Indonesia Is Booming With Local Content & International Co-Productions; Lack Of Incentives Remains A Challenge — Filmart
Indonesia's culture minister, Fadli Zon, was also present at the panel, alongside a delegation from the Indonesian consulate in Hong Kong.
More from Deadline
'Say My Name', 'Her First Taste' Win HKIFF Industry WIP Awards
Hong Kong's Phoenix Waters Productions & Korea's Studio Target Sign MOU And Set Upcoming Action Thriller 'Shashou' - Filmart
'Karma' Trailer: Netflix's Latest Korean Thriller Stars Park Hae-soo, Shin Min-a & Lee Kwang-soo
Justin Kim, head of international production at CJ ENM, has been steadily growing the Korean entertainment powerhouse's footprint in Indonesia since 2014.
Kim said that CJ ENM's foray into the Indonesian film industry started out with the conglomerate giving out a few awards at Busan's Asian Project Market in 2014, including for a 'most anticipated' project, which was given to Joko Anwar's A Copy of My Mind.
At that time, Kim was an international sales manager and CJ ENM ended up representing the film. Anwar's feature travelled to the Venice, Toronto, Busan and Rotterdam film festivals.
This convinced CJ ENM that working in Indonesia with the country's talents would be a fruitful endeavor and help to expand the company's businesses and network abroad.
'Getting into the major film festivals was quite a phenomenal thing for us,' said Kim. 'We were really happy, as it was very hard for us to get into these major film festivals with the Korean films that we were producing. It was a monumental fresh start for us.'
Kim has since overseen co-productions like Sweet 20, Cado Cado: Doctor 101, an Indonesian remake of Korean film Miss Granny (which has also been remade into eight other local languages) and horror hit Satan's Slaves, among others.
However, finding the right theatrical window to release CJ ENM's co-produced films in Indonesia has proven difficult amid the market's crowded calendar.
'Because of the volume of films in Indonesia, it is difficult to find the right window for a theatrical release,' said Kim. 'On the positive side, this shows the strength of film production in Indonesia with the country's prolific output.'
Lorna Tee, founder at Mylab and international acquisitions advisor at Korea's Barunson E&A, pointed out that the role of independent producers in Indonesia has sometimes been overlooked.
'The role of independent producers in the film ecosystem has to be given more support,' said Tee. 'They are the foundation that creates the base for future growth; they do a lot of the work to cultivate and nurture new talents, encourage risk, as well as take the risk that studios are not willing to.'
Tee added that there should be more screens in Indonesia, and that the exhibition sector has become too cutthroat.
'What's important is for a growth of a market is for the exhibition sector to allow for the diversity of films, and to grow and support local film releases in a way that does not kill a film if it's not performing on day one or day two,' said Tee. 'It's become so cutthroat because there are so many films, and it's understandable that they want to put the most profitable films out there.
'However, some films need a bit more time to build that word-of-mouth and to gain traction. The exhibition sector is the bastion of connection to the audience, as well as the big players and small players. It's really important that they are able to come in and support that growth in a more healthy manner,' said Tee.
Edwin Nazir, producer and chairman of the Association of Indonesian Film Producers (APROFI), said that the introduction of government policies for film tax rebates and permits to support international co-productions will help to invigorate the Indonesian film industry.
Nazir says that Indonesia's tax rebates and permits are the two areas he receives the most number of questions about, from overseas film professionals looking to shoot in Indonesia.
'This is something we've asked the authorities and the government has been trying to find the best scheme of funding to support international productions,' said Nazir. 'For the tax and cash rebates, we've discussed this for several years but it's still difficult in Indonesia, as for locations and permits, this goes to the local government, but for equipment and rental, this goes to the finance authorities.
'One thing we are trying to show to potential partners, is that even though we do not have a cash or tax rebate, shooting in Indonesia is still good for value,' added Nazir.
Yulia Evina Bhara, prolific Indonesian producer and founder of Kawankawan Media, highlighted that global distribution remains one of the biggest weaknesses in Indonesia's film landscape, but co-production can help to bridge this gap in a few markets.
She has co-produced films like Stone Turtle, Tiger Stripes, Don't Cry Butterfly and Autobiography, which have all picked up an array of top awards on the festival circuit.
'With Indonesian films, we still have a problem with distribution, so I think co-productions allow us to at least have the opportunity to bring the film overseas, particularly in our co-producers' countries,' said Bhara.
