’s Korean show “Boyhood” won best Ott original. Salem Entertainment’s “1286” from Kazakhstan won the best Asian contents award.

Ahn Jaehong and Yeom Hye-ran won the male and female supporting actor awards respectively for Netflix’s Korean show “Mask Girl.” The best male acting newcomer award was shared by Chae Jong-heop for TBS Television’s Japanese show “Eye Love You” and Kim Yo-han for Netflix’s Korean series “A Killer Paradox.

Netflix held its first Creative Asia Forum in partnership with the Busan International Film Festival (Biff) today, with 120 filmmakers in attendance from across Apac.

Minyoung Kim, VP of Apac Content (ex-India), provided an update on the Netflix Fund for Creative Equity. In 2021, the streamer committed $100M to the fund across five years to enhance pathways for underrepresented communities in entertainment.

Kim said that the streamer has so far spent around $41M on 200 programs, with over 13,000 participants in more than 50 countries around the world. Netflix added that over 450 people from these programs have gone on to work on the platform’s productions in a variety of roles, ranging from line producers and associate editors to casting assistants and grips.

The fund has partnered with local film festivals like the Jogja-netpac Asian Film Festival this year to run programs, and content agencies like Taiwan’s Taicca to run a six-week screenwriting workshop with local writers.

Forka Film, the renamed company of leading Indonesian indie producer Ifa Isfansyah, is unwrapping a slate with films by newcomer Eden Junjung and veterans Kamila Andini and Riri Riza.

Previously known as Fourcolours Films, the company has recently completed principal photography on Junjung’s “Mad of Madness” (aka “Angkara Murka”), a psychological thriller that explores the struggles of a young mother working in a sand mine after her husband’s mysterious disappearance. Raihaanun stars in the lead role as Ambar, bringing raw emotion to a narrative of survival and sacrifice.

Known for his critically acclaimed short films, Junjung recently pitched the film project at the Naff It Project Market, part of the Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival. It is set for completion in early 2025.

Andini, who was in Busan last year as director of the Netflix-backed mini-series “The Cigarette Girl,” is preparing “Four Seasons in Java,” a moving exploration...

Operating for only the third time, the Jakarta World Cinema film festival is bringing a diverse slate of global and local pictures to Indonesia’s biggest city.

It kicked off in high style on Saturday with a screening of Coralie Fargeat’s “The Substance.” The body horror-fantasy debuted at Cannes and has already proved a popular choice as either opening or closing film at multiple film festivals. In Jakarta, it got a reaction, extracting shrieks, gasps and applause from the opening night crowd.

Earlier, in a breezy ceremony, complete with dancers replicating some of “The Substance’s” fitness moves, audiences had been told that organizers had assembled a lineup of just over a hundred titles.

In a country, where cinema is popular, but a class of risk-taking indie distributors is an industry sector has yet to be fully developed, that is a significant number. Instead, Jwc has a close relationship with KlikFilm,...

The Jakarta World Cinema (Jwc) 2024 opened with a vibrant celebration at Cgv Cinema Grand Indonesia last night, marking the beginning of a week-long journey of cinematic experiences from around the world. The event, which started on September 21st, was filled with exciting performances, inspiring speeches, and a joyful atmosphere, as the audience gathered to witness this year’s exceptional film lineup.

Frederica, the Executive Director of Jakarta World Cinema, delivered the opening remarks, setting the tone for the festival. “We are thrilled to present this diverse range of films to our audience and invite you all to immerse yourselves in the stories that await. Enjoy the festival!” she said, welcoming the audience to what promises to be an unforgettable week of world-class cinema.

In his speech, Steering Committee member Ifa Isfansyah expressed his amazement at the festival’s evolution. “I never thought we’d see the day when a film...

The Taiwan Creative Content Agency (Taicca) has announced a line-up of 62 projects to participate in this year’s Taiwan Creative Content Fest Pitching Conference (Tccf Pitching), which will compete for a record prize pool of $226,000 (Nt$7.2m).

The prize figure represents the largest in Tccf Pitching history, comprising around 30 awards presented by private entities and international film festivals. This year’s Tccf will take place from November 5-8 at Taipei Nangang Exhibition Center.

After introducing international productions for the first time last year, the line-up includes a large number of co-productions that reveal an growing expansion of international production and distribution opportunities from Taiwan.

