‘Ah Girl,’ ‘The Sea Speaks His Name’ to Bookend Jakarta Film Week

Singaporean director Ang Geck Geck Priscilla’s “Ah Girl” will open the sixth Jakarta Film Week, set for Oct. 21–25, and Yosep Anggi Noen’s “The Sea Speaks His Name” (“Laut Bercerita”) will close the festival in its Indonesian premiere.

The program was unveiled Sept. 23 at a press conference at CGV Grand Indonesia, where Jakarta Deputy Governor Rano Karno and the Ministry of Culture’s Ahmad Mahendra joined the festival team. This year’s edition carries the theme Encounters, succeeding 2025’s Reignite.

“Six years of Jakarta Film Week have taught us that this festival is not just about screening films, but also about bringing together the people behind them, discovering new talent, and strengthening Indonesia’s film ecosystem. Encounters is a reflection of that meeting point,” said festival director Rina Damayanti.

The Global Feature Competition lines up Jane Schoenbrun’s “Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma,” Markus Schleinzer’s “Rose,” Nagahisa Makoto’s “Burn,” Rafael Manuel’s “Filipiñana” and Abdallah Al-Khatib’s “Chronicles from the Siege.” The Currents strand includes Alice Winocour’s “Couture,” Karim Aïnouz’s “Rosebush Pruning” and Leyla Bouzid’s “In a Whisper,” and Paolo Sorrentino’s “La Grazia” is also on the program.

On the Indonesian side, Yogi S. Calam’s “Togel” and Andrew Kose’s “Harga Teman” will premiere in the Direction Award section, which also features Luki Herwanayogi’s “Our Son” and Bernardus Raka’s “Nobody Loves Kay.”

Kamila Andini’s Indonesian Oscar hopeful “Four Seasons in Java,” a co-production spanning Indonesia, France, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Saudi Arabia and Singapore, plays in the Global Feature Official Selection. That section also has Sompot Chidgasornpongse’s “9 Temples to Heaven,” Pete Ohs’ “Erupcja” and Sarah Arnold’s “Too Many Beasts.”

Four titles come out of Next Step Studio, a joint Indonesia–France initiative: “Holy Crowd,” from Reza Fahriyansyah and Ananth Subramaniam; “Annisa,” from Reza Rahadian and Sam Manacsa; “Original Wound,” from Shelby Kho and Sein Lyan Tun; and “Mothers Are Mothering,” from Khozy Rizal and Lam Li Shuen.

“For the first time, audiences will also be able to watch eight short films set in Jakarta through Jakarta Film Fund,” said program manager Novi Hanabi. “This is a new achievement for us in facilitating emerging talent among filmmakers in Jakarta.”

Three of those shorts were made under the fund’s student arm, a partnership with the J-Youth Film Festival 2026.

On the industry side, JFWNET returns with a Producers Lab, Pitching Forum, Talents Hub, Industry Talk and Festival Meeting. The Producers Lab has picked 10 up-and-coming local producers, drawn from Jakarta, West Sumatra, West Java, Central Java and Kalimantan. The Pitching Forum slate covers genres including horror and animation, with producers looking for local and overseas partners. Talents Hub participants were put forward by Minikino Film Week, Mollucas Film Festival, Craft Animfest and Layar Indonesiana locally, and by CinemaWorld Singapore, the Philippines’ QCinema International Film Festival and Vietnam’s Autumn Meeting internationally. The program is designed to feed participants into initiatives such as Goedam, BIFAN Fantastic School and Platform Busan, with support also available toward Cannes.

JFWNET is also working with Cerita Anak Nusantara, a Netflix-backed contest seeking story pitches for kids’ and family content, organized with the Indonesian Film Producers Association (APROFI) and the Indonesian Film Board (BPI). Ten projects from cities around the country will pitch during the festival.

“JFWNET–Industry Program seeks to open doors for young filmmakers, providing a space where they can grow, connect with international partners, and take their next steps, as demonstrated by our alumni. Each year, this ecosystem continues to expand and welcome new faces,” said Gayatri Nadya, the festival’s head of industry.

Industry partners include Netflix, ACFM Platform Busan, the Cannes Film Market’s Short Film Corner, the Hong Kong-Asia Film Financing Forum, HKIFF Industry, QCinema and the Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival.

For general audiences, the Emergency Broadcast and Herstory strands use cinema to open up discussion of current issues, Fantasea joins the international competitions in showcasing current trends in world cinema, and Family Time offers screenings aimed at all ages. Young Indonesian actor Ali Fikry has been named festival ambassador as part of a push toward younger viewers.

“The Jakarta Provincial Government sees Jakarta Film Week as a strategic partner in realizing Jakarta as a cinema city. Through collaboration with the Jakarta Film Summit and Jakarta Film Commission, we hope to further open the capital’s film ecosystem to industry professionals and the wider public,” said Karno.

The Jakarta Provincial Government organizes the event with the Jakarta Film Commission, with backing from the Ministry of Culture’s Directorate General of Cultural Development, Utilization, and Promotion. International cultural partners include the Hong Kong Trade Development Council, Istituto Italiano di Cultura, Cinecittà, the Japan Foundation, Erasmus Huis, Institut Français Indonesia and the Italian, Dutch, French and U.S. embassies. Country showcases include an Italian Screen strand featuring Pietro Marcello’s “Duse” and Silvio Soldini’s “The Tasters,” along with the Dutch-focused Bioscoop Belanda.

Ahead of the main event, the festival’s JFW360 outreach program has hosted quiz events, shorts programs at JITEX and a free streaming slate of 24 shorts on Vidio, available Sept. 20 through Oct. 20.

Screenings will be spread across CGV Grand Indonesia, Galeri Indonesia Kaya, Mercure Jakarta Cikini, Paviliun Raden Saleh Artotel, Taman Ismail Marzuki, CGV FX Sudirman and FX Sudirman.

The Jakarta Tourism and Culture Agency set up Jakarta Film Week in 2021.