Reza Rahadian Turns His Grandmother’s Decades in Exile Into Busan Asian Project Market Drama ‘Casparina’ — SkimNews
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- Reza Rahadian is developing "Casparina," his second feature as director, for the Asian Project Market at Busan's ACFM, inspired by his grandmother Francisca Casparina Fanggidaej, a journalist stripped of Indonesian citizenship in 1965
- Casparina Fanggidaej was in Beijing representing Indonesia at an international forum when her citizenship was revoked over her opposition to the new regime; she spent 32 years in exile, first in Beijing then the Netherlands, leaving six children behind
- The film follows Rina, who returns home 34 years after being driven into exile to grown children Andi and Lila, working through their hurt and resentment over the years she was gone
- Producers Arya Ibrahim and Gita Fara frame the project as a story of the 1965 political upheaval that tore families apart, calling Casparina "a victim of an era" and a reminder not to repeat the same mistakes
- Rahadian's first feature "On Your Lap" won four prizes at Busan's Vision awards in 2025, including the audience award and the Fipresci award
- The project is in early scriptwriting stages, with producers at Busan hoping to meet potential partners, collaborators, film funds, and co-production opportunities
Why it matters: The Busan pitch gives Rahadian — whose debut "On Your Lap" swept four 2025 Busan prizes — a platform to secure co-production partners and film funds for an early-stage script that turns a personal family tragedy into a meditation on Indonesia's 1965 political upheaval, a period whose wounds remain largely unaddressed in mainstream Indonesian cinema.
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