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As Alternativa Film Project heads into its second year, the annual event will launch its first ever film festival to run alongside its awards ceremony. The festival, which takes place this year in the Indonesian city of Yogyakarta and runs from November 22-28, will host screenings of nominated films from Southeast Asia before wrapping up with its Alternativa Film Awards ceremony on November 29.
The full lineup for the festival was announced in October. Female-directed films make up nearly half of the selection and of feature-length films, nine are debut works. Films include Yi-Shan Lo’s After the Snowmelt, Manohara K’s Bird of a Different Feather and Thai documentary Breaking the Cycle.
Alternativa, a global non-profit film initiative founded by technology company InDrive, is also set to run an inaugural Industry Days section, co-hosted with international and local partners such as The Human Rights Film Network, InDocs and the Jogja-NETPAC Asian Film Festival (JAFF).
Running alongside nominee screenings and leading up to the Alternativa Film Awards, the three-day Industry Days strand will feature talks by Berlinale Compass-Perspektive Award-winning director Steffi Niederzoll, Indonesian producer Mandy Marahimin, Filipino filmmaker Kara Magsanoc-Alikpala and researcher and entrepreneur Carol Misorelli, among others.
Panel topics organized as part of the Industry Days include fundraising, distribution, human rights and filmmaking, as well as Southeast Asian cinema on the global stage.
Meanwhile, the awards will present a total of $100,000 in prizes, with $20,000 awarded to four winners in each feature-length category, and $10,000 each for the two winners in the shorts category.
This year, the awards strand received 680 eligible submissions, up from last year’s 350 submissions. Thirty-three countries were represented among the submissions, with Indonesia leading for the highest number of submitted films, followed by Philippines, Malaysia, Vietnam, India and Thailand. Last year’s edition also saw 49 participants from four Central Asian countries involved in Alternativa’s film labs.
García Bernal And Luna Pact
During this year’s Industry Days, Alternative Film Project will also unveil more details about its latest collaboration with Mexican production company La Corriente del Golfo, founded by Gael García Bernal and Diego Luna.
“This partnership with a major Latin American impact player advances our vision to establish stronger ties and cultural exchange between filmmakers of the Global South,” said the Alternativa Film Project in a statement. “Together, we will celebrate the power of cinema to elevate voices, build bridges, and drive meaningful change across Southeast Asia and beyond.”
Jury members for this year’s edition include Indian filmmaker Anand Gandhi, Indonesian director Kamila Andini, German filmmaker and author Steffi Niederzoll, Indonesian actress Asmara Abigail, Kazakhstani filmmaker Katerina Suvorova, Iranian filmmaker Amir Masoud Soheili and Brazil’s co-founder and co-director of the Taturana Institute, Carol Misorelli.