Jakarta World Cinema (Jwc) returns for its third edition this year with even greater enthusiasm and a host of exciting programs. The international film festival, set to take place from September 21-28, 2024, is ready to delight film lovers by screening 120 films from 61 countries. This year, Jwc will be held in person at Cgv Grand Indonesia, Jakarta, as well as online through the streaming platform KlikFilm, offering broader access to audiences across Indonesia.

Opening and Closing Ceremonies

Jwc 2024 will kick off with the screening of The Substance, directed by Coralie Fargeat, a film that has garnered attention at various international festivals. Meanwhile, the festival will close with Bird by Andrea Arnold, a highly anticipated film that promises to deliver a powerful and meaningful conclusion to the event.

Additional Auditoriums and Expanded Film Selection

With double the number of films compared to last year, Jwc 2024 has partnered with Cgv to allocate four auditoriums for film screenings,...

Jogja-Netpac Asian Film Festival (Jaff), held in the Indonesian city of Yogyakarta, is launching an industry event that aims to showcase Indonesian content and connect the country’s fast-expanding film industry to international markets.

Scheduled to take place December 3-5 during this year’s edition of Jaff (November 30-December 7), the event will be held in the Jogja Expo Center with around 150 booths hosting production companies, content creators, service providers and institutions.

“Since its inception in 2006, Jaff has consistently strengthened and stimulated the film ecosystem for the Indonesian film industry. Many new filmmakers have begun to emerge from the festival,” said Ifa Isfansyah, festival director of Jaff.

Indonesia’s Ministry of Education, Culture, Research and Technology is collaborating with Jaff organisers on the event. “It is the government’s commitment to continuously support the development of the Indonesian film industry. Jaff’s initiative to create this event will facilitate easier access...

Indonesia’s Jogja-Netpac Asian Film Festival (Jaff) will unveil its inaugural Jaff Market in December. The initiative was announced at the Cannes Film Festival on Thursday.

This new three-day event aims to reshape the Indonesian film industry by fostering networking, innovation and collaboration among various sectors.

Since its start in 2006, Jaff has played a crucial role in nurturing Indonesian cinema, helping many filmmakers rise. “Jaff has consistently strengthened the film ecosystem,” said festival director Ifa Isfansyah.

The Jaff Market will cover 10,000 square meters, featuring over 150 booths with production companies, content creators and service providers. Leading the initiative is experienced producer Linda Gozali, former secretary-general of the Indonesian Film Festival. “We look forward to creating new connections and opportunities,” said Gozali.

The event highlights the rapid post-pandemic recovery of Indonesia’s film industry, which saw local films capture 61% of the market in 2022. The industry fully rebounded in 2023. Despite being the largest market in Southeast Asia,...

Happy Ever Aftrs

Rachel Perkins has been appointed as chair of the Australian Film, Television and Radio School (Aftrs) council for a period of three years. She follows previous chairs Russell Howcroft and Debra Richards. Aftrs is Australia’s leading specialist education, training and research institution, supporting excellence in Australian screen and audio storytelling.

“Rachel is one of Australia’s leading storytellers, particularly when it comes to First Nations stories,” said Minister for the Arts, Tony Burke.

A graduate of Aftrs, writer, director and producer, Perkins founded Blackfella Films, which has gone onto become one of Australia’s leading production companies. Its recent documentary series “The Australian Wars” won most outstanding factual or documentary program at the 2023 TV Week Logie Awards, as well as best documentary or factual program and best direction in nonfiction television at the 2024 Aacta awards.

Wide Screen Wider

Indian movie exhibition chain Miraj Cinemas has agreed...

Created by Sashti Nandani, and co-directed by Kamila Andini and Ifa Isfansyah, the five-episode series opens with flashbacks of a terminally ill Soeraja (Pritt Timothy) is visited by, and who ends up pleading his son Lebas (Arya Saloka) to find a woman called Jeng Jah (Dian Sastrowardoyo). The lad is given a tin jar which contains a key to a safe in his grandfather's office, but when he gets there, his only clues become an old photograph showing a big group of people, and a bunch of letters written to Soeraja by Dasiyah that happens to be Jeng Jah's second name.