Best of Deadline
Everything We Know About Paramount's 'Regretting You' Adaptation So Far
List Of Hollywood & Media Layoffs From Paramount To Warner Bros Discovery To CNN & More
Which Colleen Hoover Books Are Becoming Movies? 'Verity,' 'Reminders Of Him' & 'Regretting You' Will Join 'It Ends With Us'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Elle
15 hours ago
- Elle
Nancy Meyers Reacts With Surprise to News of 'The Holiday' Limited Series
THE RUNDOWN On August 1, it was reported that Nancy Meyers's 2006 film The Holiday was in development as a limited series for Apple TV+ by Deadline. But it looks like Meyers had no idea about the new show and was quick to comment on the production in an Instagram Story. Sharing a screenshot of a report on The Holiday series, Meyers wrote over it, 'News to me. Imagine my surprise when I opened Instagram and this was the first post I saw.' Here's everything we know about the project so far. In the original film, two women trade homes in the U.K. countryside and Los Angeles after struggling with their personal lives. Amanda Woods is a Hollywood trailer editor who ends her engagement and Iris is a newspaper columnist stuck in a rut. After trading spaces, Amanda meets Iris's widower brother, Graham, and surprises herself by reconnecting emotionally to love. Iris meets Amanda's neighbor, Arthur, a forgotten Hollywood icon, and then meets a film composer named Miles; both men help her transform. The series will likely be some version of Meyers's original story, keeping 'the setup of the movie about a single American and single British woman living very different lives who swap their houses for the holidays and find love in the process.' The original cast included Cameron Diaz, Kate Winslet, Jude Law, and Jack Black, but Deadline stated the show will feature 'new characters,' and thus new actors. But maybe we can hope for a cameo? Krissie Ducker is serving as the writer and executive producer for The Holiday series, along with comedian Rob Delaney as a consultant on the script. Not yet. This post will be updated.
Buzz Feed
15 hours ago
- Buzz Feed
Kim Kardashian Reacts To Anthony Hopkins Mocking Wraps
This week, Kim Kardashian found herself at the center of online comments — and jokes — after releasing a new face shapewear. If you haven't seen it, the new "Seamless Sculpt Face Wrap" was unveiled this week on the Skims website. It retails for $48, and according to Kim, is designed so that it "snatches" your chin to give your face a more sculpted appearance. But while Kim touted its beauty benefits, fans couldn't help but laugh at its odd appearance. Many said it looked like something straight out of Hannibal Lecter's closet. It got to the point that even Anthony Hopkins himself weighed in, posting a video of himself wearing the wrap and acting as his iconic Hannibal character. "Hello, Kim. I'm already feeling 10 times younger," he said in a chilling voice, while making Hannibal's signature slurping sound. "Thank you, Kim," he added in the caption. "Don't be afraid to come over for dinner. @kimkardashian @skims." Kim said that the video left her dying. Reposting the clip on her Instagram Story, she wrote, "I'M SCREAMING!!!!!" She also appeared unbothered by the jokes at large, with Kim even reposting an article about the funny comparisons on her Instagram Story. The wraps are currently sold out on the Skims website.
Los Angeles Times
a day ago
- Los Angeles Times
South Koreans are obsessed with Netflix's ‘K-pop Demon Hunters.' Here's why
SEOUL — When South Koreans start to obsess over a movie or TV series, they abbreviate its name, a distinction given to Netflix's latest hit 'K-pop Demon Hunters.' In media headlines and in every corner of the internet, the American-made film is now universally referred to as 'Keh-deh-hun' — the first three syllables of the title when read aloud in Korean. And audiences are already clamoring for a sequel. The animated film follows a fictional South Korean girl group named 'HUNTR/X' as its three members — Rumi, Mira and Zoey — try to deliver the world from evil through the power of song and K-pop fandom. Since its release in June, it has become the most watched original animated film in Netflix history, with millions of views worldwide, including the U.S. and South Korea, where its soundtrack has topped the charts on local music streaming platform Melon. Fans have also cleaned out the gift shop at the National Museum of Korea, which has run out of a traditional tiger pin that resembles one of the movie's characters. Much of the film's popularity in South Korea is rooted in its keenly observed details and references to Korean folklore, pop culture and even national habits — the result of having a production team filled with K-pop fans, as well as a group research trip to South Korea that co-director Maggie Kang led in order to document details as minute as the appearance of local pavement. There are nods to traditional Korean folk painting, a Korean guide to the afterlife, the progenitors of K-pop and everyday mannerisms. In one scene, at a table in a restaurant where the three girls are eating, viewers might notice how the utensils are laid atop a napkin, an essential ritual for dining out in South Korea — alongside pouring cups of water for everyone at the table. 