On its sixth day, JAFF20 once again presented Nocturnal, a special late-night program that begins at midnight and is dedicated to films that are bold, provocative, and delightfully unpredictable. Traversing genres such as horror, thriller, fantasy, and action, the films in this section are designed to challenge the audiences’ comfort. The program brings together both feature-length titles and curated compilations of selected short films.
Nocturnal 1 opened with a varied selection of short films, each offering a distinct narrative approach. Maaghlug (Nabila Larasati, 2024) delivered an unsettling horror animation that lingers in its atmosphere of dread. Taxi Driver Who Caught the Murderer (Kim Soyeon, 2025) follows the journey of a taxi driver attempting to apprehend a killer, unfolding with a darkly comic tone. How An Apocalypse Ends (Thuy Trang Dang, 2025) portrays two teenagers confronting a friend who has turned into a zombie, while Repulsion (Chen Yan-hong, 2024) channels political commentary through horror elements, presented in stark black-and-white imagery.
The program continued with Dhet! (Ummid Ashraf, 2025), which tells the story of an online motorcycle taxi driver who encounters something uncanny while picking up his final passenger of the day. Over the Green Hills (Vu Nguyen Nam Khue, 2024) delves into an unresolved family mystery in search of hidden truths. Closing the lineup, Rotten Pleasure (Azzam Fi Rullah, 2025) takes viewers on an unpredictable journey, punctuated by moments that send shivers down the spine.
Despite the advancing hour and the night edging toward morning, Empire XXI Yogyakarta remained charged with audience enthusiasm during the Nocturnal screenings. Even the feature presentation, The Weed Eaters (Callum Devlin, 2025), which concluded close to 1:30 a.m., was followed by a lively Q&A session with the filmmaker—eagerly attended by viewers who chose to stay until the very end.
Writer:Shabrina Eka Arilistya
Photos: JAFF Documentation Team
