Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Acclaimed film-making duo Kamila Andini and Ifa Isfansyah take a calculatedly side-on approach to Indonesian societal history in “Cigarette Girl,” a new Netflix series that releases on Nov.1 and which premiered its first episodes at the Busan International Film Festival earlier this month. Starting with a wealthy family about to lose its aging patriarch in 2001, the series uses flashbacks to the 1960s to uncover not only the origins of the family’s herbal cigarette or ‘Kretek’ fortune, but also the hidden romance underlying it. And it highlights the overbearing and only slowly changing societal pressures placed on women, from high and low ranks, even as Indonesian politics and government underwent tectonic shifts. Ahead of the Busan premiere Andini and Isfansyah told Variety how their lush and romantic treatment is both a product of changing society and a way of facing up to recent Indonesian history.Watch the new trailer here.
Indonesia’s MD Pictures, Falcon, Screenplay On Their International Ambitions & Working With The Streamers – APOS
29.09.2023 - 04:43 / deadline.com
Three of Indonesia’s leading studios – MD Pictures, Falcon and Screenplay Films – explained their plans for taking local content international and how they’re juggling between producing for streamers and theatres, in a session at APOS.
Manoj Punjabi, founder of MD Pictures, said his studio switched to producing 90% for the streamers during the pandemic, working with global players as well as Tencent-owned Chinese streamer WeTV. Tencent acquired a 14.6% stake in MD Pictures during the pandemic, which Punjabi said helped the company reach “a different level with more potential for growth”.
However, Punjabi added that Indonesia is still a market where both studios and audiences support local movies in cinemas. Indonesian films had a record-breaking year in 2022 when cinemas reopened, taking a 60% market share, with hits including MD Pictures’ horror drama KKN Di Desa Penari, which became Indonesia’s highest-grossing film of all time.
Punjabi explained how he waited two years during the pandemic, so that he could release the film in cinemas, despite multiple offers to sell it to streaming: “I believed we had to wait – it’s a cinema movie and was not meant to premiere on OTT. It’s not that the streamers don’t pay well, but this film was meant to be seen on the big screen.”
He added that Indonesia may be suffering from an over-abundance of horror movies, because they’re cheap and easy to make – but that he invested in a bigger than average budget for KKN Di Desa Penari, which helped lift the film beyond average box office. He is now setting his sights on international markets: “We have some limitations, we could be making more genres, and we don’t have enough writers and directors, but we can take it to the next level by
Ning Hao On China’s TikTok Generation & Working With Andy Lau In ‘The Movie Emperor’ – Pingyao
Chinese director Ning Hao has flown directly from Busan film festival in South Korea to China’s Pingyao International Film Festival (PYIFF) with his latest film, The Movie Emperor, starring Andy Lau.
BBC Returns To ‘Marie Antoinette’; ‘Planet Earth III’ Sells To Australia, China; ‘The Piano’ Plays Around Europe — Mipcom Briefs
‘Marie Antoinette‘ Back On The BBCThe BBC has announced that it has acquired the second season of Canal+ Creation Originale Marie Antoinette. Sue Deeks, head of acquisitions for the BBC, said the first season of Deborah Davis’ drama had been a “great success” for the corporation. Marie Antoinette is produced by Claude Chelli and Margaux Balsan for Capa Drama, Stéphanie Chartreux for Banijay Studios France, as well as Bedside Productions. Season 2 is currently in production.
Kamila Andini & Ifa Isfansyah On Recreating 1960s Indonesia in Netflix Period Romance ‘Cigarette Girl’
Indonesian filmmakers Kamila Andini and Ifa Isfansyah are making their Netflix debut with eight-part series Cigarette Girl (Gadis Kretek), which streams worldwide from November 2.
Indonesia’s Reza Rahadian, Yosep Anggi Noen Talk Busan Premiere ‘24 Hours With Gaspar’; Visinema Pictures’ International Approach
EXCLUSIVE: Indonesian actor Reza Rahadian and director Yosep Anggi Noen are attending Busan International Film Festival with their dystopian crime drama 24 Hours With Gaspar, which is receiving its world premiere in the festival’s Jiseok competition.