Follow our tribute to Netflix by clicking on the image below

Based on the eponymous best-selling novel written by Ratih Kumala, the Netflix series “Cigarette Girl” is one of the most interesting shows currently showing on the popular streaming platforms, vintage not only in terms of the era it plays in,...

“Auto-bio Pamphlet,” a Marathi-language film that is both a love story and a rage against class divisions, will open the 18th edition of the Jogja-netpac Asian Film Festival later this month. The festival will close with the world premiere of spy thriller “13 Bombs in Jakarta.”

Jaff run Nov. 25 – Dec. 2 and include 205 films from 25 countries and territories across Asia-Pacific.

Directed by Angga Dwimas Sasongko, “13 Bombs in Jakarta” (aka “13 Bom di Jakarta”) tells of a group of terrorists who launch their attack with the threat of bombs scattered throughout the Indonesian capital. Sasongko is also the founder of local studio Visenema, which has four films at the festival.

“As the opening film for this year’s edition, we choose something light-hearted, which is ‘Autobio Pamphlet’ from India. Its coming-of-age story will be perfect to set the festival’s spirited and entertaining mood,” said Alexander Matius, Jaff program director. The film had...

Dian Sastrowardoyo has played the character of Dasiyah in the mini-series Cigarette Girl streaming on Netflix. The actor has done justice to the character, which can also be compared to other strong female characters like Gal Gadot in Wonder Woman, Uma Thurman in Kill Bill, and others. Dasiyah’s feminine aura is enough to threaten the mental peace of the men around her. Her independent nature makes her stand out from the other women in the series. Is the character able to attain the fame that she deserves as a flavor maker? Will her tragic life send out a message to us? There are many questions that are answered by the directors, Kamila Andini and Ifa Isfansyah, through the character of Dasiyah in the series.

Spoilers Ahead

How Ambitious Was Dasiyah?

Dasiyah has been portrayed as a very ambitious character who dreams of becoming one of the most famous flavor-makers in her city.

What a wonderful job the directors of Cigarette Girl, Kamila Andini, and Ifa Isfansyah have done! The Indonesian mini-series has recently been trending on Netflix. The plot builds around the tragic life of a talented craftsperson, Dasiah. She has been seeking an outlet for her talent in traditional Indonesian culture. The skills of a woman in the cigarette industry are not welcome at the time in which the story is set. How she manages to overcome all the obstacles and stick to her passion has been portrayed efficiently in Cigarette Girl series. Her failed love life adds to the tragic story of her life. The main characters have been portrayed by skilled actors like Dian Sastrowardoyo, Putri Marino, Ariyo Bayu, and others. The five-part miniseries has a solid plot and is nothing like you have ever experienced! It remains a matter of concern to the audience as to whether Dasiah...

Six film projects currently at development stage have been selected to take part in a workshop session as part of mylab+@Jogja next month. The six share a common characteristic of Indonesian co-production and a recurring theme of luminescence.

“This theme underscores the importance of having the distinctive light of Asian cinema arise from its own characteristics. The participants reflect the new hope of Asian cinema with a fresh and authentic perspective. With this kind of program I really hope Asian films continue to shine by their own characters and beauty throughout the world,” said Ifa Isfansyah, producer, director and festival director of the Jogja-netpac Asian Film Festival.

Selected from over 60 applications, the six include a mix of youth on the directing side and experience on the producing side

They include: “A Ballad of Long Hair” with director-scriptwriter Giovanni Rustanto, producer Annisa Adjam and co-producer Fran Borgia; “Carpet” (aka “Karpet”) (Malaysia) with director Mien.

Acclaimed film-making duo Kamila Andini and Ifa Isfansyah take a calculatedly side-on approach to Indonesian societal history in “Cigarette Girl,” a new Netflix series that releases on Nov.1 and which premiered its first episodes at the Busan International Film Festival earlier this month.

Starting with a wealthy family about to lose its aging patriarch in 2001, the series uses flashbacks to the 1960s to uncover not only the origins of the family’s herbal cigarette or ‘Kretek’ fortune, but also the hidden romance underlying it. And it highlights the overbearing and only slowly changing societal pressures placed on women, from high and low ranks, even as Indonesian politics and government underwent tectonic shifts.

Ahead of the Busan premiere Andini and Isfansyah told Variety how their lush and romantic treatment is both a product of changing society and a way of facing up to recent Indonesian history.

Watch the new trailer here:...

