Busan Unveils Celebration of Indonesian Cinema Renaissance

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 industrys growth and foster emerging Indonesian filmmakers.

Featured at Busan will be six features, five shorts and a series. The first two episodes of Netflixs 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, a dilettante detective working on a mass slaughter case involving the government, in which he encounters an informant who gives him a hint towards the mysterious disappearance of his childhood friend, Kirana, which points him towards Wan Ali, a human-trafficking crook.The film participated in the 2022 Asian Project Market at Busan.

Sara (2022) by Ismail Basbeth, which navigates the conflicts faced by a transgender woman within her family and community, will also have its world premiere at Busan as will Nirartha Bas Diwangkaras short Where the Wild Frangipanis Grow.

The work of Indonesian horror maestro Joko Anwar will be celebrated with Bucheon winner Impetigore (2019). Other films featured include Mouly Suryas 2013 Rotterdam winner What They Dont Talk About When They Talk About Love, Edwins 2017 Citra Awards winner Posesif and B.W. Purba Negaras 2017 Asean International Film Festival winner Tales of the Otherwords.

Featured shorts include Khozy Rizals 2023 Cannes selection Basri Salma in a Never-Ending Comedy, M. Reza Fahriyansas 2022 Locarno selection Dancing Colors, Tumpal Tampubolons 2021 Busan winner The Sea Calls For Me and Bayu Prihantoro Filemons Vania on Lima Street (2022).

The Renaissance of Indonesian Cinema program is backed by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research and Technology of Indonesia. Directors and actors from each featured film are scheduled to visit Busan and participate in several events.

The 28th Busan International Film Festival takes place Oct. 4-13. The 18th Asian Contents Film Market runs Oct. 7-10.