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Jakarta eyes its own movie festival to showcase local blockbusters
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Jakarta governor-elect Pramono Anung (right) and deputy governor-elect Rano Karno (left) greets their supporters during a celebratory event in Jakarta on Dec. 14, 2024 for the pair's victory in the Jakarta gubernatorial election. The Pramono-Rano ticket won the Jakarta gubernatorial race single-round after winning 50.07 percent of total valid votes during the November poll. (Antara/Reno Esnir)
J
akarta Deputy Governor Rano Karno hopes the city will have its own film festival showcasing Indonesian blockbuster movies, an initiative hoped to strengthen the capital’s role in advancing the national film industry.
Even though the city has already had the Jakarta Film Week (JFW), which is organized annually by the city’s Tourism and Creative Economy Agency, the actor-cum-politician said that it has yet to feature commercially successful movies.
Last year, JFW received 140 submissions from 55 countries, many of which were smaller, independent films. The festival also offers funding support for curated short film projects.
“There should be a film festival [in Jakarta] featuring blockbuster movies,” Rano said on Saturday.
“If there's a Bandung Film Festival or Jogja Asian Film Festival, I want to create a Jakarta Film Festival. There must be the word ‘Jakarta’ in it. That will be the goal”.
He was speaking at a South Jakarta movie theater on Saturday, after watching the widely acclaimed Indonesian animated film Jumbo, which has attracted over three million viewers within its first two weeks in theaters–making it the highest-grossing local animated movie to date.
Film analyst Hikmat Darmawan welcomed the idea but stressed the need for balance, noting that support for blockbuster films should not come at the expense of independent creators who often operate with much smaller budgets.