Indonesian filmmakers Kamila Andini and Ifa Isfansyah are making their Netflix debut with five-part series Cigarette Girl (Gadis Kretek), which streams worldwide from November 2.

Deadline sat down with the husband-and-wife filmmaking team, both award-winning arthouse directors in their own right, in Busan International Film Festival, where the first few episodes of the series world premiered as part of the festival’s Indonesia Special Program.

Based on Ratih Kumala’s novel ‘Gadis Kretek’, the story spans two time periods – in the 1960s, the daughter of a family business producing Indonesia’s world-famous clove cigarettes struggles to make her mark in a male-dominated industry, while in the early 2000s, a young man is searching for a mystery woman to fulfil his father’s dying wish.

Dian Sastrowardoyo and Ario Bayu, both big stars in Indonesia, play the love struck main characters in the 1960s, while Putri Marino and Arya Saloka play a...

Exclusive: Indonesian actor Reza Rahadian and director Yosep Anggi Noen are attending Busan International Film Festival with their dystopian crime drama 24 Hours With Gaspar, which is receiving its world premiere in the festival’s Jiseok competition.

An adaptation of Sabda Armandio’s 2017 novel of the same name, the fast-paced thriller is the biggest budget film that Noen, an award-winning arthouse filmmaker, has ever made and marks the first time he’s worked with Rahadian and Laura Basuki, who are both big stars in Indonesia. Upcoming actress Shenina Cinnamon also stars in the film.

Noen says he was approached to direct the project by Angga Dwimas Sasongko, founder of Indonesia’s Visinema Pictures and immediately agreed because he liked the book. “It’s a story about loss, because the main character is coming to terms with losing his friend, but it’s also a visualization of a dystopian Indonesia which we’ve rarely seen,...

The Indonesian film industry is poised to spread its wings globally as the country’s filmmaking boom is the subject of a focus at the Busan International Film Festival.

Films from the country now routinely get selected and win prizes at major international festivals. The local market in Indonesia, which has the fourth-largest population in the world with 277 million, is rapidly expanding with homegrown productions accounting for a significant share. Indonesia is also bolstering its cultural policies that include an annual $13 million international co-production grant. Featured at Busan this year are 15 features, shorts and series.

The festival has been inviting Indonesian films since 1996. In 2004, the late Kim Ji-seok, after whom one of the festival’s top awards is named now, curated a program titled ‘Garin [Nugroho] and the Next Generation: New Possibility of Indonesian Cinema.’ “I realized that the next generation is already visible, but overlooked,” festival programmer Park Sungho told Variety.

Distribution in Indonesia was the subject of a lively debate at the Busan International Film Festival’s Asian Contents and Film Market.

With 277 million people, Indonesia has one of the largest populations in the world. However, geographically it is an archipelago and for its population, the country is under-screened with just 2,300 cinema screens. Despite this, box office is booming. The 2022 total surpassed pre-pandemic 2019 levels, with more than 54 million admissions. Indonesia also operates under a unique distribution model in that there are no independent distributors. Producers instead deal directly with the country’s three major multiplex chains and a smattering of small cinemas in second and third tier cities.

“The country’s span is from Dublin to Istanbul, but we have only 2,300 screens,” said producer Angga Dwimas Sasangko of Visinema, whose “Ali Topan” is screening at Busan. Sasangko was speaking at a panel on Indonesian distribution that also included producer Shanty...

Take a look at more footage from the upcoming live-action romance TV series "Cigarette Girl", based on the novel by Ratih Kumala, set against the tobacco industry during the 1960's, directed by Kamila Andini and Ifa Isfansyah, starring Dian Sastrowardoyo, Ario Bayu, Arya Saloka and Putri Marino, streaming November 2, 2023 on Netflix:

"..'Dasiyah' (Sastrowardoyo), a woman ahead of her time, is passionate about concocting the perfect formulas for 'clove cigarettes'. Her encounter with 'Soeraja' (Bayu) leads to a love story marked by historical events that eventually shape the course of their lives. 

"Decades later, 'Lebas' (Saloka), son of Soeraja, meets 'Arum' (Marino) as together they trace the past and uncover buried secrets..."

Cast also includes Tissa Biani, Ine Febriyanti, Winky Wiryawan, Sheila Dara, Ibnu Jamil, Rukman Rosadi, Nungki Kusumastuti, Dimas Aditya, Pritt Timothy and Tutie Kirana. 

