Discoveries from Indonesia World Cinema

A lawyer defends the man who murdered after the conflict 98

A photographer named Danny has numerous problems continuously in his life, and thus can't make him believe with a saying "The Earth Rotates". He feels like he's always been in the same position until had a journey that changes his mind.

Aladin, the son of a poor widow, continues living modestly although he owns the magic lamp. The lamp is only used on special occasions, such as when the Wazir commands him to. Finally, when he is threatened, Aladin uses the magic lamp to defeat the evil Wazir and inherit the kingdom’s throne.

This film is the first talking picture made by Tan's Film.

Edward William returns to the Dutch Indies after his stay in Europe to manage a plantation in Banten area. He is accompanied by his daughter from Dasima, Nancy. Upon his arrival in Batavia, she receives news that Samiun (Dasima's murderer) has served his sentence and is coming back. Nancy dreams of meeting Dasima who asks her to take revenge on Samiun and his wife, Hayati. Eventually, Samiun falls over a cliff and Hayati is stabbed by her own knife.

All circles have felt a considerable impact during the current pandemic, including farmers. With extraordinary experience and firm principles, Teh Eneng—as she is usually called—as a woman farmer, continues to innovate and maintain her profession as a farmer.

A little head made out of clay woke up, and found that the body parts that were put for it, was not what was supposed to be. The little head tried to dig, to find the body parts that would meet its expectation. With lots of help from its friends, the little head had a journey to be comforted by its own choices

Susie is pregnant. Because of cravings, Susi asked Slamet, her husband, to hang out at a place where they were remembered when they were young. Slamet was jealous because he remembered something about Susi's ex-girlfriend. The trip wasn't interesting anymore. Susi is very sensitive because she is pregnant and Slamet always talks about her bad memories. This is a film about a married couple with memories of themselves.

Suhan is a freelancer, he's been stuck in his rented room for 3 months practicing self-quarantine as an action to face the global pandemic of COVID-19. Suhan repeats the same activities everyday in his small, packed and noisy rented room. His hearing sense became sensitive that he could listen to the voices around.

Right before tsunami happen in Indonesia, there was a time glitch in various parts of the world, including in Jakarta. At that time, three friends who back to Cibubur, West Java suddenly moved to Bukittinggi, West Sumatra.

Considering the geographical conditions of Grabag, a district in Magelang, that surrounded by mountains and highlands that include the 'Blank Spot Area', Local Government granting a broadcast tower to relay the private TV stations. Instead of these reasons, the people itself use Grabag tower to establish a community television. With all the limitations, this is where they create to meet the needs of the information is not from outside Grabag, but instead from their own world.

After being persecuted by Anto and Fendy until she died, Larasati possessed the body of Alya, her best friend from cyberspace.

This film tells the story of Wawan et al., a group of eternal students who are in a boarding house owned by Aunt Ros. Problems arise when a new girl named Jenifer joins the boarding house. Wawan et al. do various ways to get Jenifer.

At night, a Rider passes through a quiet road and is halted midway by a private Policeman. The Rider is given a traffic ticket and forced to go home in the cold midnight.

Since the murder of a family in a house subsequently known as the Haunted House of Pondok Indah, every new resident of the house is always terrorized by the ghost resides there. Several years passes by and a new family takes up residence there. The very same thing happens again.

In his contribution, Garin Nugroho wants to show the importance of the new and the old harbour of Jakarta. In the harbour districts Keroncong Tugu (the old district) and Tanjung Priok (the present harbour district), multicultural communities have emerged that have opened up Jakarta society towards Europe and Asia. Nugroho uses archive footage to show that the heritage of the Portuguese who exploited Indonesia before the Dutch is for instance still visible in the existence of a Portuguese community with its own music culture. The development of the harbours is important for the future, but their history also has sad stories. For instance, Nugroho points out that many wars were started about who controls a port. (Rotterdam International Film Festival)

Indri quickly rushes home from abroad when her father suddenly dies. At home, she finds her nursemaid Tuti tied up while her stepmother has gone back to the village. At night, someone is stalking the house. So she suspects that her father’s death was unnatural and her suspicions ring true. Somali, the vice-president in her father’s company, wants to take over the latter’s wealth by colluding with her nursemaid.

A familiar stranger is an individual who is recognized from regular activities, but with whom one does not interact.

Ismaya (17), is an introverted student with a peculiar syndrome; his hair grows as fast as half a meter every day. He is a true heir to his late mother, Iswanti’s reputation as a witch. His hair carries healing powers that both he and his tyrannical father, Santoso (42), are unaware of.

To prove the New Year's Eve myth that he had heard, Darto tried to confide in Arum, his sheep. Right before the new year’s turn, something happened to them.

The days are full of terror. Windi, Flora's sister, has become incompatible with her mother, Nelly, since Flora died.

Cremation rites are the most elaborate rites of passage performed by Balinese householders. Poor families may wait years before accumulating enough resources to cremate their dead, who are buried in the meantime. In 1978 many more cremations than usual were carried out because of the great purification cermony, Eka Dasa Rudra, held at Bali's main temple, Besakih, in 1979. Religious officials recommended that all Balinese cleanse the island by cremating their dead, as part of the preparations for the great Besakih ceremony. Villagers of limited means pooled their resources to perform group cremations which greatly reduced the cost for each family. This film is about a group of villagers in Central Bali who cooperated to carry out a group cremation.

