9 Jun 2022

Bali international film festival gets underway with an impressive line up of 63 films from 26 countries

posted in: Press Release |

7 June 2022, Bali, Indonesia – Bali International Film Festival presents its 15th edition from 9-12 June as a combination of in-cinema and on-line screenings delivering outstanding entertainment of quality, thought-provoking independent, and award-winning short, feature, and documentaries from Indonesia and around the world. The Official Program includes 63 feature and shorts representing 26 countries, many films having their premiere in the festival.

The festival has a juried competition with awards presented in several artistic and technical categories for Narrative Features, Documentaries and Short Films:
This year’s films In Competition are:

Feature Documentary

  1. Lamafa (Kujirabito), Director: Bon Ishikawa (Japan)
  2. Bucolic (Bukolika), Director: Karol Pałka (Poland)
  3. My Childhood, My Country – 20 Years in Afghanistan, Director: Phil Grabsky, Shoaib Sharifi (United Kingdom)
  4. Mentawai – Souls of the Forest, Director: Joo Peter (Germany)

Feature Narrative:

  1. The Coffin Painter, Director: Da Fei (China)
  2. Inside a Funeral Hall, Director: Ho-hyun Lee (Republic of Korea)
  3. Solo on Iceburgs, Director: Rouhollah Sedighi (Islamic Republic of Iran)
  4. Preman, Director: Randolf Zaini (Indonesia)

Short Documentary:

  1. Young and the Reckless, Director: Johnny Agnew (New Zealand)
  2. Dusk Till Dawn Da Boca da Noite à Barra do Dia, Director: Tiago Delácio (Brazil)
  3. The 13th Note, Director: Karim Khorsheed (United States)
  4. A Letter to My Wife Sebuah Surat Untuk Istriku, Director: Muhamad Ardan Arrazaq (Indonesia)
  5. Homebound, Director: Ismail Fahmi Lubis (Indonesia)

Short Narrative:

  1. The Recess, Director: Navid Nikkhah Azad (Spain)
  2. Ruthless, Director: Matthew McGuigan (United Kingdom)
  3. The Miniaturist of Junagadh, Director: Kaushal Oza (India)
  4. Why Is It So Warm on Christmas?, Director: Choi Woo Gene (Republic of Korea)
  5. Murder Tongue, Director: Ali Sohail Jaura (Pakistan)
  6. Tris, Director: Djenar Maesa Ayu (Indonesia)

Jury Members include Robert Chappell (USA), Cinematographer, Director – Ismail Basbeth (IDN), Producer, Director & Writer – Robin Gurney (CAN), Producer, Director – IGP Wiranegara (IDN), Documentarian – Kelli Swazey (USA), Writer, Director.

Balinale will host many of the award-winning filmmakers here to present their work and welcome leading industry professionals from film, entertainment, and creatives taking part in celebrating the world of cinema.

Ismail Basbeth (IDN)- director, writer, singer, songwriter
Alumni of the Berlinale Talent Campus and Asian Film Academy where he won the BFC & SHOCS Scholarship Fund. Since 2005, he has produced and directed various short and features shown in prestigious national and international film festivals. His latest film Keluarga Cemara 2 will have its World Premiere at the opening of Balinale 2022.

Robert Chappell (USA) – cinematographer, director
Collaborated with director Errol Morris on The Fog War which won an Academy Award for Best Feature Documentary (2003), as well numerous other notable feature length documentaries including Standard Operating Procedure, about the Abu Ghraib prison scandal, Bobby Fischer Against The World, about the fateful US-Russian chess match, the mini-series, HILLARY, and most recently, MLK/FBI with Sam Pollard

Randolf Zaini (IDN) – writer, director
Created commercials, award winning short films, and live theatrical productions, as well as a sound designer. He has written numerous screenplays for his fellow directors. Preman is his feature directorial debut In Competition at Balinale 2022.

Khiva Iskak (IDN) – actor, director
Known for his notable performance in Preman (2021), other roles include Gundala (2019) by Joko Anwar and Bangkit! (2016) by Rako Prijanto. Khiva has been a Best Actor nominee at Film Festival Indonesia and Film Festival Tempo (2021).

Anji Sauvé Clubb (USA) – director, producer
Winner of the AICEF 2021 Prize awarded for her documentary Nomad Meets the City about a former Mongolian goat herder who works as a garbage truck driver striving to better his daughter’s education.

Lee Hohyun (KOR) – director, writer
Lee has worked on many films as an assistant director. His film Inside a Funeral Hall is making its world premiere at Balinale and in competition for Best Feature Narrative. Graduated Life Science as a major in Cheongju University.

Affiliate Partners of the 2022 program, Making Waves: Navigators of Hong Kong Cinema celebrating the 25th anniversary of Hong Kong SAR showcasing a selection of six (6) new and restored HK film classics. The program will include an exciting (never seen before in Indonesia) live hologram presentation with leading HK filmmaker Stanley Kwan followed by a special screening of his 1988 restored classic Rouge.
Balinale has always been a platform for emerging new filmmakers and will continue to promote occupational skills training through seminars in the festival program encouraging the growth of local cinema in future years.

International affiliations were established to demonstrate the capabilities of Indonesians and provide them opportunities to showcase their talents.

AICEF Cross-Cultural Filmmaking Prize. The award was established by American Indonesian Culture and Education Foundation with Balinale in 2021. This year’s prize will be given during the festival to a first- or second-time Indonesian filmmaker who will participate with their film at Middlebury Film Festival USA.

Balinale is extremely proud to launch an exciting creative collaboration with The Juilliard School (NYC). The program called Art of the Score supports projects between Juilliard student composers and musicians and young aspiring Indonesian filmmakers in creating original music scores.

For Further Information
Balinale Headquarters
Bali International Film Festival
Jalan Mertasari 10-B | 80228 Sanur Bali | INDONESIA
T: + 62 (0) 361 270 908 / W: www.balinale.com

Background
Balinale, the Bali International Film Festival, was established in 2007. It is recognized internationally for the diversity of its programming consisting of Indonesian and international independent and award-winning fiction, documentary, feature, and short films.
The festival is credited for the quality of its events where filmmakers from around the world come together to collaborate and share, helping us to achieve our goal of creating a gathering of global creativity. The festival is known as a platform for promoting Indonesian cinema and for supporting important educational development and skills building through workshops and seminars.
The festival actively participates in global industry events, and has professional associations with major studios and distributors, and established affiliations with like-minded institutions and organizations, Asia Pacific Screen Awards, ASEAN International Film Festival & Awards, Asian Film Commissions Network, Motion Picture Association, American Film Showcase, Sundance Institute’s Film Forward, and The Juilliard School.
Balinale (Bali International Film Festival) invites foreign filmmakers to explore Indonesia for potential co-production opportunities that have proven results of delivering cultural, educational, and economic benefits to the country.

Special Notes to Editors:

  1. All non-English language films will have English subtitles
  2. All Hong Kong films will have Indonesian subtitles
  3. In-person showings will be at Beachwalk Cinema XXI, Kuta, Bali
  4. Online program will be through Book My Show https://balifilmfest.bigtix.io/ Movies titles and times can be found at the festival website, www.balinale.com
  5. All side activities can also be found at the festival website: www.balinale.com and at Townscript https://www.balinale.com/festival/
  6. Social media sites: https://www.instagram.com/bali.nale/ https://www.facebook.com/BALINALE