Fauzan Zidni Elected BPI Chair, Leads Indonesia's Cannes Debut
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- Fauzan Zidni was elected chair of the Indonesian Film Agency (BPI) for a four-year term, with the government-backed body set to make its first international delegation appearance at the Cannes Film Festival in May 2026.
- Zidni appointed Poplicist CEO Nazira C. Noer as secretary general and Kawankawan Media producer Yulia Evina Bhara as head of international cooperation, with all three set to attend Cannes 2026.
- Zidni cited Indonesia's post-pandemic cinema growth — local films holding a 67% market share by 2025 — as the basis for a new international co-production push, telling Variety the country is 'one of the few' where attendance has risen since COVID.
- Zidni's producing credits span Cannes (Marlina the Murderer, 2017 Directors' Fortnight), Sundance 2013, and Rotterdam 2025, and he previously ran original production at Walt Disney Company Indonesia from 2022 to 2024, overseeing 12 series.
- Bhara was named one of Variety's most influential international women of 2023 and served on juries at both Cannes Critics' Week and the 30th Busan International Film Festival in 2025; her credits include Tiger Stripes (Cannes Critics' Week Grand Prize, 2023) and Renoir (Cannes 2025).
- BPI, founded in 2014 under Indonesian film law, is an independent body tasked with advising the government on film policy and facilitating international co-productions; Indonesian Minister of Culture Fadli Zon called it 'a bridge between the government and the film industry.'
Why it matters: Indonesia has a booming domestic market — local films now hold 67% share and attendance has grown since the pandemic — but BPI is only now sending a first-ever international delegation to Cannes, meaning this team of Zidni, Noer, and Bhara is effectively building Indonesia's global film-export infrastructure from scratch. The stakes are concrete: Noer's firm Poplicist already markets 40–50 local titles a year, and Bhara's recent Cannes and Busan jury seats give the agency direct access to the programmers Zidni says he wants to court for co-financing and co-presentation deals.
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