‘The Beast,’ Futuristic Romance With Léa Seydoux and George MacKay, Sells in All Major Markets Including U.K. and Italy (EXCLUSIVE)
Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Bertrand Bonello‘s “The Beast,” a dystopian romance drama starring Lea Seydoux (“No Time to Die”) and George MacKay (“1917”), has been bought by distributors in all major markets following its world premiere in competition at the Venice Film Festival. Represented in international markets by Kinology, “The Beast” has sold to the U.K. (Vertigo Releasing), Italy (iWonder), Spain (Caramel), Australia and New Zealand (Rialto), Benelux (Imagine), Scandinavia (NonStop), Latin America (Impacto), Middle East (Front Row), Poland (New Horizons), Greece (Weirdwave), Portugal (Alambique), CIS (Capella), Romania (Transilvania), Bulgaria (Cinelibri), Ex-Yugoslavia (MCF Megacom), India (Superfine) and Indonesia (P.T.
Indonesia Celebrates Renaissance at Busan, Aims to Shift From ‘Big Market to Big Player’
Naman Ramachandran The Indonesian film industry is poised to spread its wings globally as the country’s filmmaking boom is the subject of a focus at the Busan International Film Festival. Films from the country now routinely get selected and win prizes at major international festivals. The local market in Indonesia, which has the fourth-largest population in the world with 277 million, is rapidly expanding with homegrown productions accounting for a significant share.
Diversity, Women’s Perspectives and Empowerment Are Driving the Film Boom in Indonesia, Says Culture Director General Hilmar Farid (EXCLUSIVE)
Naman Ramachandran The renaissance in Indonesian cinema is being celebrated at the Busan International Film Festival this year with 15 films, shorts and series being showcased. Hilmar Farid, Director General of Culture at Indonesia‘s Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology, is leading a 50-strong delegation of filmmakers, committee members and media to the festival. Variety spoke with Farid about the country’s boom and its upcoming opportunities and challenges.
CJ ENM Poised to Reveal Indonesia Slate – Busan ACFM
Naman Ramachandran Korean powerhouse CJ ENM is set to continue its already extensive investment in Indonesia. The company will announce a slate of Indonesian films imminently. It is also planning to produce films and series that can be remade in other international territories, said Justin Kim, head of international productions at CJ ENM, which has production and distribution businesses in Indonesia.
The Match Factory Unveils Raft Of Deals For ‘Priscilla’ Ahead Of North American Premiere At NYFF
The Match Factory has announced a raft of world sales for Sofia Coppola’s biopic Priscilla ahead of its North American premiere as the Centrepiece selection of the New York Film Festival on Friday.
Diversity, Diaspora and Asian Film Identity Up for Discussion by Busan Festival Jury: ‘We Have Rich Feelings, but Express Them With Difficulty’
Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Issues of cultural diversity, different Asian diaspora populations and the quest for the Asian cinematic identity came up for discussion on Thursday as the New Currents competition jury at the Busan International Film Festival prepared to get down to work. Filmmaker and academic Jung Sung-il, who is set as the jury president, appeared to invite a degree of dispute that might get the blood racing. “I have high hopes, hope for controversies and good conversations among the jurors,” he said in opening remarks.
International Oscar Race: ‘Tiger Stripes,’ Critics’ Week-Winning Body Horror Film, Selected to Represent Malaysia
Academy Awards. The film had its debut in the Critics’ Week section of the Cannes film festival in May and was directed by first-time feature filmmaker Amanda Nell Eu. The announcement was made on Thursday by Malaysia’s Communications and Digital Minister Fahmi Fadzil following selection by the National Film Development Corporation (FINAS). The film was a eight-way coproduction involving companies from Malaysia, Taiwan, Singapore, France, Germany, The Netherlands, Indonesia and Qatar, and emerged from a succession of labs, project markets and international funds. Since winning the Grand Prix at the Critics’ Week, “Tiger Stripes” has been a popular choice on the festival circuit, with stops so far at Neufchatel, The Hamptons, Sitges, London, Fantasia, Taipei and next week’s Pingyao events.Dir. Amanda Nell Eu. International sales: Films Boutique. All submissions and materials for the 2023 race must be received by the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences by 5 p.m. on Oct. 2. And films must meet all the qualifying conditions between Dec. 1, 2022, and Oct. 31, 2023. A shortlist of 15 will be announced on Dec. 21. Final nominees will be announced on Jan. 23, 2024. The 96th Academy Awards is set to take place on March 10, 2024. Argentina, the South American country with the best Academy Awards history, has chosen as its Academy Awards submission “The Delinquents,” Rodrigo Moreno’s incorrigibly playful heist movie, which world premiered at Cannes Un Certain Regard, delighting critics.
