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Netflix’s latest Indonesian original film, “The Most Beautiful Girl in the World,” premiered today, offering viewers a fresh take on the romantic comedy genre. Directed by Robert Ronny, the film stars Reza Rahadian and Sheila Dara Aisha in a story that blends humor, romance, and social commentary.

The 122-minute feature follows Reuben (Rahadian), a carefree playboy set to inherit his father’s media empire. To claim his inheritance, Reuben must fulfill an unusual last wish: produce a dating show to find and marry the most beautiful girl in the world. This premise sets the stage for a narrative that explores themes of love, self-discovery, and the portrayal of women in mass media.

Kiara (Aisha), an ambitious producer working on Reuben’s show, finds herself at odds with her boss’s notorious reputation for fleeting relationships. Their professional dynamic takes an unexpected turn when the pair become stranded on a remote island,...

Continuing its run of slate launches globally, Netflix unveiled new Indonesian originals premiering on its platform this year.

The streamer is working on its first collaboration with director and comedian Ernest Prakasa, titled The Actor (Lupa Daratan). The comedy-drama film is about an egocentric actor who is on the cusp of landing the lead role in a prestige biopic, but suddenly finds himself stripped of his acting abilities. The film stars Vino G. Bastian, Agus Kuncoro and Dea Panendra.

Netflix will also launch its first zombie film from Indonesia, The Elixir, from accomplished horror director Kimo Stamboel. Previously announced with the working title of Abadi Nan Jaya, the film tells the story of a potion that ends up triggering a zombie outbreak due to the ambition of a herbal medicine company’s owner. The Elixir stars Donny Damara, Mikha Tambayong, Eva Celia, Dimas Anggara, Kiki Narendra and Marthino Lio.

The...

More Talent Joins ‘Agency’

Indonesia’s Miles Films and Sk Global Entertainment have revealed more of the talent participating in their “The Talent Agency” (aka “Harbungi Agen Guei”) the local version of the hit French series, “Call My Agent!.” Other recurring roles go to Sheryl Sheinafia, Chicco Kurniawan, Dea Panendra, and Agni Pratistha. Guest stars in the series—who play a version of themselves—include Luna Maya, Tara Basro, Zara Adhisty, Adipati Dolken, comedians Pandji Pragiwaksono and Soleh Solihun, and young stars Kevin Ardilova and Bio One. The show is now in post-production and will air on Disney+ from next year. Miles Films’ Mira Lesmana and Riri Riza are showrunners with Teddy Soeriaatmadja directing. The show was teased last week at Disney’s content showcase in Singapore.

New Nhk President

Japan’s public broadcaster Nhk has named Inaba Nobuo, former executive director of the Bank of Japan, as its next president.

An emerging director in the Indonesian scene, Teddy Soeriaatmadja has so far made the focus of his career since “Blue Banyu” as a man focused on a realistic take on social taboos, especially the Trilogy of Intimacy that started with Lovely Man in 2011 and ended with “About a Woman” in 2015. With such a profound series of subtle family portraits to his credit, it might be a shock to see him veer quite a ways away from the genre into a full-throttled horror effort such as his newest piece “Affliction,” but those who check the film out during the Horror Nights selection at the 2022 Five Flavours Film Festival will find something not far removed from his main field of interest, even with this being a departure from his previous style.

Affliction is screening at Five Flavours

Attempting to move up the corporate ladder, Hasan (Ibnu Jamil) and his wife Nina (Raihaanun Soeriaatmadja...

It is not a secret that in many countries, foreign domestic helpers are a big help with regard to the middle-class maintaining a certain kind of standard. At the same time, many parts of Germany and the US depend on foreign workers, and their willingness to take whatever job is at hand if it means having some kind of opportunity to support their families at home. Hong Kong is no exception to the rule with many families employing foreign domestic workers from the Philippines or Indonesia, which creates a similar necessity on both sides. Given the work culture of places like Hong Kong on the one hand, and the fact these workers depend on a steady paycheck for themselves and those left behind on the other hand, there is a certain dynamic which, in many ways, mirrors the downfalls of today’s era of globalization and its mechanisms of exploitation.

Sometimes having good intentions and eye-witness testimony is not enough to make a topical, issues-driven movie connect with its anticipated audience.

The movie “Dea,” recently boarded by Hong Kong sales company Good Move Media, is a case in point. It probes the put-upon lives of foreign domestic helpers, who number several hundred thousand in Hong Kong, but are politically invisible.

These female helpers, mostly hailing from Indonesia or The Philippines, enable Hong Kong’s middle classes to function as double income families and facilitate the territory’s hard-charging, long-hours work culture. And yet foreign domestic helpers endure often demeaning living standards, sleeping in their employer’s smallest rooms, precarious employment conditions and widespread ridicule for their colorful group activities in public places on their Sunday rest days.

