‘Silenced Nights’ and ‘You Are the Film’ to Bookend Jogja-Netpac Asian Film Festival — SkimNews
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- JAFF will run Nov. 28–Dec. 5 in Yogyakarta with 254 films from 34 countries across its competitive and non-competitive sections, under the theme “Influx.”
- Silenced Nights will open the festival and receive its Indonesian premiere after bowing at Toronto; Lawrence Fajardo’s Filipino drama is the opening-night selection.
- You Are the Film will close the festival and arrives with the White Raven Award from this year’s Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival; the Japanese comedy-drama is directed by Ueda Makoto.
- Golden and Silver Hanoman Awards will be contested by 10 features, including two first features directed by women; “A Girl Unknown” won the Fipresci Prize at Cannes Critics’ Week, while “Ah Girl” took Rotterdam’s Youth Jury Award and its lead actress won the Firebird Award at the Hong Kong International Film Festival.
- Indonesian Screen Awards will cover 10 local films in 10 categories; “Secrets” will world-premiere in Yogyakarta, while “Ibuku” arrives after winning the Busan Award Special Jury Prize.
- Amar Bank Audience Choice Award will let festivalgoers choose a favorite from the 21-title Light of Asia shorts section, whose films also compete for the Blencong Awards.
- JAFF Market will run Nov. 28–30 at the Jogja Expo Center with six programs covering projects, intellectual property, talent, conferences, screenings and a film lab.
Why it matters: Filmmakers and audiences gain a concentrated regional platform in Yogyakarta: 254 films from 34 countries run Nov. 28–Dec. 5, while the new audience award and six-program JAFF Market link viewers directly to festival activity. The new JAFF Awards also formally recognize production, financing, archiving, exhibition and knowledge-sharing work that sustains Asian cinema.
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