Jury Members
01/ THE JURY
Hanoman Award
Hanoman Award is a feature-length competitive program for established directors and upcoming young talent who hold the future of Asian cinema. The first winner will be awarded a Golden Hanoman and runner-up will be awarded a Silver Hanoman.
Riar Rizaldi
Riar Rizaldi works as an artist and filmmaker. His practice explores the relationships between science, technology, labour and nature, alongside competing worldviews, genre cinema, and the possibilities of theoretical fiction. His works have been shown at various international film festivals (including Berlinale, Locarno, IFFR, FID Marseille, Viennale, BFI London, Cinema du Reel, Vancouver, etc.) as well as Singapore Biennale (2025), Thailand Biennale (2025), Museum of Modern Art New York (2024), Whitney Biennial (2024), Taipei Biennial (2023), Istanbul Biennial (2022 & 2025), Venice Architecture Biennale (2021), Biennale Jogja (2021), Centre Pompidou Paris (2021), National Gallery of Indonesia (2019), and other venues and institutions. Recent solo exhibitions and focus programmes have been presented at Museum MACAN, Jakarta (2026); Almanac, Turin (2025); Gasworks, London (2024); the Institute of Contemporary Arts, London (2024); Z33 – House for Contemporary Art, Design & Architecture, Hasselt (2024); the Centre de la Photographie Genève (2023); and Batalha Centro de Cinema, Porto (2023), among others.
Dita Gambiro
Dita Gambiro is an Indonesian production designer, film art director, and visual artist based in Jakarta. Her film credits include Penyalin Cahaya, Like & Share, Sore and Four Seasons in Java, where she shaped each film’s visual and spatial environment. In 2024, she was selected to participate in the Berlinale Talents Production Design Studio at the Berlin International Film Festival.
Shan Zuolong
SHAN Zuolong is a Chinese film producer who was invited to join the Producers Branch of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in 2026. Over the past decade, nearly all of the films he has produced have been selected for major international film festivals such as Cannes, Venice, and Berlin, and distributed internationally. His credits as lead producer include Resurrection (Special Prize, Cannes Competition 2025), Long Day’s Journey Into the Night (Un Certain Regard, Cannes 2018), Kaili Blues (Best Emerging Director, Locarno 2015), The Botanist (Grand Prix, Berlinale Generation 2025), Love is a Gun (Lion of the Future Best Debut, Venice 2023), and The First Taste of Loneliness (Busan Award for Best Actor and Artistic Contribution, Busan 2026). He also executive produced The Water Murmurs, the winner of the Short Film Palme d’Or at Cannes 2022.
02/ THE JURY
NETPAC Award
NETPAC Award aims to read the diverse Asian perspectives from the first or second work of directors who hold the future of Asian cinema.
Julita Pratiwi
Julita Pratiwi, also known as Juju, is an independent film researcher, educator, and media archivist. She completed her undergraduate studies with a concentration in Cinema Studies at the Faculty of Film and Television, Jakarta Institute of the Arts (IKJ). Subsequently, she earned her master’s degree specializing in Moving Image Archiving and Preservation at New York University in 2024, supported by the Beasiswa Pendidikan Indonesia. She has a keen interest in research in the evolution of film aesthetics, history, and preservation in Indonesia. Besides being a co-founder and researcher at Kelas Liarsip collective, she is actively involved in the Women Film History International committee. Currently, she teaches part-time film theory and film studies at SAE Institute Jakarta.
Nguyên Lê
Nguyên Lê is a bilingual Vietnamese-English film critic, journalist and translator. He is a member of critics’ associations, among them FIPRESCI and the International Cinephile Society. He is always working to raise the exposure of Vietnamese-descent cinema, whether through his articles or subtitles. Nguyên’s written works are featured in publications such as FANGORIA, Slashfilm, Texas Observer, Vietcetera, Saigoneer, Awards Watch, and others. His subtitling efforts thus far have allowed Vietnamese titles (such as The Last Wife, Detective Kien, Betting With Ghost, and The Sisters) to find audiences abroad, and international titles (such as Perfect Days, Die My Love, Better Man, City of Wind, and The Substance) to connect with local viewers. Nguyên is also the Vietnamese cinema consultant for the Far East Film Festival in Udine, Italy and — to those who know him — a fervent believer that the day Vietnamese films enter the Criterion Collection.
Manotham Theamtheabrat
Manotham Theamtheabrat is a Thai film critic who has participated in various international film forums and festivals, including the International Film Festival Rotterdam (1996, 2001), Singapore International Film Festival (1999), and Busan International Film Festival (2002). His engagements include discussions on cinema in the Mekong Rim region, sexuality in ASEAN cinema, and cultural exchange through film. He also conducted Q&A sessions at CINEMASIA 2000, the ASEAN Film Festival in Bangkok. Since February 2026, he has served as President of the Bangkok Critic Circle. |
03/ THE JURY
Blencong Award
This is an in-competition program for Asian short films that will be eligible to compete for Blencong Awards for the best Asian shorts.
