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The bonds between mother and son have always provided fascinating and rich cinematic material. More so in Tumpal Tampubolon’s debut feature Crocodile Tears, where such a family dynamic is explored within the confines of a crocodile park in West Java, Indonesia, complete with the ever present ‘menace’ of its reptilian residents. It is an altogether curious affair, both pitch black in comedic moments, tender in others, but venturing into the supernatural too, making for intriguing viewing.

Mama (Marissa Anita) and her adult son Johan (Yusuf Mahardika) seem to have all they need in their unusual world of caring for crocs in a remote setting barely visited by the public. They eat together, sleep together and care for each other and their animals daily. Except with the wider world at his finger tips on a phone, this is clearly not enough for Johan – as the opening scene demonstrates. He wants...

It’s dinnertime, and everyone is seated at the table, a strange feeling haunting their minds. Johan (Yusuf Mahardika) keeps his head tucked towards the dishes, remaining silent. Johan’s mother, Mama (Marissa Anita), brings a plate of fried chicken with a fake smile, almost forced, and places it on the table. She’s not contented with the company for her dinner, yet she wants to maintain the decorum.

Arumi (Zulfa Maharani) is pale, almost oblivious that “smile” even exists in her dictionary, and sits on the chair with zero emotions. Mama says, “Let’s eat,” and lays her hands on the plate to place a piece of chicken for Johan. However, she’s not alone in the process, as Arumi holds the plate together with Mama at the same time. Both Arumi and Mama look at each other with a silent gaze while Johan inaudibly pauses his breath. No one is moving now,...

Following the excellent “The Sea Calls for Me”, it was evident that Tumpal Tampubolon was ready for a feature debut, which did take, however, some time until it came into fruition. A co-production between Indonesia’s Talamedia (producer Mandy Marahimin), Singapore’s Giraffe Pictures (producers Anthony Chen and Teoh Yi Peng), France’s Acrobates Films (producer Claire Lajoumard) and Poetik Film (producer Christophe Lafont) and Germany’s 2Pilots Filmproduction (producers Harry Flöter and Jörg Siepmann), the movie is definitely an international production, and found its premiere in Toronto.

Crocodile Tears is screening at Toronto International Film Festival

Johan is a 20 years old who lives with his mother in a run down crocodile park, essentially apart from society. His father is nowhere to be seen, but the Mother considers an old and quite big crocodile in the park as Johan’s father, with even him considering that there is some special connection between the two.

Indonesia’s Miles Film and Korea’s Cj Entertainment are to co-produce an Indonesian remake of Korean hit “Sunny.” The film is a female-driven dramedy about a group of adult friends who reunite 20 years after high school.

Directed by Kang Hyoung-chul, “Sunny” was one of the highest-grossing movies in Korea when it was released in 2011. It secured 7.36 million admissions, for a gross of $47.7 million.

The remake reunites two of the biggest names in Indonesian filmmaking, producer and screenwriter Mira Lesmana and director Riri Riza. They have worked together on several previous films, including “The Rainbow Troops.”

The remake is produced through Lesmana’s Miles Film. It will relocate the action to Jakarta, but otherwise hew closely to the original film’s non-linear storytelling. Its local title is “Bebas,” which translates as “Free” in English.

The cast is headed by Baim Wong and Marsha Timothy. Other cast members include Agatha Priscilla,...