TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The annual Jogja-NETPAC Asian Film Festival (JAFF) is set to return for an eight-day run, from November 29 to December 6, 2025. Celebrating its two-decade milestone, JAFF 2025 will embrace the theme of Transfiguration, marking the critical transformation of a film festival that has been running for 20 years. This anniversary provides a significant opportunity for the festival to reflect on its achievements and future aspirations.
JAFF 2025 Opens with Opera Jawa at GIK UGM
This year's JAFF will officially kick off with the opening film screening at the Innovation and Creativity Campus (GIK) at UGM, Yogyakarta. The musical film Opera Jawa by director Garin Nugroho, which premiered at the first edition of JAFF in 2006, will be shown as the opening film in its original 35mm celluloid format. The festival will conclude with the directorial debut of Aco Tenriyagelli, the film Suka Duka Tawa.
JAFF Director Ifa Isfansyah commented on the continued success of Indonesian cinema. He noted that in the first quarter of 2025 alone, there were already 35 million cinema viewers, accounting for approximately 44 percent of the total cinema audience in 2024.
"One impressive note is the achievement of the animated film Jumbo, breaking records to become the highest-grossing film with over 10 million viewers," he said in Jakarta on Wednesday, November 5, 2025.
He highlighted that Indonesian films are not only succeeding commercially but are also premiering at prestigious international festivals and winning various international awards. Furthermore, Indonesian film figures are increasingly being appointed to important international positions, such as jury members at award events.
"The spirit of Transfiguration, which is raised as this year's JAFF theme, also symbolizes the celebration of 20 years of JAFF amid our brilliant cinema transformation and the dynamic movement of Asian cinema," he added.
11 Films Compete for the Golden and Silver Hanoman Awards
JAFF Program Director Alexander Matius announced that this year's festival will showcase 227 films from 43 countries across its competitive and non-competitive programs.
Eleven feature films have been nominated to compete in the Main Competition program for a chance to secure the Golden and Silver Hanoman Awards.
Contenders include A Useful Ghost from Thailand, the debut film of director Ratchapoom Boonbunchachoke, which won the Grand Prix award at the Cannes Film Festival 2025 Critics' Week.
Also competing are two directorial debuts from renowned actors: Girl by Shu Qi, which premiered at the 82nd Venice Film Festival, and Pangku by Reza Rahadian, which previously received the White Light Post-Production Award at the JAFF Market 2024 and won four awards at the Busan International Film Festival in September 2025.
For the Indonesian Screen Awards program, Matius specified that 13 Indonesian films will contest the Best Film, Best Director, Best Screenplay Writer, Best Actor, and Best Cinematography honors. The 20th edition of JAFF introduces new categories: Best Art Director, Best Sound Editor, Best Music Editor, and Best Poster Designer.
"Two of the Indonesian films competing are Ikatan Darah by director Sidharta Tata and Esok Tanpa Ibu by director Ho Wi Ding. Both will have their Indonesian premieres at JAFF-20," Matius stated.
17 Short Films Vie for Blencong Awards
Recognized as a festival that champions emerging filmmaker talents, JAFF-20 will again host a competition for short films in the Light of Asia program, where 17 films will vie for the Blencong Awards. In the NETPAC Awards competitive segment, JAFF-20 will honor directors who showcase their first or second feature film.
Within the non-competitive programs, JAFF-20 will display a selection of top short and feature films from the Asia-Pacific region. A total of 22 feature films and 27 short films will be presented in the Asian Perspectives program, and nine Indonesian feature films in the Indonesian Film Showcase program. One notable inclusion is Lupa Daratan, a film marking Ernest Prakasa's return to directing after a period focused on production.
"In the Emerging program, which screens short Indonesian films by potential new directors, if in previous years only 10 titles were shown, this year JAFF has curated and selected 12 titles to present," he remarked.
Screening of 2 Acclaimed Films from Cannes and Locarno
Matius highlighted the Panorama program, which will showcase selected films from renowned Asian directors, including It Was Just An Accident by Iranian director Jafar Panahi, which claimed the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival 2025.
Additionally, the program includes Two Seasons, Two Strangers by director Sho Miyake, the winner of the Golden Leopard award at the 78th Locarno Film Festival 2025, and three films making their Indonesian premieres: Kokuho by Lee Sang-il, The President's Cake by director Hasan Hadi, and Scarlet, an animated film by director Mamoru Hosoda.
"The screening of the film Scarlet at JAFF-20 is a special opportunity for the audience because its screening is the Indonesian Premiere before it is released in the national cinema network," he stated.
JAFF-20 will continue its established collaborations with partners. One is the Asian Film Academy, which will bring Ann Hui, a renowned female director in Asian cinema, to conduct a masterclass and screen two of her significant works, A Simple Life (2011) and July Rhapsody (2002), in 4K restoration format. This year's partnership between JAFF and the Asian Film Academy will also exhibit seven feature films and four short Hong Kong films in the Hong Kong Film Gala Presentation program.
He also mentioned that additional special programs will commemorate Asia-Pacific cinema at JAFF-20. The Cinematic Concert program, featured by JAFF over the last three editions, has become one of the most anticipated segments for attendees.
"This year, the Cinematic Concert will feature a live performance by White Shoes and the Couples Company, which will be preceded by the screening of a documentary titled White Shoes and the Couples Company in Cikini directed by Henry Foundation," Matius concluded.
Furthermore, he noted that the Rewind program will make a return with seven feature films, including Yi Yi: A One and A Two in restoration format, Battle Royale, and four classic Indonesian feature films, one of which is Asrama Dara, also to be shown in restoration format. "The screening of these classic works will be a rare opportunity eagerly awaited by those who want to relive Asian cinema on the big screen, even back to the '50s era," he shared.
