Sundance Film Festival: Asia to return to Jakarta in August

A good sign for an in-person event come January. Photo: Sundance Institute

JAKARTA, Indonesia — Sundance Film Festival: Asia is set to return to Jakarta, Indonesia from August 25 to 28 later this year.

The festival will take place in person and include film screenings and panels catered to Indonesian audiences, all to be announced this summer.

“We’re thrilled to be able to continue working with XRM Media to present the Festival in person this year in Jakarta. It is a powerful opportunity to share new independent films we love with engaged audiences in Indonesia,” said Tabitha Jackson, festival director of the Sundance Film Festival.

To support local filmmakers, the festival plans to once again hold the Sundance Film Festival: Asia Short Film Competition. Filmmakers can submit short films across any genre or theme that have been completed on or after 1 January, 2020, with a duration between 3 to 20 minutes. Submissions are now open through 31 May, 2022 to Indonesian citizens living domestically or abroad, 18 years or older.

“Beyond our Festival in January, we strive throughout the year to find more emerging filmmakers around the world working in the short film form,” said Mike Plante, senior programmer for short films. “Last year our short film competition was a fantastic success. We loved the submissions, showcased ten of them in Sundance Asia and were thrilled to have two of them in our Festival last January. Really excited to see more this year.”

A jury of representatives from the Sundance Institute, IDN Pictures, and Argo will curate a program of short films from among the competition submissions. The jury will also select a Jury Award winner, which will receive a $2000 USD cash prize sponsored by Argo. The jury includes:

• Kim Yutani, Director of Programming, Sundance Film Festival
• Heidi Zwicker, Senior Programmer, Sundance Film Festival
• Mike Plante, Senior Programmer, Short Film, Sundance Film Festival
• Susanti Dewi, Head of IDN Pictures
• Amanda Salazar, Head of Programming and Acquisitions, Argo

Official selected shorts will be screened on Argo at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival: Asia in August and offered worldwide digital distribution on the platform post-festival. These films will also be automatically submitted for consideration in the 2023 Sundance Film Festival.

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