Hindia
Having brought his band .Feast to the national level after years of hard work, in late 2018 Daniel Baskara Putra sowed the seeds for what would become his solo project Hindia. Following several low-key releases, 2019 was set about making his debut album. Written during a difficult time in his personal life, Hindia’s songs examined his past and present while forging a path to his future. Despite the intimately personal nature of his lyrics, early singles such as “Evaluasi” and “Secukupnya” resonated with listeners in a huge way and led to Hindia’s first live shows instantly drawing big crowds.
It’s this combination of consistent musical evolution, vulnerable introspection, and trailblazing that has put Hindia at the forefront of the Indonesian music scene today. Few would’ve expected Baskara Putra to pivot to a parallel solo career as Hindia and reach even greater heights through his now-classic debut album Menari Dengan Bayangan and its ambitious double-length follow-up, Lagipula Hidup Akan Berakhir. Meanwhile, Lomba Sihir – his former backing band of which he remains an integral part – has also emerged to become a major player in its own right.
Besides his own projects, Hindia is also an in-demand collaborator who has written, produced, and/or appeared on tracks by a wide array of artists ranging from legends such as Iwan Fals, Dewa Budjana, and Armand Maulana, to other top-charting artists in his generation today including Bernadya, Idgitaf, and Nadin Amizah and future international collaboration post-Doves, ‘25 on Blank Canvas mixtape which awarded him “Album of the Year 2025” from AMI Awards and acclaimed “Top Indonesia Music” from Music Awards Japan for his latest hits ‘everything u are’ this year.
With multiple exceptional career milestones, nominations, and award wins for all three of his projects, over 6 billion streams, legions of die-hard fans across Southeast Asia who hang on to his every word, and a tendency for his quotes to trigger social media firestorms, don’t be surprised if there’s still much more to say about Hindia – including from Hindia himself.
Aditya Ahmad
Aditya Ahmad is an Indonesian filmmaker whose works are driven by themes of identity, longing, and emotional complexity, often told through intuitive, intimate storytelling. His short film On Stopping the Rain (Sepatu Baru) received a Special Mention at the 64th Berlinale Generation. He later made A Gift (Kado), a short inspired by a real-life conversation with his non-actor protagonist, which won Best Short Film in the Orizzonti section at the 75th Venice International Film Festival. He also works across documentary, series, and TV commercials, and occasionally serves as a cinematographer and editor. He is an alumnus of the Asian Film Academy (2014), Berlinale Talents (2015), and Locarno Filmmakers Academy (2024). He took part in La Résidence du Festival de Cannes and TorinoFilmLab ScriptLab 2025 to develop his debut feature film.
Chantana Tiprachart
Chantana Tiprachart (b. 1991, Kalasin, Thailand) is an artist and filmmaker based in Bangkok. Growing up in Isaan, her practice explores vernacular life, cultural landscapes, labour, disappearing beliefs, and everyday experiences, expanding local stories into broader social and geopolitical contexts. Working across cinema and moving-image installation, she uses surreal and fantastical approaches to reframe marginalized identities, traditions, and contemporary realities. Her debut feature film Nha Harn (2020) won Best New Director from the Bangkok Critics Assembly. Her works have been presented at Bangkok Art Biennale, Bangkok Experimental Film Festival, and Thailand Biennale Phuket.
04/ THE JURY
Indonesian Screen Awards
Sharifah Amani
Spanning two decades, Sharifah Amani has established herself across Malaysia’s stage, television, and cinema, bringing local stories to international audiences through carefully chosen roles. A formative experience came through working with the late master storyteller Yasmin Ahmad, whose influence shaped her approach to the craft.
Beyond performing, Amani has become a filmmaker in her own right, writing and directing short films that have screened internationally at festivals including the Roppongi Malaysian Film Week in Tokyo, the Singapore International Film Festival, and her most recent short film was commissioned by Esplanade Theatre Singapore. Her work consistently explores distinctly local narratives with a distinctive voice.
Amani has also sat on many short film judging panels such as Tropfest Southeast Asia, BMW Shorties, Singapore International Film Festival, and Next New Wave, among others. Whether as a performer, director, or advocate, her commitment remains constant: to tell stories that inspire others to do the same.
Tanigaki Kenji
Tanigaki Kenji is a Japanese action director and film director. He is best known for his work on the Rurouni Kenshin series, Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In, and The Furious.
