Bidding for Oscars: Kucumbu Tubuh Indahmu (Memories of My Body) is a movie about the classical reog dance from Ponorogo in East Java directed by Garin Nugroho.(Courtesy of Fourcolourfilms)By the time you read this, you will know that Joker has won the Golden Lion, a top award at the Venice Film Festival, Taika Waititi’s Jojo Rabit won the People’s Choice Award at the 2019 Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) and that an indie movie premiered in Telluride titled Waves might be a silent contender at the Oscars.

The major international film festival circuit is now nearing an end for this year, with the exception of the New York Film Festival.

For the past two years, in Indonesia, September has also meant two things: the biggest marketplace for filmmakers and investors conducted in Akatara and the official selection of the international feature film — previously cal...