Festival Jury Members
Gertjan Zuilhof
For over half a century Gertjan Zuilhof (1955) is an international film festival programmer. A decent profession, he thinks. He also makes drawings, but not as a profession. He did two drawing projects in JAFF. More recently he started making the drawings move. Just like little movies.
Timo Tjahjanto
Timo Tjahjanto is an Indonesian film director and writer. Following film school in Australia, he joined up with fellow college buddy, film director and producer Kimo Stamboel. Together, they are well known as The Mo Brothers.
While working as The Mo Brothers, with Stamboel as the Producer, Tjahjanto has directed several feature-length films featured in a number of prestigious international film festivals, such as Sundance and Toronto International Film Festival. He started off with a horror short film Dara, produced in 2008, and part of Takut: Faces of Fear Anthology. Following the success of Dara, Tjahjanto directed his debut feature-length film Rumah Dara, produced in 2010, and the extended version of the short film Dara. The film itself generated substantial positive critiques from movie enthusiasts in Indonesia, as well as internationally, known instead as Macabre. With the same genre, Tjahjanto again gained success with Killers, produced in 2013.
Tjahjanto then went solo from “The Mo Brothers” and worked on a short film V/H/S/2 omnibus with several other directors with the same genre. In the short, he collaborated with Welsh director/writer Gareth Evans as both of them managing the same segment titled “Safe Haven’.
Silvia Wong
Silvia Wong is the senior correspondent for Asia for UK trade press Screen International and its website www.screendaily.com. She is known as a respected trade journalist with two decades of experience, breaking exclusive and top stories and providing news and analysis from China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Southeast Asia. Based in Singapore, she is a familiar face in the industry, attending key markets and industry events in Asia and elsewhere. She has also moved behind the camera as a film producer, screenwriter, and festival and sales consultant.
Djenar Maesa Ayu
Djenar Maesa Ayu is known as an author, actor, director and producer. She has published six anthologies of short stories and a novel. She also has produced, written and directed five feature films and a short film.
Her short story ‘SUCKLING FATHER’ became The Best Short Story of Women’s Journal 2003, while ‘NAYLA’S TIME’ won an award of Kompas Best Short Story.
Djenar directed her first film based on her short stories collection ‘They Say, I’m a Monkey!’ in 2008 and won Citra Award for Best Adaptation Scenario category and a Special Jury Mention for Best New Director at Indonesian Film Festival 2009 and TEMPO Awards for Best Film and Best Director in the same year. Her third film ‘NAY’, won NETPAC Award for Best Asian Feature Film at Jogja NETPAC Asian Film Festival 2015.
In 2021, she made her first short film ‘TRIS’ and won Best Picture & Favorite Short Film at 16th IFF Short Film Competition 2022. And Critics Citation for Excellence in Film Editing, Film Performance, Film Directing, and The Box Office Champion at Bakunawa International Film Festival 2022. Recently she made an omnibus film, 'LOOK AT ME TOUCH ME KISS ME' and was officially selected in Busan International Film Festival 2022. As an actor, Djenar won Best Supporting Actress at Bandung Film Festival 2017.
Koyo Yamashita
Born in Tokyo, Japan. Has been festival director of Image Forum Festival since 2001. Has been guest programmer/curator for many film and media art festivals and film events in and outside Japan, such as: Transmediale (Berlin), Bozar (Bruxells), Arkipel International Documentary and Experimental Film Festival (Jakarta), Sea Shorts (Malaysia) etc. Advisor for collection of film and video for Asian Culture Center in Kwangju, Korea. Has served as jury for many international film/art festivals such as Hong Kong International Film Festival, Cannes Director’s Fortnight, Rotterdam International Film Festival, Tampere International Film Festival etc.
Wong Tuck Cheong
Wong Tuck Cheong runs Kelab Seni Filem Malaysia (KSFM) in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. KSFM is a cineclub screening a regular program of international arthouse films. It also organizes special film events and film retrospectives in collaboration with partners like the Goethe-Institut, Alliance Francaise, Wayang Budiman and the European Union NIC. He has served as a member of the advisory board of NETPAC (Network for the Promotion of Asia Pacific Cinema).
Ho Yuhang
Yuhang was born in Petaling Jaya, Malaysia. He studied engineering at Iowa State University in the US. His directing debut MIN (2003) won the Special Jury Prize at the Festival des 3 Continents in Nantes, France. His third film RAIN DOGS (2006) became the first Malaysian film to compete in the Venice Film Festival. AS I LAY DYING won the Tiger Awards for short film in the International Film Festival of Rotterdam and the Grand Prix in the Kurosawa Foundation competition in 2008. The next feature AT THE END OF DAYBREAK won the NETPAC Award at the Locarno Film Festival and garnered seven Best Actress Awards for the lead actress Kara Wai. He received the Financial Times Emerging Voices film award for his short TRESPASSED in 2015. He reunited with Kara Wai in 2016 for the feature-length film MRS K, a Malaysia-Hong Kong co-production. In 2017, he was among the five award-winning Southeast Asian directors invited by National Gallery Singapore to create filmic interpretations of Asian masterpieces of their choice from the gallery’s collection. Between 2018 and 2019, he’s involved in the HBO anthology series FOLKLORE and FOOD LORE. A Netflix series THE GHOST BRIDE followed. MRS K is currently being remade by Universal Pictures.
