Comedy Buddy (original title: Suka Duka Tawa) — dir. Aco Tenriyagelli, 2025 was selected as the closing film of JAFF20, marking both a farewell to the festival’s two-decade celebration and the feature-length debut of director Aco Tenriyagelli. The film brings together two strands of comedy—stand-up and conventional screen comedy—to portray the lives of comedians from a more intimate, personal angle. Through close collaboration with stand-up comics, veteran performers, and the production team, Aco constructs a cinematic world where humor functions not merely as entertainment, but as a means of survival amid difficult circumstances.
At its core, the film centers on family dynamics, particularly the emotional distance that often emerges between parents and children when both struggle to express affection. Producer Ajish Dibyo observes that the film’s strength lies in Aco’s ability to transform personal experience into a story that resonates widely, while retaining a sense of simplicity and honesty in its storytelling.
Lead actor Rachel Amanda adds that the film illustrates how comedic material frequently takes root in the bitterness of lived realities; experiences that ultimately form the emotional foundation of humor capable of making many people laugh.
Suka Duka Tawa is scheduled for nationwide theatrical release on 8 January 2026. Aco hopes the film will leave audiences with a sense of warmth, inviting them to see how laughter and wounds often walk side by side in everyday life.
The sentiment echoes JAFF itself, which has just marked its twentieth year. This edition once again affirms the festival as a home for works born from personal experience yet able to speak to a wider public. As the lights dim on JAFF20, the hope remains that future editions will continue to welcome new voices and offer stories that linger with warmth long after the screen goes dark.
Photos: JAFF Documentation Team
