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View all search resultsWhat the Citra Awards tells us about the contemporary cinema landscape
The winners and snubs at this year’s Indonesian “Oscars” are revealing in what they show about the nation’s movie industry today.
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Starry celebration: Reza Rahadian (front), director and cowriter of Pangku (On Your Lap), a drama movie that scooped up four Citra Awards including for Best Film and Best Original Screenplay, delivers an acceptance speech at the award ceremony on Nov. 20, during the Indonesian Film Festival (FFI) 2025 at Teater Jakarta in the cultural compound in Menteng, Central Jakarta. (FFI/-)
N
ow that the dust has settled, this feels like the right moment to examine the results of the 2025 Citra Awards, the culminating event of the prestigious Indonesian Film Festival (FFI), which marked its 45th edition this year.
A couple of weeks have passed since the Indonesian equivalent of the Oscars were awarded on Nov. 20, yet it remains the most talked-about edition in recent memory. All things considered, perhaps that is what true victory looks like: when the top movie award ceremony becomes part of the wider conversation among industry players, cinephiles and the public at large.
Plot twist victories
In terms of total awards, Joko Anwar’s semi-dystopian thriller Pengepungan di Bukit Duri (The Siege at Thorn High) prevailed with five, though it did not win in any of the top five categories: best picture, best director, best actor, best actress and best screenplay.
Meanwhile, Mouly Surya’s Perang Kota (This City Is a Battlefield), featuring strong cinematography by Roy Lolang as well as outstanding costume design by Meutia Pudjowarsito, surprisingly walked away with zero awards after receiving 10 nominations.
Slow-burn drama Pangku (On Your Lap) by Reza Rahadian scooped up Best Film and three other awards out of eight nominations, though its triumph also made Reza’s Best Director snub seem even more conspicuous.
As a result, Pangku now shares the same anomalous distinction as Angga Dwimas Sasongko’s Cahaya Dari Timur: Beta Maluku (We Are Moluccans, 2014) and M.T. Risyaf’s Naga Bonar (1987), both of which won the Best Picture Citra Award without a best director nod.
