H

ow many installments of the Jakarta International Film Festival (JIFFest) have you attended in recent years? The 11-year-old annual event for movie fanatics is coming back to Jakarta from Dec. 4 to 12, 2009, only at Blitz Megaplex Grand Indonesia.

Over the years, the JIFFest brand has become synonymous with screenings of the best in independent and foreign movies. This year, the festival is steering its course toward the next generation of Indonesian filmgoers and filmmakers.

Kicking off the festival will be a screening of Sang Pemimpi, a sequel to Indonesia's all-time box-office hit Laskar Pelangi.

From all across Indonesia, 15 films have been short listed for the festival's Indonesian Feature Film Competition (IFFC), most of which are directed by directors in their first or second debut. In fact, some 20 percent of Indonesian films released this year have been directed by new and emerging filmmakers.

Other than IFFC, JIFFest is bringing out samplings from different sides of the world, from Islamic-themed films like Letters to the President and The 10 Conditions of Love to Southeast Asian offerings like Adela (Philippines), Legend is Alive (Vietnam) and Kala Malam Bulan Mengambang (Malaysia).

In the World Cinema Documentary categories, expect Eric Bana's directing debut in Love the Beast, Nobel prize winner Joseph Stiglitz talking about globalization in Around the World with Joseph Stiglitz, and an auto-documentary from the grandmother of French New Wave cinema Agnes Varda, in The Beaches of Agnes.

Beyond screenings, sidebar activities in JIFFest events will include a showcase of Swiss graphic and visual designers' works in Hollywood feature films, master classes in making documentary in conflict areas and visual graphic design, book launching of Yasmin Ahmad's films by Amir Muhammad, and panel discussions with public figures such as Nia Dinata, Gareth Evans and Mira Lesmana.

This year will mark the first time that all JIFFest screenings are held exclusively in one venue at Blitzmegaplex Grand Indonesia. Organizers hope that an integrated ticketing system, along with the festival's one-stop venue concept, will be able to generate an even greater festive atmosphere.