Someone is killing prostitutes whom he dates.When Bram notices Jean, a beautiful girl, on the road, he follows her car, until a collision occurs. Jean, who feels guilty, gives her business card and is willing to repair the damage. Bram is eager to date Jean, but fails at the first attempt. Then Bram uses his black magic skills to force Jean to keep coming to his house. As a result, Jean loses her concentration at work.

a handsome man named Haris whose amulet faded when he was about to propose to his girlfriend

Cakra is a plain simpleton from the countryside. His father is a rich but a miserly man. While her mother is overprotective to Cakra because of his developmental disability. Knowing that Cakra's parents will do anything for their son, his old neighborhood friends who now lived in the city tries to squeeze some money from Cakra's family by persuading him to go to the big city to live with them. Now Cakra has to face his scheming friends and the alluring charms of the big city.

An ordinary student who strives hard to retaliate against the bullying he receives from a school bully.

In between her busy schedule as a housewife, Suwini, a mother of three, finds time to ngidep (making eyelashes). Meanwhile, Suwitno, her husband, twice a day, morning and evening, has to go up and down 21 rented coconut trees to collect palm juice. The price of Javanese sugar is not as sweet as the taste of the sugar.

A psychic teenager, who has a difficulty differentiating between hallucinations and reality, is assigned by his psychiatrist to spend the night in his abandoned childhood home. With a camcorder and polaroid as his aid, he must confront his hallucinations while a psychopath is lurking within his house.

To celebrate 25 years of their music journey, Mocca invites you to a colorful world. Life in Bloom is a special live session that will transport you into Mocca's new universe.

Horse racing is a popular folk tradition in Sumbawa. The riders are children whose lives are far less fortunate than the horse owners. These young jockeys ride wild horses without proper safety equipment for only a small reward—a story of victory, pride, gambling, and sorrow.

A child plays in the backyard. He is ignorant of anything going on around him...

A remake with the same title (1988).

Two best friends dive headfirst into a government video contest with nothing but a new phone and zero filmmaking experience—only to realize that their first failure might just be the beginning of something bigger.

a short film by Rizqy Vajra

A short documentary about pamor iron and the cultural transformation of blacksmithing. preserved by 3 jewelry craftsmen who make from pamor iron.

Plot under wraps.

A psychological thriller film adapted from Pawan Kumar's 'U-Turn'.

In a dark world, a man always bathed in cold water seeks refuge in an abandoned building, only to find disturbing silence and warmth that cannot last. Suddenly, a glimmer of light appears from behind a door. Is it salvation, or something far more sinister?

Tells the story of a child who was left in a disabled state after a brutal murder killed her entire family while on vacation at a villa. After that, the girl suddenly gained mystical powers and made her seek revenge against everyone who was considered to be related to the murder case, including the teenagers, one of whom turned out to be the killer.

This documentary film tells the story of the struggle of a young man in a traditional village in the area South Bandung, which is trying to preserve gambar music which has been lost for almost 15 years year in the traditional village. Deni, the young man, is armed with great courage and will to revive the musical legacy

Indonesia's 1945 Constitution guarantees the independence of every citizen to embrace their religion and to worship according to their beliefs. Is it applied well in current day Indonesia?

Toya is a girl who wants to make batik, but her work is not as good as the student of Madam Teja’s Batik Studio. That is because Toya does not have an Art Spirit so she has to go on an adventure to find a Batik Spirit. Ironically, Toya can only get a Martial Arts Spirit, named Gajag. At first, Toya is hesitant to be one with Gajag, but slowly she realizes that her Art Spirit can show her a unique way to make batik.

The film by visionary director Bagas Setyo Putra, Di Balik Malam, raises important issues in society. This is the credits sequence.

Della and Eva meet again after not seeing each other for a long time. Della, who had wanted to spend time with her friends, instead spent time with Eva. On their journey, they finally get a chance to get to know each other more deeply.

The burning of the Hong Lian Sie temple triggers a big fight between the Kuen Luen Pai clan and Oen Kung Pa clan. The temple is filled with secret weapons and led by evildoers who are fond of abusing the weak. The story is a classic battle of good versus evil.

Dasima's remorse worsens after she leaves her husband and her 8-year-old daughter, Nancy. Samiun’s first wife, Hayati, who is a heavy gambler, squanders all of Dasima’s wealth. Dasima plans to tell her former master about the ill-treatment that she has been receiving from her current husband, Samiun. Samiun panics. He asks Bang Puasa to kill Dasima. Based on a witness account, Bang Puasa and Samiun are arrested. The killer goes to prison while Samiun is sentenced with banishment.

Bima, someone who is heartbroken suddenly forgets all his problems because of a mysterious woman

40 year old Peter is married to a man he loves, has a successful business, basically all the things he wanted. But the appearance of an attractive 20 year old boy in his cafe brings up questions in Peter's mind about how happy he really is.

With the slogan "Tanpa Babu Negara Kacau" or "Without Servants The Country Will Be In Chaos", Inem organises a congress for servants, complete with ceremony and pomp. The idea to create the congress is based on the lives of servants, who are still treated unjustly and live in suffering. As an ex-servant who is now the wife of a multi-billionaire, she is moved to help her kind.

Ratmi’s “warung pojok” (street corner food stall) is always busy. She runs it together with her niece, Neneng, and is often helped by Neneng’s boyfriend, Latif, a tyre repairman whose kiosk is near the food stall.

An ambitious documentary filmmaker brings together a scientist and a priest to explain the supernatural events occurring in a haunted house. However, the phenomena inside the house begin to challenge their beliefs.

Nina is a vlogger from Jakarta that is currently travelling to Sorong by boat. After a porter offers to help her carry her bags and then disappear, Nina has to find out what happened to the man and her bags.

edit by @nhantaii