Rachel Amanda Aurora
Rachel Amanda Aurora began her acting career in soap operas in 2001. She starred in her first film in 2004 and since then, has always been fascinated by the filmmaking process. She won the short film pitching forum at the XXI Short Film Festival in 2013 and subsequently started her career behind the scenes. She co-starred in and produced the short film "We Have No Idea" with Aco Tenriyagelli which was screened at JAFF 2018. Currently, Amanda is pursuing a career as an actress in films and web series.
Teddy Soeriaatmadja
Born in Tokyo Japan 7 February 1975, Teddy Soeriaatmadja debut film Culik premiered at the 2nd Jakarta International film festival in the year 2000. Since then his films has participated in many major International Film Festivals such as The Berlinale, Busan international Film Festival, Palm Springs international Film Festival, Hong Kong International Film Festival, Tokyo International Film Festival, Mumbai International Film Festival and many more. His trilogy of intimacy which consists of Lovely Man, Something In The Way and About a Woman has won numerous awards both for his achievements in film direction and also his capacity as a screenwriter from numerous Film Festivals.
Known for his attention to detail, stunning cinematography and highly developed storytelling ability makes Teddy one of the most highly acclaimed filmmaker in Indonesia.
His passion for storytelling and his unique eye for cinematography is projected in his body of work which consists of films, music videos, documentaries and television commercials.
Teddy is now based in Jakarta Indonesia.
Elvert Banares
Elvert Bañares is a film director, producer and multidisciplinary artist who shoots his films independently, acting as his own cinematographer, editor, production designer and even actor under zero budget conditions. He started making underground experimental films and video art in 1993 and was one the first three Filipino filmmakers who won Best Regional Short Film (representing his hometown Iloilo City) from the Cultural Center of the Philippines’ Gawad CCP for Independent Film. Since 2008, he has moved on to direct narrative shorts and documentaries – mostly of various genres that led to his two Urian Award nominations (handed by the Philippines’ longest-running Film Critics group), Best Micro-Short in Copenhagen Web Fest (Denmark) and the Golden Kinabalu for Best Indigenous Language Film (Top Award) at the 13th Kota Kinabalu International Film Festival 2022.
His films and multimedia works have been to more than 100 festivals including the 42nd FANTASPORTO International Film Festival; 25th Ji.hlava International Documentary Film Festival; the Academy Award Qualifying 38th Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival; 39th BOGOCINE Festival de Cine de Bogota; 9th Maoriland Film Festival; 21st DC Asian Pacific American Film Festival; Antimatter Media Art; Prague Quadrennial; 33rd São Paulo International Short Film Festival; 50th CURTAS - Festival do Imaxinario and Jogja-Netpac Asian Film Festival.
In 2021, he was one of the invited guests of the 34th Tokyo International Film Festival for its Southeast Asian Conference of Filmmakers and Programmers. Elvert is the founder of eKsperim[E]nto and CineKasimanwa Film Fests; was Regional Manager of Cinemalaya in Visayas; and current Festival Director of Sine Halaga Film Festival and Bakunawa Fest, the first fantastic film festival in the Philippines
Mat Kesting
Mat Kesting is a film curator, exhibition and event specialist and has worked in the sector for over 20 years. Currently, Mat is CEO & Creative Director of Adelaide Film Festival (AFF), where he has held roles since 2008. The most recent edition of AFF was presented in October 2022 and the next will be held in October 2023. Mat was previously the Exhibition Manager at the Mercury Cinema, the cultural screen of South Australia, where he oversaw of all screen programs including the Adelaide Cinémathèque, Silent ReMasters, the Australian International Documentary Conference’s Doc Week, Seniors on Screen, the Adelaide Festival Centre’s OzAsia Festival’s film program among others and supported the presentations of the Japanese, Brazillian and Iranian Film Festivals. Previously Mat was Program Manager at the Brisbane International Film Festival and has worked across various festivals, events and screen organisations in Melbourne. Mat holds degrees in Media and Cinema Studies as well as Environmental Science and is Deputy Chair of Festival City Adelaide.
Sandeep Ray
Sandeep Ray is a writer, visual artist and historian. He is an Associate Professor at the University of Nottingham Malaysia. Sandeep started as a filmmaker, cutting his teeth freelancing commercially in Boston and went on to produce a diverse body of films in Kolkata, Aceh, Java, Kalimantan, Sulawesi, the Timor border, Namibia and Greece. Of these, The Sound of Old Rooms, a 20-year collaborative coming-of-age story about a poet, won the Grand Prize at the Taiwan International Documentary Festival in 2012. In 2014, Thin Arms, a short on his mother’s cancer treatment, won Best Director at the Dubai International Film Festival. He has published two books — Celluloid Colony explores ethnography in Dutch propagandistic film in colonial Indonesia and was a finalist for the EuroSEAS2022 Social Science Book Award, and A Flutter in the Colony — a work of historical fiction set in Bengal and Malaya.