Click the images to enlarge...

The Busan International Film Festival put aside many of its recent internal and local political problems to Tuesday unveil a large selection ranging from bleeding edge art titles to international festival favorites.

“The difficult times are not behind us, but hard work has made this year’s festival better than ever,” said programmer and interim festival chief Nam Dong-chul, speaking at an online press conference.

International guests expected to attend the festival include Luc Besson, Chinese superstar Fan Bingbing, Japanese directors Hamaguchi Ryusuke and Kore-Eda Hirokazu, Iranian filmmaker Mohsen Makhmalbaf, and Korean Americans Justin Chon (“Gook”) and Lee Isaac Chung (“Minari”).

Hong Kong-based superstar Chow Yun-fat has been named as Busan’s Asian Filmmaker of the Year and will be in person to receive the award. The Korean Cinema Award will presented to the late Yun Jung-hee, the actress who starred in “The General’s Mustache” and Lee Chang-dong’s 2010 drama “Poetry.

The new period romance TV series "Cigarette Girl", based on the novel by Ratih Kumala, set against the tobacco industry in 1960's Indonesia, is directed by Kamila Andini and Ifa Isfansyah, starring Dian Sastrowardoyo, Ario Bayu, Arya Saloka and Putri Marino, streaming November 2, 2023 on Netflix:

"..'Dasiyah' (Sastrowardoyo), a woman ahead of her time, is passionate about concocting the perfect formulas for 'clove cigarettes'. Her encounter with 'Soeraja' (Bayu) leads to a love story marked by historical events that eventually shape the course of their lives. 

"Decades later, 'Lebas' (Saloka), son of Soeraja, meets 'Arum' (Marino) as together they trace the past and uncover buried secrets..."

Cast also includes Tissa Biani, Ine Febriyanti, Winky Wiryawan, Sheila Dara, Ibnu Jamil, Rukman Rosadi, Nungki Kusumastuti, Dimas Aditya, Pritt Timothy and Tutie Kirana. 

Click the images to enlarge...

The Busan International Film Festival has unveiled its selections for the popular Korean Cinema Today – Special Premiere and On Screen strands.

The On Screen section, introduced in 2021, showcases series and this year boasts six world premieres – five from Korea and one from Indonesia.

Tving show “I Am a Running Mate,” about an ordinary student trying to become student president marks the directorial debut of Han Jin-won, winner of best original screenplay as a co-writer for Bong Joon Ho’s “Parasite.” The series merges the coming-of-age genre with elements of a political drama, and stars Yoon Hyun-soo, Lee Jung-sic, Choi Woo-sung, Hong Hwa-yeon and Lee Bong-jun. Three of the nine episodes will screen at the festival.

“The Deal,” a Waave original series, is a tale of criminal intrigue in which two young men kidnap their friend and demand KRW10 billion ($7.5 million) as ransom. The cast features Yoo Seung-ho’s streaming debut alongside Kim Dong-hwi,...

Indonesia has recently gained momentum in producing numerous captivating films. Since the 21st century, Indonesian cinema, particularly in the realm of independent films, has experienced a remarkable resurgence. These films have found their way to prestigious film festivals, earning acclaim through notable awards. Today, the domestic market in Indonesia—with its fourth-largest population—is undergoing expansion due to the rise in screen numbers, especially in multiplexes, with local productions having captured the majority of the market share. Furthermore, as one of the countries with its film industry that made the fastest recovery from the pandemic, Indonesia is bolstering its cultural policies to nurture the film industry's growth and foster emerging Indonesian filmmakers.

Focusing on Indonesia's fast-growing film industry, the Special Program in Focus will introduce 7 features and 5 short films, including series which will be presented on Netflix. Mouly Surya and Kamila Andini, two of the most prominent female directors in Asia; Joko Anwar,...

The ongoing renaissance in the Indonesian film industry will be celebrated at the upcoming Busan International Film Festival.

Films from the country now routinely get selected and win prizes at major international festivals. The local market in Indonesia, which has the fourth-largest population in the world, is rapidly expanding with a boom in screen count and with homegrown productions capturing the majority of the market share. Indonesia is also bolstering its cultural policies to nurture the film industry’s growth and foster emerging Indonesian filmmakers.

