Every year, Light of Asia presents films that compete in the Jogja Asian-NETPAC Film Festival, but it doesn’t just stop there, this program is also a representation of our current reality. The short films presented in Light of Asia serve as highlights of the anxiety we are facing today. In short, this program invites us to look back for a moment, while imagining what we will be going through in the near or far future.

Reflecting on the Light of Asia program in previous years, where this program was presented not only as an illustration of aesthetic achievement but also as a reflection of ourselves (humanity). The nine selected films in the Light of Asia Program shed some light on these matters. This seems interesting because, considering the fact that this is the second year that JAFF has been held offline again after the pandemic in early 2020, humanitarian, gender, environment, social class issues and the like, are just as relevant and talked about as before.

The issues have never subsided, but are even more acute and interesting to look at in the context of this year and also the previous year, as “development”. What developed, and how is the development? These questions are genuinely interesting and deserve to be asked. We chose these nine films not only to highlight certain issues but also to have other contexts for developing awareness of the current world reality or hope for the future.

The films presented in the Light of Asia program this time may be a source of light in the midst of a world that is at least grey for most of the year.

Ayu Diah Cempaka

Theo Maulana

Yustinus Kristianto