Jakarta World Cinema Plans to Revive First Feature Competition With International Jury

Jakarta World Cinema aims to bring back its First Feature Competition next year, open to filmmakers from around the world and judged by an international jury. This year’s edition did not accept submissions. The competition was put on hold because of the difficulty of assembling an international jury. “[Previously] we’ve only had Indonesian judges,” festival […] Jakarta World Cinema plans to bring back its First Feature Competition with an international jury next year and expand its lineup. Jakarta World Cinema aims to bring back its First Feature Competition next year, open to filmmakers from around the world and judged by an international jury.

This year’s edition did not accept submissions. The competition was put on hold because of the difficulty of assembling an international jury. “[Previously] we’ve only had Indonesian judges,” festival director Shandy Gasella tells Variety. Next year, the team wants to bring in international jury members with strong filmographies, so the category can open to submissions from filmmakers worldwide. The festival sits between October’s Jakarta Film Week and the Jogja-Netpac Asian Film Festival at the end of November. Its lineup is made up of “80-90% award-winning films from Cannes, Berlin, Venice and Sundance,” according to Frederica, executive director of Jakarta World