Celebrating Asia’s Cinematic Diversity Through Body, Tradition, Restoration, and Action
Entering Day 6, here are several program highlights to check out at JAFF20.
TWO INDONESIAN FILMS IN THE COMPETITION PROGRAM
Featured in the Indonesian Screen Awards competition, Dancing With The Body (Lenggak-Lenggok) (Andi Imam Prakasa, 2025) and A Thousand Shades of Purnama (Seribu Bayang Purnama) (Yahdi Jamhur, 2024) present two distinct approaches to portraying the relationship between humans, the body, tradition, and the spaces they inhabit.
Dancing With The Body draws audiences into the world of Jaipong dancers who tenaciously safeguard their traditions amid economic pressure and shifting times. Through bodily gestures, vocal calls, and the delicate voice of the sinden, the film becomes an intimate portrait of women who preserve traditional arts even as they gradually slip into the margins.
Screening schedule: Thursday, 4 December 2025 at 12:45 | Empire XXI Studio 5
Meanwhile, A Thousand Shades of Purnama offers a tender rural drama about Putro Purnama, a young man who returns to his village to revive natural farming methods on his family’s land. Family tensions, past rivalries, and entangled romance shape his journey into a reflection of social complexities and ideals constantly being tested.
Screening schedule: Thursday, 4 December 2025 at 14:45 | Empire XXI Studio 5
THE KILLER — A CLASSIC HONG KONG ACTION FILM
Thursday, 4 December 2025 | Empire XXI Studio 3 | 15:30 WIB
From the Hong Kong Film Gala Presentation, JAFF20 and the Asian Film Awards Academy (AFAA) present The Killer, one of the most iconic collaborations between John Woo and Chow Yun-fat. This stylish thriller follows a hitman who accidentally blinds a singer named Jennie. Overcome with guilt, he takes on one last job to pay for her surgery, while two pursuing detectives slowly begin to recognize the humanity beneath his violent profession. A timeless classic that epitomizes Woo’s signature: the collision of balletic violence, moral drama, and exquisitely crafted action.
PUBLIC LECTURE:
JAFF X LAB LABA LABA — ON RESTORATION
Thursday, 4 December | Edelweis Room, ARTOTEL Suites Bianti | 14:00–16:00 WIB
Marking its 10th anniversary, Lab Laba Laba spotlights three restored works, once neglected or unfinished, along with a visual artifact that captures the spirit of late 1970s film students. Filmed in 16mm and Super 8 with Jakarta Institute of the Arts’ Film Department equipment, these works were produced in an academic setting. The restoration of these student films aims to expand the conversation around film restoration practices in Indonesia, which are often shaped by commercial interests or cultural policy. The program is exhibiting three works, Dajang Soembi: Perempoean Jang Dikawini Andjing (Edwin, 2004), Cerita Tentang Eyang Putri Seno Sastroamidjojo (Marseli Soemarno, 1978), and Waiting (Seno Gumira Ajidarma, 1978).
The lecture features two prominent speakers: Rizki Lazuardi, an artist and curator known for examining power relations within archiving practices, and Edwin, an internationally acclaimed Indonesian filmmaker who also restored one of his own works for this program. Together, they will explore how restoration is not merely a technical process but a reflection on history, social context, and the collective memory of Indonesian cinema.
The complete schedule of JAFF20 is available on the official website jaff-filmfest.org and on social media @jaffjogja.
