Discoveries from Indonesia World Cinema

A boy cannot pay his school fees as a group of men steal the money.

On October 16th, 1958, a family fled Indonesia. They spent a month at sea aboard the M.S. Sibajak on a voyage to The Netherlands. When they arrived, it was getting winter. Coming from the tropics, the cold was a shock. The family quickly noticed that the spirits who had always been with them in Indonesia were no longer there - they had left them along the journey.

The Story of two best friends who idolized each other's lives. They couldnt get enough of anything in their own lives. But one night at a sleepover.. something happened. Something magical.

A woman wants to be liked on her social media by following trends, but she doesn't get a good response.

A girl finds herself in absurd television programs.

After spending most of her life in the Netherlands, Dyana struggles to adapt to life in Indonesia upon her return.

The inflation in 1965 caused a high increase in prices. In the middle of his paddy field, Untung, who is worrying about the price increase, is visited by Kino. Kino’s presence changed the atmosphere. Cheap rice seeds sold by a farming organization traps them in the middle of an ideology conflict.

Shattered by the death of his beloved, Hardi had tried countless times to kill himself. But in the end, he discovered a way to redirect that urge: by murdering others instead.

While picnicking in a flower garden with her two best friends, Yanti (62) learns that their togetherness will soon end because each of them must move to be closer to their children. In the midst of the inevitable separation, Yanti learns to accept change and care for memories through small, touching routines.

Lia, a young woman from Buton, rediscovers the manuscripts Kabanti— an oral art inherited from his grandmother, Wa Mia, who was once known as a singer Kabanti. The tradition was nearly extinct, especially since his mother was reluctant to continue it. With the guidance of traditional figures and the support of her friends, Lia tries to understand the deep meaning behind each verse of Kabanti that is full of Islamic teachings and life values. She learned to recite it with feeling and a sense of responsibility for his ancestral heritage. At the peak, Lia performed Kabanti at a campus exhibition. Her melodious voice revived a long-forgotten tradition and touched the hearts of many, becoming a symbol of the revival of Butonese culture in the hands of the younger generation.

A pink chair was crushed under a truckload of gravel. It happened on the shoreline. Rumor has it that there was cheating at a village meeting stage involving students and village officials. As a result, the young children, who had become familiar with the chair and a few lines of the sea song, no longer sang it.

A father died and experienced the atmosphere of his own funeral. He could only watch as his children, who should have been grieving, were busy arguing.

It was only one year after the earthquake in Palu, amidst the hustle and bustle of Palu City’s revitalization, Gana a 14 year old girl, is forced to marry a 40 year old widower to reduce the economic burden on her family. After the disaster, Gana lives with her aunt and uncle in a temporary shelter. In the days leading up to her wedding, Gana wants to run away but feels conflicted. Whenever she tries to run away, aftershocks come.

A simple misunderstanding transforms into deep psychological tension.

A farmer chances upon a book, and within its pages he perceives that the devotion of his life, since his first breath, draws near its close. Once touched by knowledge, he feels estranged from cows, no longer bound to their world.

Some people draw fragments of lines on paper as an idea of possible disasters that could happen to them. These lines turn abstract ideas into something that is visually identifiable. The collection of images of objects and lines then becomes a depiction of an event. From this process emerges a collective visual narrative in which personal experiences are represented as part of a shared pattern, emphasizing the connection between individual perceptions and broader visual constructions.

Set in the gritty streets of New Heaven during the 1980s,follows a loyal member of a powerful crime family as he begins to question the life he’s built under a ruthless mafia boss. Torn between morality and survival, he faces choices that blur the line between duty and betrayal. A neo-noir tale of power, fear, and the cost of loyalty.

A married couple leads a simple household life without the presence of a child. The wife continues to be haunted by social pressure and is trapped in hallucinations that blur the boundaries between reality and her own mind. As the sound of a baby's laughter turned into a cry, and the whisper of public discrimination became more and more stressful, he almost lost control. But the husband's grip became the anchor that brought him back to reality. On the table, flowers in the vase slowly bloom a symbol of love that grows calm, warm, and whole, even without a child's presence.

Paiman and Boni are brothers who are farmers, but it is always Paiman's crops that are harvested from Boni's farm. Suspicious, Paiman wants to find out the secret behind his brother's farm.

A number of journalists trace land‐conflict sites in West Cilacap. Through the figure of a farmer champion, Petrus Sugeng, they visit and dig into data from other peasant fighters whose ancestral land was seized by the State decades ago. It emerges that the land-seizure events were part of a series of historical suppressions of rebellions in which farmers were victims even to this day.

a short film by B.W. Purbanegara

Solo, May 1998. Riots erupted, shops were burned, lives were at risk, and chaos spread. Amidst the devastation, photojournalist Sunaryo Haryo Bayu kept raising his camera; capturing history while searching for truth and a glimmer of hope within the tragedy.

A Film By Fadhil Habibur

Plot under wraps.

Kasim a lower class tailor found a mutual forbidden love with Amalia, a neighboring teenager kiosk employee. His feelings for Amalia has lead him to an unwanted path from the pass.

It tells the story of four film students who must complete their final assignment by making a horror film based on their strange dreams. While filming, creepy events begin to occur, including ghost sightings and possessions, which disrupt their film production, one of which is due to an accident that befalls one of the actors.