Andhika Prayogo
Andhika Prayogo is a reviewer and content developer for Cinemalinea, a cinema Instagram account he started in early 2019. He also produces audiovisual projects. His passion for music leads him to enjoy working on music videos with local bands. He occasionally makes short films. Andhika likes films with unusual stories and aesthetics. He works with Cinemalinea to introduce non-Hollywood and classic Indonesian films to a broader audience.
Angger Nugroho
In 2009, He began producing films independently. He eventually joined the Bangku Merah film community in 2012, focusing on exhibitions and local community network development. In 2014, he coordinated the 2014 Indonesian Film Festival sub-event in Palembang. From 2014 to 2019, he was active in a Palembang film community forum called Layar Taman, where he organized film exhibitions and educational events while building a network of local film communities. On several occasions, he served as a jury member for a video and film competition at a number of schools and campuses in the city. He is a part of the Palembang Movie Club community and manages the organisation's blog.
Sugar Nadia Azier
Since college, Sugar has been involved in arts management and film screenings. Sugar worked as the program manager for the Jakarta Arts Council Kineforum from 2011 to 2014. He participated in a short film preservation and restoration program organized by the Institut Français Indonesia in collaboration with the University of Louis Lumière Paris, France, in 2013. In 2015, he was invited to serve on the jury of the MiCe Film Festival, a youth and children's film festival in Valencia, Spain. Sugar completed a training program and collaborative project between Southeast Asian and Japanese film curators in 2018 as part of a Japan Foundation Asia Center initiative. Sugar worked as a film curator for the 2015-2020 Plaza Indonesia Film Festival and is now the director of the Madani International Film Festival and a member of the 2021-2023 FFI Judging Committee.
Albertus Nico Wicaksono
Nico is a student activist at the Jogja Film Academy, where he studies film directing, writing, and editing. He has directed several short films in recent years, one of which, "Memorabilia," which was officially selected as the best film in the Family Sunday Movie in March, a film festival organized by the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy and screened as part of Akatara Indonesian Film Market and Business Forum. "Memorabilia" was also officially selected Short Movie at Jakarta Film Week in October 2022 and was screened at Kineforum. He believes a film was created not only to discover his passion and determination to become a filmmaker but also to have an impact on the people who watch his works.
I Gede Agung Yohana Dharma
Since college, Agung has been involved in film screening organizations, beginning with being a programmer in the student group at the Yogyakarta Art Institute, Kamicinema. He also had the opportunity to become an assistant for the Sewon Screening 8 non-screening program, a non-competitive film festival held by the Television Department Student Association, Yogyakarta Indonesia Institute, in 2022. Agung began making films on his own while still in high school. While still in school, he made a film called "Monoloop," which was nominated for an international festival in the student category, namely SWIFF (Student World Impact Film Festival). He has studied film and television at the Yogyakarta Indonesian Art Institute since August 2022.
Mohammad Ziddan Fachrirobi
Mohammad Ziddan Fachrirobi was born on May 24, 2001, in Jakarta. He is studying Islamic Broadcasting Communication at Muhammadiyah University in Yogyakarta. For the academic year 2022-2023, he served as the chairman of UKM MM Kine Club UMY, student film communities.
He focuses on the lighting department. Some of his award-winning works include "Piknik Panik" as Gaffer [winner in the 2021 Accfest fiction category, the best film at the Jambi Film Festival], "Dusner" as Gaffer [winner in the general category of short film festivals in regional languages held by the Ministry of Education and Culture].
Muhammad Fadjrin Rasendryo Abrar
He was born in Bandar Lampung on January 17, 2002, and currently studying at the Broadcasting Department, Sekolah Tinggi Multi Media “MMTC” Yogyakarta. He is involved in the “Klub Nonton” community as a member of the Project Development program, as well as in the MMTC Film Forum community and was a part of JAFF 15 Community Forum Lampung in 2020.
Muhammad Ghifari Fadhlissalam
Muhammad Ghifari Fadhlissalam, also known as Ghifari / Ghipeng, is a young filmmaker. Born on January 24, 2002, in Jakarta and currently residing in Yogyakarta. He began making films in high school in 2017, with the first being "Pesawat Kertas" (2018).
He has received international recognition for his short films, including Next Generation Regional Indonesia 19th Digicon6 Asia in Japan and Special Mention Festival Sinema Australia Indonesia (FSAI) for "The Last Day of School" (2017), Gold Film Award ASEAN-Korea Youth Short Film Festival in South Korea for "Pesawat Kertas" (2018). 4th Place Sahabat Keluarga Kemendikbud (2018). 3rd Place Festival Film Pelajar Jogja (2019). 1st Place Insan Cendikia Festival (2019). 3rd Place Short Video Competition Pemkot Surakarta (2018). 1st Place Brawijaya Movie Day (2018). 1st Place Short Video Competition Pendek CDS Amikom Surakarta (2019). Official Selection Tebas Award (2020). Official Selection Dian Didaktiva Film Festival (2018). Brawijaya Movie Day (2018). 1st Place Lomba Film Pendek Jasa Joki Joni PARFI (2022)