Yoon Ga-eun
Yoon Ga-eun is a South Korean film director. She studied History and Religious Studies at Sogang University, then graduated with an MFA in Film Directing from Korea National University of Arts. Her short film Guest (2011) won the Grand Prix at Clermont-Ferrand, and Sprout (2013) won the Crystal Bear at Berlinale. She made her feature debut with The World of Us (2016), which premiered at Berlinale. Her second feature was The House of Us (2019), and her third feature, The World of Love (2025), premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival, then won awards at the Pingyao International Film Festival and the Nantes Three Continents Festival. This year, she directed the short film Naturally, part of the anthology film The Time of Cinema. Across her work, she has continued to observe the worlds of children and adolescents with quiet precision.
05/ THE JURY
Geber Award
Piet Manuputty
Piet Manuputty is a screenwriter, director, and researcher based in Ambon. He has worked on several short films, both fiction and documentary, and has also been involved in a feature film. His interests extend to cross-media projects. He is currently collaborating with fellow artists from Maluku on a project set to be presented at FKSM 2026 in Ambon. Piet also serves as the Director of the Moluccas Film Festival and works as an adjunct lecturer.
Evi Eliyanah
Evi Eliyanah is a Professor of Gender Studies in the Department of English and serves as Director of Academic Affairs at Universitas Negeri Malang. Her research lies at the intersection of gender, culture, and area studies, with a particular interest in how power operates through the production, circulation, and distribution of cultural products and practices. Her work explores cultural phenomena broadly, attending to the ways gender and other structures of power shape, and are shaped by, cultural production and social relations.
Lius Manajati
Lius Manajati is a film practitioner from the Special Region of Yogyakarta, whose work runs across production, mentoring, research, and archiving.
Long interested in film, he found his way into the industry through LA Indie Movie, the 2008 filmmaking workshop and competition, which also widened his network in the community. He kept working on productions. Along the way, research and sharing what he’d learned became part of his practice. He mentors and facilitates film workshops, has taught film at universities, and often serves as a festival juror and curator.
Today, much of this work happens at Cinemartani Film Research and Archive, an independent collective he initiated with friends. It brings film practice together with research and archiving, working with residents and grassroots communities.
06/ THE JURY
Student Award
Risyad Ridha Rousydiy
Risyad Ridha Rousydiy was born in Aceh on January 29. His passion for storytelling and writing developed during his early school years through literacy activities and public speaking. In 2016, he represented Aceh Province at the national level in the Elementary Student Literature Appreciation and took part in the National Literacy Festival hosted by the Ministry of Education and Culture. In 2022, he again represented Aceh in the Madrasah Student Leadership Award (MSLA), authoring an essay titled Pemimpin Ideal untuk Generasi Milenial (Ideal Leader for the Millennial Generation). He is currently studying Islamic Communication and Broadcasting (majoring in Communication, Class of 2024) at Universitas Muhammadiyah Yogyakarta, actively developing films and screenplays with MM KINE KLUB UMY, and serving as a programmer for KINEIDOSCOPE 2025.
Farras Sabian Rahmadyatmaja
Farras Sabian is a final-year Communication Science student at UPN “Veteran” Yogyakarta. His passion for cinema, which began in early childhood, deepened during his university years, leading him to direct films and actively engage with the film community “Avikom Film.” Today, Bian continues to explore story development, directing, and visual treatment in filmmaking.
Steven Antonio
Steven Antonio is a director, screenwriter, and editor based in Yogyakarta and a film student at Jogja Film Academy. His short film, We’re All Indigo in this Country, was officially selected by KNF 2026. His work often explores human vulnerability, contradictions, and limitations. He views film as a storytelling medium through which to observe the world and deepen our understanding of humanity.
Natasya Aurelia Putri
Born in Tasikmalaya on March 27, 2007, and raised in South Jakarta, Natasya Aurelia Putri developed a passion for visuals and storytelling from an early age. Her interest first took root in ninth grade through videography, editing, and various creative pursuits. As she entered vocational high school, her focus sharpened on film production, where she taught herself directing through digital resources. She is currently pursuing an Applied Bachelor’s degree (D4) in Film and Television Production at the Faculty of Recorded Media Arts, Institut Seni Indonesia (ISI) Yogyakarta, refining her creative vision in directing, writing, and producing.
Muhammad Ainul Yaqin
A film enthusiast since high school, he began exploring filmmaking while studying Islamic Communication and Broadcasting at Universitas Islam Negeri Sunan Kalijaga. Since 2023, he has been active in the student film club Jama’ah Cinema Mahasiswa, where he has worked as a producer, director, screenwriter, and sound recordist on various projects. He is also involved in the campus television community, Suka TV. He regularly participates in audiovisual competitions, serves as a judge, and delivers presentations in the field. He has received over 60 awards.
