A FILM JOURNEY TO JOGJA

Indonesia’s Jogja-Netpac Asian Film Festival and its market has emerged as a prime example of community spirit and resilience

- STORY: KONG RITHDEE

The Jogja-Netpac Asian Film Festival was born out of the tremors of an earthquake 20 years ago. Today — with the addition of JAFF Film Market in 2024 — it stands as a shining example of a robust, forward-thinking film event with one foot firmly rooted in community support and the other on the growing prospects of Southeast Asian collaboration.

JAFF, as it’s casually known, took place this year from Nov 29 to Dec 6 in Yogyakarta, Indonesia's cultural city. Founded by Garin Nugroho, a respected filmmaker, the festival began in 2006 as part of the revival efforts to pick off the dust from the 5.6-magnitude earthquake that devastated Yogyakarta and killed 6,000 people that same year. It literally turned a crisis into a seed of something that proved lasting.

From its humble start as a grassroots event, JAFF has steadily grown in 20 years to become a major cultural event for Indonesian film-goers and an indicator of the enthusiasm in Indonesian cinema itself. For context, Thailand had an arguably stronger film industry two decades ago, but over the years we struggled to put together an annual signature film event that promoted local talent, lifted the industry and asserted ourselves as a force in the international film culture. JAFF, and now the JAFF Market, reflects a quality that Thailand, despite our talents and history, sorely lacks consistency, and a sense of clear identity.