Jakarta World Cinema to Restore International First Feature Competition
The festival will reopen its flagship category to global submissions next year after pausing it this year due to jury constraints.
By Fernando Rojas ·
Jakarta World Cinema is set to revive its First Feature Competition for next year's edition, opening the category to filmmakers from around the world. This category was not active during the current 2026 iteration, a pause that festival director Shandy Gasella attributed to the challenge of securing an international jury. Previously, the competition relied solely on judges from within Indonesia. The new initiative seeks to appoint jury members with strong international filmographies, a step intended to legitimize the category for global entries.
The current edition, running in early November, marks a record for the festival with 102 theatrical titles. This figure represents the highest number of theatrical screenings in the festival's history. The total program consists of 207 films. Programming director Daniel Irawan stated that the team aims to expand the lineup further in the coming year. The festival is working with its primary venue, CGV Grand Indonesia, to increase audience capacity for these screenings.
Frederica, the executive director of Jakarta World Cinema and director of KlikFilm, oversees acquisitions for the festival. She described the lineup as consisting of 80 to 90 percent award-winning films from Cannes, Berlin, Venice, and Sundance. The team travels to major film markets in Berlin, Toronto, and Cannes to secure these titles. The goal is to bring the year's most important art films to local Indonesian audiences.
The festival operates between two other major events. It follows the Jakarta Film Week in October and precedes the Jogja-Netpac Asian Film Festival at the end of November. This scheduling places Jakarta World Cinema in the middle of the regional autumn film season. The festival also includes a short film competition that recently concluded in June. That competition attracted more than 300 entries from professionals, amateurs, and students.
All 30 competition titles and 20 non-competition shortlist titles will screen during the current festival. The best short film and audience choice awards will be announced on the closing day. The winner of the best short film award will receive full funding from KlikFilm to produce and distribute a debut feature film. This financial support is a key component of the festival's development model for emerging talent.
Dana Indonesiaraya backs the festival as a matching fund shared by the government and the film industry. Indonesian Culture Minister Fadli Zon confirmed this financial structure. After the Jakarta edition closes on Nov. 7, the program will move to two local extensions. The same lineup will screen at Bandung World Cinema and Malang World Cinema from Nov. 14 to 21.
Source: Variety
