It's still some months until the 11th Jakarta International Film Festival (JIFFest) but already it's got people talking with a couple of surprises to take it to another level - not least by putting its homeland front and center.

For the first time since JIFFest began in 1999, an Indonesian movie will open the show. The movie, Sang Pemimpi (The Dreamers), which is the sequel to the biggest Indonesian box-office hit of all time Laskar Pelangi (Rainbow Warriors), is expected to be the talking point of the festival.

And it's about time this move was made, given that the Indonesian film industry has been progressing in leaps and bounds, gaining high recognition both at home and abroad, the festival's organizers point out.

"We have witnessed how Indonesian movies have come to dominate the local theaters recently," JIFFest manager Nauval Yazid says. Statistically speaking, he adds, "Indonesian films are currently controlling around 65 percent of the total market share of the local movie industry. The number of Indonesian films has also been increasing."

In addition, Nauval points out, more and more Indonesian movies are of a world-class filmmaking quality, meaning they can hold their own alongside foreign films.

"Indonesian movies have also become the focus in many international film festivals," Nauval says. All in all, "They have become more attractive to both local and international audiences, which was why we decided to put them under *our* spotlight."

According to Nauval, the last Indonesian movie to bookend the festival was Perempuan Punya Cerita (Chants of Lotus), an omnibus of four short films about marginalized women in Indonesia, which closed JIFFest in 2007.

The decision to feature Sang Pemimpi as the festival opener, however, is based on the expectation that the movie will emulate the success of the original.

Last year, Laskar Pelangi attracted around 5 million viewers across the country, and it has since been screened at numerous foreign film festivals, including the prestigious Berlin International Film Festival, Udine Far East Film Festival in Italy and the Barcelona Asian Film Festival. Both movies are adapted from Andrea Hirata's novels of the same titles.

Not that anyone has actually seen Sang Pemimpi yet - the film is still in production. Nevertheless, Nauval says, the organizers are convinced it will meet the festival's criteria for a high-quality Indonesian-flavored movie.

"What we do know is that, just like Laskar Pelangi, Sang Pemimpi will feature the beauty of Indonesia as it will be filmed in Belitong *South Sumatra*," Nauval says. "It will also embrace world-class filmmaking standards, so this is in line with our mission to showcase the finest Indonesian movies."

Through Sang Pemimpi, which will again unite top filmmakers Riri Riza and Mira Lesmana, the festival hopes to attract more attention and exposure from both local and international audiences.

The highly anticipated Sang Pemimpi aside, JIFFest has another highlight that might surprise its audience. This year, the festival will focus on Islamic-themed films under a new section called "Misykat: World Muslim Film Festival".

What makes the new section different from last year's Islamic section "Selami" is, according to Nauval, the wide range of countries from which the films are drawn this year. "Misykat", which means "light" in Arabic, will feature films not only from Middle Eastern countries, but also from countries such as New Zealand and Australia.

"We want to show how different the lives of Muslims in Indonesia are from other countries, like New Zealand or Australia," Nauval says. "In general, we want to broaden the horizons of audiences in understanding the lives of Muslim around the world."

The new section also pays tribute to Islamic filmmakers, he adds, who might have experienced difficulties in getting their work out to an international audience.

"For many of them, it's not easy to bring their films to audiences from other countries," he says. "So we want to honor all that hard work by giving them access to *these audiences*."

"Misykat" will be held on its own, with JiFFest to co-host the event. This year, the "Misykat" movies are among a total 150 films from 25 countries that will be screened in JIFFest.

JIFFest will run from Dec. 4 to 12. For more information, see www.jiffest.org.

Popular

Great Barrier Reef hit by record bleaching

Govt to undo latest curbs on personal imports

Middle East on edge as Israel and Iran trade threats