Jakarta World Cinema to Restart Global First Feature Competition
The festival plans to reopen the category to international filmmakers next year after pausing it this year due to jury availability.
By Bianca Herrera ·
Jakarta World Cinema intends to reinstate its First Feature Competition for the 2027 edition. The category, which was absent from this year's lineup, will return with an open call for submissions from filmmakers globally. The primary change involves the composition of the judging panel, which will now include international members.
Festival director Shandy Gasella explained the previous suspension by noting that past juries consisted solely of Indonesian judges. The organizing team aims to secure jurors with strong filmographies to support the expansion of the competition. This shift is designed to make the category viable for a worldwide pool of entrants.
Frederica, the festival's executive director and director of KlikFilm, stated that the program focuses on acquiring award-winning works. She noted that 80-90% of the lineup consists of films that have won awards at Cannes, Berlin, Venice, or Sundance. Her team travels to markets in Berlin, Toronto, and Cannes to secure these titles for local audiences.
This year's festival recorded its highest number of theatrical titles in its history, with 102 such films included in the total program of 207. Programming director Daniel Irawan said the team plans to expand this lineup further next year. The festival is also working with its main venue, CGV Grand Indonesia, to increase audience capacity.
The festival also operates a short film competition that took place in June. More than 300 entries from professionals, amateurs, and students were received. All 30 competition titles and 20 non-competition titles on the shortlist will screen during the current edition. Awards for the best short film and audience choice will be announced on closing day. The winner of the best short film award will receive full funding from KlikFilm to produce and distribute a debut feature.
Indonesian Culture Minister Fadli Zon confirmed that the festival is backed by Dana Indonesiaraya. This is a matching fund shared by the government and the film industry. The Jakarta edition closes on Nov. 7. The same program will then travel to Bandung World Cinema and Malang World Cinema, which will run from Nov. 14 to Nov. 21.
