Bali International Film Festival will be Held Again, Bringing a Mission to Revive the Indonesian Film Industry Post-Pandemic

Kapanlagi.com - The first Indonesian festival, Balinale or Bali Festival Indonesia, will be held offline or face-to-face on November 11-14 in Bali.Balinale itself is the first Indonesian film festival internationally recognized as a festival that has global independent film programs and Indonesian cinema.

Of course, this news is a breath of fresh air for Indonesian filmmakers and film lovers. Especially after a long pandemic period that has caused many cinemas and film projects to be postponed. The existence of this festival is expected to revive the Indonesian film industry and be enjoyed by the audience once again.

As the first Indonesian festival, Balinale certainly has a mission to continue supporting the Indonesian film industry. Including in this year's festival, where they want to reconnect the audience with films made by Indonesian filmmakers.

"This year's festival is in line with our ethos that films - more than any other media - reach a wide audience, attract imagination, and public interest in exploring a destination, its culture, and its people. By offering face-to-face programs for free, we position the festival to help welcome people back to Bali and to the cinemas," said Founder and President, Deborah Gabinetti.

This year's festival is the 14th edition since its establishment in 2007. During the festival, there will be screenings of films that have been adopted by the Toronto International Film Festival and the Sundance Film Festival. Starting from award-winning short films, feature films, and documentaries from both Indonesia and internationally.

Not only will Balinale organize face-to-face film screenings, but it will also hold several programs and events within one festival and involve many prominent figures in the Indonesian film industry. Here is the complete explanation!

1. Balinale Organizes Several Events in One Festival

Cr: Personal Documentation Balinale

At the beginning of 2021, long before the festival event was held, Balinale established a new affiliation with the American-Indonesian Cultural & Education Foundation. Both affiliations have a mission to connect the world through film. At the same time, the American-Indonesian Cultural & Education Foundation awarded the AICEF Prize for Cross-Cultural Filmmaking to a pair of first and second-time filmmakers who highlight cross-cultural themes. For Indonesia, this award was given to Harvan Agustriansyah for his work entitled 'EMPU--SUGAR ON THE WEAVER'S CHAIR.'

In addition, before the peak of the festival, Balinale also hosted the Asian Film Awards Academy (AFAA) held on November 5-7, 2021 in Jakarta. In this event, Balinale also presented various award-winning Hong Kong films.

Then, as planned, on November 12th, Balinale will hold the BalinaleX event, which is an annual film forum. This year, BalinaleX focuses on the commercial aspect of the Indonesian film industry. The attendees of this event are also prominent figures in the film industry such as Producer Iwan Setyiabudiman and Director Lasja F. Susatyo, Richard Oh, Nia Dinata and Sim F, cinematographer Anggi Frisca and Benny Kadarhariarto, screenplay writer Titien Wattimena, and actors Ario Bayu and Sha Ine Febriyanti.

Not only hosting the Asian Film Awards Academy, but Balinale this year is also holding a film competition where they will give awards in several predetermined categories ranging from artistic to technical categories. This award ceremony will involve experienced and professional judges in their fields such as director Nia Dinata, writer and director Richard Oh, as well as cinematographers Benny Kadarharianto and Anggi Frisca.

This celebration is meticulously planned to celebrate the selected films in the 2020 festival that had to be canceled due to the pandemic. That is why Balinale involves many important people and collaborates with many film associations and companies to support the event, including Balinale's partner airline Citilink, which is known to bring guests departing to Balinale 2021. In addition, Balinale also collaborates in the formation of an Institutional Partnership with RUS Animation Studio supported by the Djarum Foundation.

In this festival, limited free film screenings will be shown at Park 23 Cinema XXI Kuta Selatan, Badung, Bali. To participate in this free face-to-face screening event, you must register through Town Script on November 5, 2021. Not only will it be done offline, but this event will also be held online and will be broadcasted through Book My Show.

(kpl/mag)