'The more that I watch 'Keh-deh-hun,' the more that I notice the details,' South Korean music critic Kim Yoon-ha told local media last month. 'It managed to achieve a verisimilitude that would leave any Korean in awe.' :: Despite its subject matter and association with the 'K-wave,' that catch-all term for any and all Korean cultural export, 'K-pop Demon Hunters,' at least in the narrowest sense, doesn't quite fit the bill. Produced by Sony Pictures and directed by Korean Canadian Kang and Chris Appelhans — who has held creative roles on other animated films such as 'Coraline' and 'Fantastic Mr. Fox' — the movie is primarily in English and geared toward non-Korean audiences. But its popularity in South Korea is another sign that the boundaries of the K-wave are increasingly fluid — and that, with more and more diaspora Korean artists entering the mix, it flows in the opposite direction, too. Those barriers have already long since broken down in music: many K-pop artists and songwriters are non-Korean or part of the Korean diaspora, reflecting the genre's history of foreign influences such as Japanese pop or American hip-hop. 'Once a cultural creation acquires a universality, you can't just confine it to the borders of the country of origin, which is where K-pop is today,' said Kim Il-joong, director of the content business division at the Korea Creative Content Agency, a government body whose mission is to promote South Korean content worldwide. 'Despite what the name 'K-pop' suggests, it is really a global product.' In 'K-pop Demon Hunters,' Zoey is a rapper from Burbank. In addition, the soundtrack was written and performed by a team that includes producers, artists and choreographers associated with some of the biggest real-life K-pop groups of the past decade. Streaming productions are increasingly flying multiple flags, too: Apple TV's 'Pachinko' or Netflix's 'XO, Kitty' are both American productions that were filmed in South Korea. But few productions have been able to inspire quite the same level of enthusiasm as 'K-pop Demon Hunters,' whose charm for many South Koreans is how accurately it captures local idiosyncrasies and contemporary life. While flying in their private jet, the three girls are shown sitting on the floor even though there is a sofa right beside them. This tendency to use sofas as little more than backrests is an endless source of humor and self-fascination among South Koreans, most of whom would agree that the centuries-old custom of sitting on the floor dies hard. South Korean fans and media have noted that the characters correctly pronounce 'ramyeon,' or Korean instant noodles. The fact that ramyeon is often conflated with Japanese ramen — which inspired the invention of the former decades ago — has long been a point of exasperation for many South Koreans and local ramyeon companies, which point to the fact that the Korean adaption has since evolved into something distinct. It's a small difference — the Korean version is pronounced 'rah myun' — but one that it pays to get right in South Korea. The girls' cravings for ramyeon during their flight also caught the eye of Ireh, a member of the real-life South Korean girl group Purple Kiss who praised the film's portrayals of life as a K-pop artist. 'I don't normally eat ramyeon but whenever I go on tour, I end up eating it,' she said in a recent interview with local media. 'The scene reminded me of myself.' South Korean fans have also been delighted by a pair of animals, Derpy and Sussy, which borrow from jakhodo, a genre of traditional Korean folk painting in which tigers and magpies are depicted side by side, popularized during the Joseon Dynasty in the 19th century. In the film, Derpy is the fluorescent tiger with goggle eyes that always appears with its sidekick, a three-eyed bird named Sussy. Though they have long since been extinct, tigers were once a feared presence on the Korean peninsula, at times coming down from the mountains to terrorize the populace. They were also revered as talismans that warded off evil spirits. But much like Derpy itself, jakhodo reimagined tigers as friendlier, oftentimes comical beings. Historians have interpreted this as the era's political satire: the magpie, audacious in the presence of a great predator, represented the common man standing up to the nobility. The movie is peppered with homages to Korean artists throughout history who are seen today as the progenitors of contemporary K-pop. There are apparent nods to the 'Jeogori Sisters,' a three-piece outfit that was active from 1939 to 1945 and is often described as Korea's first girl group, followed by the Kim Sisters, another three-piece that found success in the U.S., performing in Las Vegas and appearing on 'The Ed Sullivan Show.' Longtime K-pop fans might recognize the demon hunters from the 1990s as S.E.S., a pioneering girl group formed by S.M. Entertainment, the label behind present-day superstars Aespa and Red Velvet. (Bada, S.E.S.'s main vocalist, recently covered 'Golden,' the film's headline track, on YouTube.) For a long time, South Korean audiences have often complained about outside depictions of the country as inauthentic and out of touch. Not anymore. 'Korea wasn't just shown as an extra add-on as it has been for so long,' Kim said. ''K-pop Demon Hunters' did such a great job depicting Korea in a way that made it instantly recognizable to audiences here.'