Featured at Busan will be six features, five shorts and a series. The first two episodes of Netflix’s “Cigarette Girl” by Kamila Andini and Ifa Isfansyah, which delves into the life of a female protagonist entwined with the 1960s Indonesian cigarette industry, will world premiere at the festival.

Another world premiere, “24 Hours with Gaspar” by Yosep Anggi Noen (2020 Locarno winner “The Science of Fictions”), follows Gaspar,...

Kamila Andini is based in Jakarta, her concerns include culture, gender and the environment. Her second feature, “The Seen and the Unseen” (2017), enjoyed international success in 50 festivals worldwide, winning several awards.

Ifa Isfansyah is an Indonesian film director. Initially a maker of short films, his first featured film, Garuda di Dadaku (Garuda on my Chest), was released in 2009. His following film, Sang Penari (The Dancer), won four Citra Awards at the 2011 Indonesian Film Festival. Currently, he is mostly working as producer.

Gita Fara is a producer mostly known through her collaborations with Kamila Andini as much as films like “Preman”

On the occasion of “Before, Now & Then” screening at Red Sea International Film Festival, we speak with them about the difficulties of shooting a film in Sundanese and in different time periods of the past, the place of women in Indonesian society now and then, the local movie industry and many other topics.

Indonesian film festival reveals record audience figures.

Makbul Mubarak’s Autobiography has won the top prize – the Golden Hanoman – at the closing night of Indonesia’s Jogja-netpac Asian Film Festival (Jaff). Lola Amaria’s documentary The Exiles (Eksil) picked up the best film prize from the Indonesian Screen Awards.

Indonesian drama Autobiography has been on a winning streak since its premiere in Venice’s Horizons sidebar. Mubarak’s debut feature has collected around 10 awards globally within three months, including best film honours from Tokyo Filmex, Adelaide and Singapore as well as best screenplay prizes from the Asia Pacific Screen Awards and Festival Film Indonesia.

Filmmaker Anurag Kashyap will be serving as directing mentor along with fellow filmmakers Anthony Chen, Ifa Isfansyah, Joko Anwar and Ho Yuhang, for the ongoing Malaysian Development Lab for Fiction Feature Films (mylab) initiative at the Busan International Film Festival.

The directing mentors will work with the filmmakers of mylab and participate in conversations and exchanges on cinema and filmmaking, reports Variety.

An incubator programme for scriptwriters, directors, producers to work on developing scripts and film projects under lectures and the guidance of regional and international experts in scriptwriting, directing, producing, distribution, and markets and festivals, mylab focuses on projects at an early stage of development, with a team of scriptwriter, director and/or producer attached, targeted at regional or international audiences.

According to Variety, the programme is supported by the National Film Development Corporation Malaysia (Finas). Other partners include Singapore Film Commission, Film Development Council of the Philippines (Fdcp...

Celebrated filmmakers Anthony Chen (“Wet Season”), Anurag Kashyap (“Dobaaraa”), Ifa Isfansyah (“Losmen Bu Broto”), Joko Anwar (“Impetigore”) and Ho Yuhang (“The Ghost Bride”) are serving as directing mentors for the ongoing Malaysian Development Lab for Fiction Feature Films (mylab) initiative at the Busan International Film Festival.

The directing mentors will work with the filmmakers of mylab and participate in depth conversations and exchanges on cinema and filmmaking.

An incubator program for scriptwriters, directors, producers to work on developing scripts and film projects under lectures and the guidance of regional and international experts in scriptwriting, directing, producing, distribution, and markets and festivals, mylab focuses on projects at an early stage of development, with a team of scriptwriter, director and/or producer attached, targeted at regional or international audiences.

The program is supported by the National Film Development Corporation Malaysia (Finas). Other partners include Singapore Film Commission, Film Development Council of the Philippines...

Streaming giant staged its first-ever Indonesian slate event.

Netflix has announced its most ambitious slate of upcoming Indonesian films and series from local directors including Timo Tjahjanto, Kamila Andini and Joko Anwar.

The line-up of three features and four series were unveiled at Netflix’s first-ever Indonesian slate event, held in Jakarta, with the local-language original set for release in 2022 and 2023.

First up is feature The Big 4, marking the first action comedy from Timo, who is one half of the Mo Brothers known for their action thrillers Killers and Headshot. In the upcoming film, set for release toward the end of this year,...