‘The Creator’ Effects Team Breaks Down That Terrifying Tank Attack Sequence
Jazz Tangcay Artisans Editor Gareth Edwards’ “The Creator” was a resourceful sci-fi endeavor with an $80 million production budget, but its visuals are on par with epic blockbusters that cost three times that amount. Rather than shoot on a studio backlot, the filmmaker behind “Godzilla” and “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” opted to shoot in eight different countries, including Nepal, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Indonesia and Japan. For an all-out climatic action sequence set in Thailand, a village comes under attack by the U.S.
‘The Head,’ Season 3’ in the Works at The Mediapro Studio
John Hopewell Chief International Correspondent “The Head,” The Mediapro Studio’s biggest hit, will have a third season, Ran Tellem, TMS head of international content development, confirmed Tuesday at Iberseries & Industria Platino. “‘The Head’ started out something like four years ago as a limited series only for six episodes and now it’s going into third season, so you might say we never lived up to our promises,” Tellem joked on stage at an early Iberseries panel, entitled Creative Content Strategies, where he shared the stage with former Netflix international head Erik Barmack, now at L.A.-based Wild Sheep Content. The Mediapro Studio will produce ‘The Head,’ Season 3 out of Spain.
Five wine bars in Manchester named among best in the Britain
A number of Greater Manchester wine bars have been named amongst the best in the UK by a national newspaper.
Listen to Indonesian indie band Grrrl Gang’s exclusive playlist to accompany The Cover
The Cover on NME, Grrrl Gang, have shared a playlist exclusively to accompany the story’s launch – listen to it below.The Indonesian indie band are on this week’s (October 2) edition of The Cover, a renewal of NME’s commitment to supporting emerging talent across the globe on a weekly basis. Every week, a rising artist will feature on The Cover – you can read Grrrl Gang’s profile here, featuring photography by Hafiyyan Faza.The trio of Angeeta Sentana, Edo Alventa and Akbar Rumandung have compiled a soundtrack to the messy aftermath of a night out: a playlist titled ‘Passed Out On The Kitchen Floor At 2am’.
Michele Morrone Sits Front Row at Elie Saab Fashion Show with The White Lotus' Beatrice Gronno
Michele Morrone and Beatrice Grannò were spotted sitting next to each other in the front row at the Elie Saab Womenswear Spring/Summer 2024 fashion show on Saturday (September 30) in Paris.
JioCinema Investor Uday Shankar Hails India’s Next Video Revolution: ‘Now Is the Time to Create an Alternative to Television’
Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Uday Shankar, the former head of Disney in India, says that “limitless” changes to the Indian media landscape may soon leave behind conventional ideas of television and video. The great disruptor is JioCinema, part of Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries conglomerate, and in which Shankar is a major investor. JioCinema, which operates streaming services, and is allied with Viacom18, sits alongside the cluster of Jio companies that have, in just a matter of years, exploded the cellular telephony business in India and are doing the same with broadband internet access and video.
Prime Video To Introduce Channels & Expand Local-Language Content Slate In Southeast Asia – APOS
Prime Video has big plans for the Southeast Asia region, including the introduction of channels and an expanded local-language content slate, the streamer’s Vice President, Asia Pacific, Gaurav Gandhi, told the APOS conference today.
WBD May Favor Local Partnerships Over Worldwide Max Rollout, Says JB Perette: ‘We Have the IP to Be a Survivor’
Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Warner Bros Discovery’s JB Perrette warns that the global streaming market faces pain and consolidation over the next three to five years, but he says that the merged group has what it takes to be among the big five groups that pull through. And, to win the war of attrition and consolidation, WBD may choose not to fight every battle. Perrette, WBD’s CEO and president of global streaming and games, said that the company’s Max streaming product is to be rolled out in a largely pre-determined sequence, one that arrives in Latin America and Europe before arriving in parts of Asia. But, speaking on Wednesday at the APOS conference in Indonesia, Perrette said that in some markets Max may never happen, and that WBD may favor local partnerships instead. “If we think we’re going to have success and profitability, if our market differentiation is viable enough to make a go of it and have a profitable business over a three-to-five year timeline [then we will launch Max.] If the answer is ‘no’ because the market has ARPUs that are just too low or it is way over-served by a ton of other players, who are spending on a ton of content and losing a ton of money, we may say this is not the right time,” said Perrette. “If we think we can be successful based on the three metrics that we have [profitability, market share and scale] then, yes, great, we’ll go and figure out how best to tackle it.