Jakarta World Cinema to Revive First Feature Competition with International Jury Next Year — TV and streaming

After suspending the category this year due to challenges in securing global judges, Jakarta World Cinema plans to reopen its First Feature Competition next year. The festival aims to attract submissions from filmmakers worldwide by assembling an international jury with strong filmographies.

Jakarta World Cinema is set to revive its First Feature Competition for next year's edition, marking a return to accepting submissions from filmmakers around the globe. This year, the competition was put on hold because organizers struggled to assemble an international panel of judges. Festival director Shandy Gasella noted that previous iterations had relied exclusively on Indonesian judges, but the team now intends to bring in international members with significant filmographies to facilitate a global opening.

The festival is strategically positioned between Jakarta Film Week in October and the Jogja-Netpac Asian Film Festival at the end of November. Frederica, executive director of Jakarta World Cinema and director of KlikFilm, stated that the lineup consists of 80% to 90% award-winning films from major festivals such as Cannes, Berlin, Venice, and Sundance. The team travels to various film markets including Berlin and Toronto to curate what they consider the year's most important art films for local audiences.

This year's edition featured a record-breaking 102 theatrical titles out of a total program of 207. Programming director Daniel Irawan indicated that the goal for next year is to expand the lineup further while continuing to partner with main venue CGV Grand Indonesia to increase audience capacity. Beyond features, the festival also hosts a short film competition which took place in June and attracted over 300 entries from professionals, amateurs, and students.

All 30 short film competition titles and 20 non-competition selections on the shortlist will screen during the event. Winners for the best short film and audience choice awards will be announced on closing day. The winner of the best short film category will receive full funding from KlikFilm for the production and distribution of a debut feature.

The festival is supported by Dana Indonesiaraya, a matching fund shared between the government and the film industry, according to Indonesian Culture Minister Fadli Zon. Following the conclusion of the Jakarta edition on November 7, the same program will travel to Bandung World Cinema and Malang World Cinema, two local extensions scheduled to run from November 14 to 21.

Sources: Variety.