Netflix on Friday announced a slate of upcoming films and TV series from Indonesia. The company says this is its most ambitious outreach in the populous and influential Southeast Asian country.

The seven new titles span sci-fi thriller, comedy and period drama genres and involve big name creators Joho Anwar, Timo Tjahjanto (who is also part of the creative duo Mo Brothers) and Kamila Andini. They were announced at an in-person event in Jakarta called Waktu Netflix Indonesia (which translates as ‘Time for Netflix Indonesia).

The company said that the slate reflects its “commitment to helping the [Indonesian] industry build compelling content from the country and taking these stories to the world.”

Tjahjanto has signed a multi-project deal with Netflix. His upcoming action-comedy film “The Big 4” will upload by the end of the year. It tells the story of a by-the-book female detective who teams up with a group of down-on-their-luck...

Netflix has announced its biggest slate of Indonesian projects to date, with seven new films and TV series from leading local talents including Timo Tjahjanto (The Night Comes For Us), Joko Anwar (Impetigore) and Kamila Andini.

Tjahjanto is directing his first action comedy film for Netflix, The Big 4, about a female detective who teams up with a group of assassins to investigate her father’s murder. Known internationally for horror and action films, also including cult favorites Headshot and May The Devil Take You, Tjahjanto has signed a multi-project deal with Netflix.

Anwar, also known internationally for stylish action and horror movies, is working on a sci-fi thriller series, Nightmares And Daydreams, for Netflix. The series has multiple storylines about ordinary people encountering strange phenomena. “Indonesia is so full of unique and extraordinary stories. I’m always excited to have the chance to bring these stories to a wider audience,...

Netflix has revealed cast for upcoming Indonesian original series Gadis Kretek, including award-winning actresses Dian Sastrowardoyo and Putri Marino.

The historical drama, produced by Indonesia’s Base Entertainment, will also star popular actors Ario Bayu and Arya Saloka.

It will be directed by Kamila Andini, whose Before, Now & Then won best supporting performance at this year’s Berlin film festival, and producer-director Ifa Isfansyah.

Based on a novel of the same name by Ratih Kumala, the series is set against the backdrop of Indonesia’s tobacco industry, and delves into the country’s rich history through the story of an estranged son searching for a girl from his father’s past who can fulfil the cigarette mogul’s dying wish.

Base Entertainment’s Shanty Harmayn and Tanya Yuson will serve as showrunners on the series, with writers including Yuson, Kumala, Kanya K. Priyanti and Ambaridzki Ramadhantyo.

Indonesia is becoming a...

Drama follows the personal life of a woman navigating Indonesia’s turbulent post-independence years.

Screen can reveal the first trailer for Indonesian director Kamila Andini’s female-focused drama Before, Now & Then ahead of its premiere in competition at the Berlinale.

Set against Indonesia’s turbulent post-independence years in the 1960s, the story revolves around the domestic life of a woman whose personal life has been completely overturned by the political turmoil.

Happy Salma stars as a woman who loses her first husband, child and home in the conflict but finds a refuge of sorts in a second marriage to a...

A selection of 26 titles from 15 different countries.

South Korea’s Busan International Film Festival (Biff) has confirmed a 26-title line-up for the 2021 Asian Project Market (Apm).

Projects at the Apm include Siren Vanishes, directed by Harumoto Yojiro, whose feature A Balance won the New Currents Award at Biff last year before going on to the Berlinale this year.

The 26 projects from 15 different countries also includes titles from House Of Hummingbird director Kim Bora, The Mirror Never Lies director Kamila Andini, and Twilight’s Kiss (Suk Suk) director Ray Yeung.

Organisers announced Apm received a record-breaking 429 film submissions this year, up approximately...

Singapore’s rising star director Anthony Chen, whose second feature film “Wet Season” opened the 30th Singapore International Film Festival, will co-produce Thai film project “Arnold is a Model Student” by first time feature director Sorayos Prapapan. His producing partners are Singapore’s Tan Si En, who also produced “Wet Season” and Thailand’s Donsaron Kovitvanitcha. The project depicts the story of a high school student who is involved in cheating during the entrance exam for a prestigious military school.