The film was written by a workshop of such women in Hong Kong and neighboring Macau, who had experienced sexual violence in the course of their work.

As with most festivals in a pandemic world, Slamdance Film Festival is changing things up with their 2021 edition. Moving a few weeks back to February 12-25, no longer directly competing with Sundance Film Festival, the festival will be taking place primarily virtually. In quite a feat of accessibility, a full festival pass is also now available for free––if you secure yours by December 31st. After that, they are going up to $10, which is still a steal.

The festival has also announced its full lineup, with 25 features along with 107 shorts and episodic. Films, Q&As, and panels will be available on Slamdance.com, AppleTV, Roku, Firestick, and YouTube, while in-person events will take place in Joshua Tree with drive-ins open to the public on February 13th and 14th as well as the closing night screening at a Los Angeles drive-in on February 25.

Check out the lineup below and reserve your festival pass here.

Remember film festivals? Especially in person ones? Well, they won’t be returning for a bit, but 2021 will still be filled with festivals, just of the mostly virtual variety. One such fest is the Slamdance Film Festival, which has in the past taken place alongside the Sundance Film Festival. Scheduled for February 12th until the 25th, Slamdance is taking the hybrid route, making their selections available virtually. The lineup was announced today, so the first real movie gathering of next year (from the comfort of our own homes) is now known. Read on to see the lineup, as well as a bit about what will be populating Slamdance… Here now is the 2021 Slamdance Film Festival lineup, via a Deadline press release: Narrative Features A Brixton Tale World Premiere Directors: Darragh Carey & Bertrand Desrochers – Screenwriters: Rupert Baynham, Darragh Carey, Chi Mai – Producers: Rupert Baynham, Dennis Gyamfi, Beau Rambaut A voyeuristic, wealthy...

Like all festivals, the Slamdance Film Festival is set to shift to a hybrid fest for its 27th edition — but it isn’t holding back on its programming as it will feature 20 feature film premieres while highlighting diverse voices and accessibility. With the theme “Greenlight Yourself,” the indie-driven fest will also launch a new program titled Unstoppable, a showcase for creators with disabilities.

The fest will run February 12-25, 2021 with all films, Q&As and panels available virtually via Slamdance.com, AppleTV, Roku, Firestick, and YouTube. In addition, there will be a two-night drive-in presentation in Joshua Tree, CA open to the public on February 13-14 as well as the closing-night screening at a Los Angeles drive-in on February 25.

“Our theme this year was inspired by the incredible resilience and creativity evidenced by our community and our team over the past few unprecedented months,” said Slamdance president and co-founder Peter Baxter.

In my last trips in Indonesian cinema, I have watched an art-house biopic, a drama (Emma), and a thriller of sorts (A Copy of My Mind). I guess it was about time to watch a Western, although one much different from the American ones, since “Marlina” features a distinct feminist tone, throughout its duration.

As stated in the title, the film is split if four acts. In the first act, in genuine western fashion, a man enters Marlina’s house uninvited, pragmatically informing her that his gang will soon arrive, take all her money, her livestock and sleep with her, and there is nothing she can do about it, since her husband is actually dead, placed mummified in a corner of the room. Furthermore, and in a mockery of the customs of hospitality, she makes her cook dinner for everyone. This last order however, proves fatal, as Marlina poisons the soup,...

In my last trips in Indonesian cinema, I have watched an art-house biopic, a drama (Emma), and a thriller of sorts (A Copy of My Mind). I guess it was about time to watch a Western, although one much different from the American ones, since “Marlina” features a distinct feminist tone, throughout its duration.

Marlina the Murderer in Four Acts is screening at Art Film Fest Kosice

As stated in the title, the film is split if four acts. In the first act, in genuine western fashion, a man enters Marlina’s house uninvited, pragmatically informing her that his gang will soon arrive, take all her money, her livestock and sleep with her, and there is nothing she can do about it, since her husband is actually dead, placed mummified in a corner of the room. Furthermore, and in a mockery of the customs of hospitality, she makes her cook dinner for everyone.

Machetes, poisonous berries and headless ghosts litter the sunbaked plains of Sumba in Mouly Surya’s revenge drama

This macabre and deadpan film from the Indonesian director Mouly Surya has been described as a “satay western”. It’s a violent rape-revenge tale that takes place in the sunbaked and sweeping plains of Sumba in eastern Indonesia, which Surya endows with the same stark quality that Sergio Leone gave Spain’s Tabernas Desert.

Marlina (Marsha Timothy) is a widow; seven men from the local village arrive at her house intent on stealing her livestock and raping her. But Marlina has her fierce payback with poisonous berries and a machete that she has perhaps been keeping for just this eventuality. Her escape brings her into contact with the pregnant Novi (Dea Panendra) and these two women’s destinies entwine.