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Falcon joins global cinema venture
A collage of memories: Indro, played by Tora Sudiro (right), Dono, played by Abimana Aryasatya (left) and Kasino played by Vino G
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collage of memories: Indro, played by Tora Sudiro (right), Dono, played by Abimana Aryasatya (left) and Kasino played by Vino G. Bastian in a scene from Warkop DKI Reborn: Jangkrik Boss! Part 1. (Courtesy of Falcon Pictures)
Will we see remakes of Indonesian blockbusters for foreign markets?
As Jakarta production house Falcon Pictures becomes the latest member of Globalgate Entertainment, a consortium established by Canadian-American global content company Lionsgate for local-language film production and distribution worldwide, much work lies ahead for filmmakers at home.
The announcement on Wednesday was made in the wake of historic Oscar wins for South Korean film Parasite, which has shed light on the global reach of Asian films.
Film critic and editor-in-chief of film website Cinema Poetica Adrian Jonathan Pasaribu said that while the presence of the global consortium in Indonesia would help expand the market worldwide, Indonesian films had yet to be recognized for a unique aesthetic like their Asian counterparts.
“We don’t have a unique film aesthetic except for, perhaps, fight choreography, which could be replicated or manufactured on a large scale. Korean films share a uniqueness among them,” he said.
Indonesian action films such as martial arts thriller The Raid (2011) have been recognized globally — its Hollywood remake is in development — largely due to the pencak silat choreography, which also appeared in John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum.
“On a positive note, the inclusion of Falcon in Globalgate should be treated as the impetus for further talks about cultural entrepreneurship within the Indonesian film industry to stay relevant in the globalized yet localized film world,” Adrian added.
In a statement on Wednesday, Globalgate pointed out the market potential of Indonesia with Falcon leading in the box office market as the producer of the all-time most-watched movies.
“Indonesia has a thriving media industry with rapid growth in local film and series production, new cinemas, and local box office market share, and Falcon Pictures, with its unparalleled rate of growth, is firmly at its epicenter,” said Globalgate executive chairman William Pfeiffer.
“We look forward to expanding Globalgate’s footprint in Southeast Asia with Falcon while continuing to work closely with our other consortium partners around the world.”
Falcon is the 14th member to join forces with other Globalgate partners that include Lionsgate (the United States/United Kingdom/Canada), Televisa (South America), TF1 (France), Nordisk (Scandinavia), Tobis (Germany), Rai (Italy), Kadokawa (Japan), Lotte (South Korea), TME (Turkey), Paris Filmes (Brazil), CineColombia/Dynamo (Colombia), Belga (Belgia, the Netherlands, and Luxemburg) and Viva Communications (the Philippines).
Lionsgate’s Pfeiffer, along with Paul Presburger and Clifford Werber, founded Globalgate in 2016 to capitalize on the opportunities created by the growth of the local-language film market around the world.
Indonesia is the world’s fourth-most populous country with expanding consumer spending, including on entertainment, in the growing middle-class bracket.
The lifting of restrictions on foreign investment four years ago has resulted in the number of theater screens increasing to about 2,000 as of January.
With over 150 million internet users in Indonesia, local film producers are profiting from both domestic and international providers of over-the-top/digital platform services.
Globalgate predicted the exponential growth of content production and profit from digital streaming services in the future.
As of last year, Indonesia produced more than 130 films per year on average as more players entered the industry. The local film market share has increased to 38 percent and is on par with Hollywood blockbusters in gaining public buzz and audience numbers.
The top three such movies were all produced by HB Naveen’s Falcon — Warkop DKI Reborn: Jangkrik Boss! Part 1 with 6.85 million viewers; Dilan 1990 with 6.3 million; and Dilan 1991 with 5.3 million.
Established in 2010, Falcon has achieved a 25 percent share of the local box office by releasing titles, including the adaptation of Pramoedya Ananta Noer’s novel Bumi Manusia (This Earth of Mankind), the three Comic 8 movies and the My Stupid Boss films.
“Falcon shares its enthusiasm for being part of this creative network. Plugged into great minds and wonderful storytellers, Falcon hopes to expand its content output in Indonesia and spread its stories throughout the world,” said Naveen in the statement, thanking Pfeiffer and Globalgate for the partnership.
The company, however, declined to reveal possible movie projects until a later date.
Globalgate currently folds multifilm deals within the consortium. It reportedly remade local hits mainly for international markets.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the consortium has a development slate of more than 40 films and series, among them remakes of Mexican hit Instructions Not Included for the Indian and Korean markets and Lotte’s action thriller The Terror Live for India and Japan. (ste)
