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GoPlay Indie features over 200 Indonesian independent films
Video-on-demand service GoPlay has rolled out a new feature to improve the independent film scene in Indonesia
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The GoPlay Indie feature is open to independent filmmakers in Indonesia. (Shutterstock/ Fer Gregory)
Video-on-demand service GoPlay has rolled out a new feature to improve the independent film scene in Indonesia.
Dubbed GoPlay Indie, the feature showcases more than 200 local independent films of various genres, including Fazrie Permana’s How to Make a Dangerously Beautiful Woman (2015), Jerry Hadiprojo’s One of Those Murder (2019), Steve Masihoroe’s Gowok The Ins and Outs of a Woman’s Body (2018), Hariwicahyo Utomo’s Cerita tentang Sinema di Sudut yang Lain (Stories about Cinemas in a Different Corner (2016), M. Ikhwan’s Dendang Bantilang (2018) and Yandy Laurens’ Friends (2014).
The 11-minute One of Those Murder is a dark comedy that follows two janitors who discover a female corpse in their workplace. The film won the silver award in the Best Dark Comedy category and the bronze award in the Best Acting Duo category at the 2019 Independent Shorts Awards in Los Angeles, United States. It was also screened at the 2019 Seoul International Film Festival in Seoul, South Korea.
Gowok The Ins and Outs of a Woman’s Body centers on a father who wants his son to enter adulthood by practicing the ancient Javanese tradition of pergowokan, meaning that he will find his son a woman to teach him about pleasing a woman. The 17-minute film was included in the 2019 Cannes Court Métrage official selection.
Friends tells the story of a weird friendship between Joko and Widodo who live in a village. Joko likes to shoot Widodo’s chicken and in turn, whenever Widodo finds out that his friend has killed his chicken he sets fire to Joko’s house. One day everything changes when Widodo has to move to a city. Friends was helmed by Yandy, whose stints include directing the family movie Keluarga Cemara (2019).
Yandy expressed his excitement for the GoPlay Indie feature. “This platform can be an alternative screening amid a lack of short film festivals in this country,” Yandy said in a statement. “Short films that were screened in various festival are now accessible to the public. This easy access could play a crucial role in forming a new generation of filmmakers.”
The feature can be accessed on the GoPlay app with several options, such as subscription (subscription video-on-demand or SVoD), rental (transaction video-on-demand or TVoD) or free (free video-on-demand or FVoD).
GoPlay’s head of corporate strategy Martinus Faisal said GoPlay Indie was open to independent filmmakers in Indonesia, adding that curation was done by GoPlay and an independent committee.
“GoPlay provides a better monetization scheme for filmmakers and content creators through a revenue-sharing mechanism. Reflecting on the same scheme that has been applied by cinema operators and proven to be successful in gathering millions of people to watch box-office movies, this revenue-sharing scheme can be a stimulus for filmmakers to actively improve their quality for the film ecosystem’s sustainability,” said Faisal.
Using the scheme, filmmakers will be informed about their revenue percentage based on selected options, such as SVoD, TVoD or FVoD. GoPlay also has a tipping menu that allows users to show their appreciation for the filmmakers by clicking on a “contribution” button. Prices for SVoD start from Rp 29,000 (US$2.06) for two weeks, while TVoD prices start from Rp 15,000 per piece of content.
Additionally, GoPlay has also launched GoPlay Indie Leaderboard that allows users to see the most popular independent movies. GoPlay Indie Leaderboard will display a monthly trending newcomers list.
“A lack of transparency is among the issues in Indonesia’s film industry. Numerous filmmakers don’t have access to the data on how their content is performing. As a technology company and part of GoJek, GoPlay helps filmmakers to use data to make better decisions and create high-quality content,” said Faisal. “Filmmakers will be able to directly observe their content’s performance via the GoPlay Indie Leaderboard. GoPlay also provides insightful data to content creators to help them understand their audience's preferences better and generate more targeted content.”
Launched in 2019, GoPlay is part of ride-hailing company GoJek. GoPlay recently announced five original new series and launched various features, including livestreaming platform GoPlay Live that allows users to interact with each other and watch in better screen resolution. (wir/wng)