Six days after her father's tragic death after being hit by a police convoy, Asty (24) is still trapped in deep grief and a broken heart. Feeling empty and lost, she asks Teguh (27), an online motorcycle taxi driver, to accompany her on a motorbike through the night. A journey that slowly changes Asty's perspective on separation, loss, and the meaning of presence.

One afternoon, just before they leave for their mother's funeral, a father overhears his two children pouring their hearts out about her death. His son, Evan, feels he isn't ready to live without her. His daughter, Sella, is also consumed by sadness, even though her initial intention was to comfort a crying Evan. Hidden behind the door and his own emotions, the father listens, despite being just as shattered as his children.

An investigation and re-narration of I Gde Dharna’s work from an ecological perspective, using Opera methods and experimental Balinese vocal techniques.

Rian, a former convict who had just been released from prison, wanted to repent and change his ways. However, because of his past actions, he found it difficult to repair his image as people still considered him a criminal.

Langgeng, a mute 10-year-old, struggles to care for his ailing father in a rundown village by the railway. Raised by Kartini, a prostitute and his mother’s friend, he clings to a worn photo of his mysteriously vanished mother and searches for her daily while selling newspapers and snacks. Along his journey, he encounters drug dealers, prostitutes, thugs, and a tender gay couple, all showing him compassion and sharing fragments of his family’s story. Anthology of Darkness interweaves Langgeng’s quest with the lives of those around him, illuminating love, loss, and survival in the shadows of poverty.

A man named Retno, who appeared to be a religious figure, arrived in a poor, remote village. He distributed luxury food packages and offered to teach Quran lessons to the children. The villagers welcomed him and trusted him with spiritual guidance. In class, Retno taught that students must obey their teacher completely, even without reason. One student, a beautiful and obedient girl named Lala, caught his attention. She was kind, respectful to her parents, and had a younger brother.

In alternate universe of 1965 in Indonesia, two vampires struggle to survive a hunt by communist sympathizers.

After losing his father, Darmawan was trapped in solitude and lost his will to live. A sports teacher, recognizing his forgotten potential, suggested running as a worldly outlet. From boredom and reluctant steps to unexpected boredom, Darmawan discovered that he ran not to forget, but to live again.

A preschool teacher is forced to leave her beloved students for the sake of earning a better income elsewhere.

A documentary film that explores the political events before and after the 1965 tragedy in Indonesia, known as Gestok (1st October Movement). The film features interviews with people who lived through and were involved in those events, offering different views from what was commonly told during the New Order era. The film aims to show the political tensions between different groups—such as the military, student activists, religious organizations, and left-wing movements—and how these tensions led to the violent events of 1965 and the change in government.

A worker rat wins a jackpot from online gambling and uses the money to travel to a luxury resort. Thinking that he is lucky, he continues to gamble online and loses all of his money.

After undergoing a sight-restoration surgery, blind college student Elanie uncovers a hidden family secret, sparking confrontations that threaten to fracture their family bonds.

This country is home to educational institutions with a long and storied history. For centuries, they have weathered countless events and embraced change after change. These institutions are rooted in religious tradition, yet closely tied to local culture with its diverse customs and heritage. They have always engaged in dialogue with their surroundings and have become part of global civilization. One such institution is the *Pondok Pesantren*, the popular name for this type of school. Guided by the principle, “Preserve good traditions and adopt better innovations,” pesantrens continue to live, grow, and serve their communities. It is no surprise that along their journey, pesantrens remain strong in tradition while constantly innovating. Nor is it surprising that they have become woven into many aspects of life—spanning religion, the arts, social affairs, and even nation-building.

A story about Marceli. A Deuteranopian (Color Vision Deficiency) trying to overcome his shorctoming.

A young woman investigates the complex mix of opportunities and challenges connected to her cross-cultural heritage.

The tragic side of life is portrayed by a woman forced to become a prostitute, trying to survive and feed her family.

Everytime the word ‘hallo’ is heard, something happens.

A child with a disability longs to go to school. However, in the area where he lives, there are no schools equipped to accommodate his condition. He even experienced mistreatment when he tried attending a regular public school. Eventually, he spends his days working as a palm oil laborer, using part of his wages to pay for his medical treatment.

A photographer assigned to exorcise a ghost in a park faces a challenge when the spirit tries to hypnotize him by disguising itself as someone he knows. He fights to resist the hypnosis.

I Want a Divorce, But He Just Wants to Play Futsal

Two individuals, each about to return to their hometown, coincidentally meet on their final day in Jakarta.

a short documentary by Agung Nulhakim

Mirrors follows the inner journey of Lucien Hale, a detective haunted by an unsolved murder case, one that remains unresolved, at least in his conscience. Years after the system closed the file and the world moved on, Lucien uncovers a new clue that pulls him into a series of conversations with someone believed to be connected to the crime. When a man named John Corwin is brought in for interrogation, Lucien is convinced he's finally closing in on the truth. But their exchange is far from ordinary. Fragmented memories, hazy flashbacks, and cryptic, blood-stained messages begin to collide with Lucien's own beliefs, blurring the line between the truth he seeks and the reality he fears.

A young man embarks on a time-travel mission to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 virus.

An animation adapted from YouTube channel education "Kok Bisa?".