In less than two months, the film's official trailer managed to rack up more than 570,000 views on YouTube alone, quite a surprising number for an original Indonesian film starring a predominantly adult cast and featuring a heavy subject matter. Additionally, a short YouTube documentary preceding the film's theatrical release, Untuk Setiap Pagi Yang Masih Datang (For Every Morning That Still Comes), has garnered over half a million views.

The diagnosis, thus, is undeniable: Indonesian cinephiles have grown curious about what Hanya Namamu Dalam Doaku has to offer. The film's director, Reka Wijaya, and its creative producer, Bryan Domani, welcomed such a warm, early buzz. That said, the subsequent pressure, according to Reka, was also undeniable.

"This is not a kind of film that I have commonly helmed," said Reka, "because this film conveys such a sensitive issue. At Sinemaku Pictures [the film's production house], and perhaps Bryan is aware of this process as well, everything always begins with an 'issue' and a 'statement'. Then, the creative process is born."

Malady and marriage

Hanya Namamu Dalam Doaku tells the story of a family man, portrayed by Citra Award winner Vino G. Bastian, who struggles with being diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a fatal disease that, he fears, will burden the well-being of his wife (Citra Award winner Nirina Zubir) and their sole daughter (Anantya Kirana).

It required hefty research by Reka, Bryan and the team at Sinemaku Pictures to understand the nuance, as well as the grim complexity, of ALS. Eventually, Reka divulged, they decided to shape Hanya Namamu Dalam Doaku as a means of "awareness" regarding the illness, as opposed to a "social justice warrior" flick.

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