In front of dozens of investors, writer Adin Hadiwidjojo and producer Ryandi Pratama pitched their project: a road trip movie about a Japanese songwriter in pursuit of Javanese dangdut koplo.

The planned movie, Chendol Dhawet, is one of the 20 film projects pitched at Akatara 2019, Indonesia’s largest film financing forum that runs from Thursday until Saturday at Hotel Sultan, Central Jakarta.

The forum was initiated two years ago by the Creative Economy Agency (Bekraf). For this year’s edition, Akatara is showcasing a total of 61 projects selected out of nearly 500 entries.

Of the 61, only 20 projects are to be presented in Akatara’s pitching sessions attended by about 40 local and international investors, ranging from streaming platforms like HOOQ and Viu to studios such as the United Team of Art.

In the past, the forum has paved the way for the production of critically acclaimed movies like family drama Keluarga Cemara (Cemara Family) and 27 Steps of May.

Akatara founder Agung Sentausa said that Keluarga Cemara began with production house Visinema’s bid for investors in 2017. The movie, based on the story by Arswendo Atmowiloto, garnered 1.7 million viewers in 2018 and claimed six trophies at the 2019 Maya Awards.

Mantan Manten (Former Bride), a romance drama starring Atiqah Hasiholan and Arifin Putra, secured funding in Akatara 2018.

“Mantan Manten was made possible by Visinema, who in turn had become an investor. They pledged a total of [US]$500,000 that year,” said Agung, who also serves as the head of the Indonesian Film Board’s funding facilitation. 

Agung also highlighted Makbul Mubarak’s debut feature project, Autobiography, which recently secured a prize of 50,000 Swiss francs ($50,382) at the Locarno Film Festival’s Open Doors Hub platform in Switzerland.

Before its success at Locarno, Autobiography had secured the support of the Regional Film Commission through Akatara. The filming is to commence next year in Bojonegoro, East Java.

Makbul was a speaker on a talk show on Thursday to share his experiences pitching at the Locarno festival. Also present was director Yosep Anggi Noen and producer Yulia Evina Bhara, whose film The Science of Fictions received special mention at Locarno.

Along with the pitching forums, Akatara 2019 hosts several panel discussions and master classes involving major production companies including Lifelike Pictures and Bumilangit, as well as film professionals like scriptwriter and director Gina S. Noer. Other events held concurrently include the Asia Content Business Summit 2019 and the Bekraf Animation Conference (BEACON).

Bekraf head Triawan Munaf said that he was optimistic about the quality of Indonesian films of late, acknowledging recent releases like the Riri Riza-directed adaptation, Bebas (Free), and Garin Nugroho’s Kucumbu Tubuh Indahku (Memories of My Body), which is Indonesia’s official submission for the Oscars.

Director General of Culture Hilmar Farid said he estimated that the Indonesian film industry was worth about Rp 2 trillion ($142.25 million), a figure he noted to be rather behind the pack in the Asia-Pacific region.

There are approximately 1,700 theater screens in the country to serve a population of 265 million, which Hilmar said was a rather large gap. However, Hilmar saw the potential of streaming platforms in closing the gap.

“As we know, the over-the-top schemes that have entered Indonesia in the last few years have a large role in expanding the market and, thank God, some Indonesian films have managed to enter these platforms.”

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