“Model Student” was one of the eight feature film projects selected by Singapore’s Infocomm Media Development Authority as winners of its inaugural Southeast Asia Co-production Grant. The winners were announced on Monday (Nov. 25) as part of the ongoing Singapore Media Festival.

The Southeast Asia Co-production Grant is a funding program for projects that are directed by a Southeast Asian, but not Singaporean, filmmaker. The production team should involve at...

Jaff 14 ‘Revival’ is officially started on November 19th, 2019 at Empire Xxi Yogyakarta. “Abracadabra” (2019), a feature film directed by Faozan Rizal, became the official opening film. The event started at 6 Pm, accompanied by 18 groups of Bergada (The Yogyakarta Palace’s army) who lead the guests from Horison Hotel to Empire Xxi Yogyakarta.

Around 1.454 audience came to the opening festival ceremony. The opening began with a speech from Yogyakarta’s Department of Culture (Disbud) delegation, Aris Eko Nugroho, S.P., M.Si. He presented that Yogyakarta’s Disbud has been collaborating with Jaff since 2014. “Through the development of film and the birth of film schools in Yogyakarta, we hope that there will be more collaborations in developing art, especially films,” he said.

Having the same vision with Yogyakarta’s Disbud, the Directorate General of Information and Public Diplomacy, Ministry of Foreign Affairs (DJ Idp Ministry of Foreign Affairs) also presented its support...

The Locarno Festival’s Open Doors platform dedicated to promoting cinema in areas where filmmaking is especially tough, has unveiled the 8 projects, directors, and producers from 7 countries in South-East Asia and Mongolia who will make the trek to Switzerland for networking and training opportunities.

The selected projects include “The Thonglor Kids” by Thai director Aditya Assarat, produced by Fran Borgia, who also produced last year’s Golden Leopard winner “A Land Imagined,” by Singapore’s Yeo Siew Hua (pictured).

Vietnamese director Chuyen Bui Thac, whose second feature “Adrift,” set in Hanoi, premiered at Venice in 2009, will be attending the Asian cinema incubator with his latest project “Glorious Ashes” centered on the hardships and love lives of three women in a poor coastal village.

Locarno’s Open Doors program this year is entering a new three-year cycle dedicated to Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Myanmar, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Mongolia.

The event’s co-production platform,...

mustUNESCO-awarded film banned in five provinces despite being cleared by Indonesian censor board.

Indonesian filmmaker Garin Nugroho’s Memories Of My Body has been banned in five provinces in Indonesia and is being attacked on social media by groups claiming that it spreads Lgbt propaganda.

The film, which opened on April 18, was given a 17+ rating by the Indonesian film censorship board, but has since been banned by officials in the provinces of Depok, Kubu Raya, Pontianak, Palembang and Riau.

Produced by Ifa Isfansyah’s Fourcolours Films, Memories Of My Body premiered at last year’s Venice film festival in the...

Muslim groups in Indonesia are calling for a ban on the film “Memories of My Body,” a drama from the country’s best-known art house director, Garin Nugroho. The groups say that the film is “sexually deviant” and promotes “Lgbt values.”

The film depicts the story of a young man from a dance troupe that performs Lengger Lanang, a folk dance from central Java that is usually performed in pairs, and in which men often take both male and female roles. It is based on the real story of Rianto, a dancer who was abused as a child, explored masculinity and femininity while growing up, and endured traumatic experiences, discrimination and violence. Rianto himself plays the dancer as an adult and narrates the film.

“Memories of My Body” premiered in the Venice Film Festival’s Horizon section, where it won the prize for best film. (It was also nominated for the Queer Lion prize.

South East Asian film fund, Purin Pictures has again handed out $170,000 of finance for a fistful of movie projects. The Spring grants include production support for three feature films, production support for a documentary, and post production aid for another documentary.

Launched in 2017 and operating an open submissions process for the second year, the fund received an increased number of funding applications. “The fact that we continue to see many strong projects from the Philippines and Singapore in particular tells us that these two countries have the most solid support structures for independent filmmaking within the region,” said fund director Aditya Assarat.

The fund will provide production grants of $30,000 each to: drama “Anatomy of Time,” to be directed by Thailand’s Jakrawal Nilthamrong, sand produced by Mai Meksawan; “Ajoomma,” a dramedy about a Korean TV obsessed widow, directed by He Shuming and produced by Tan Si En; “Yuni,” directed by...