Held in the heart of Indonesia’s busiest metropolis, Jakarta Independent Film Festival welcomes the best independent filmmakers from around the world! We want to showcase stories of different genres, styles, and from different countries! We are looking for stories that capture the imagination, talent, and diversity of independent filmmakers, which will leave audiences in awe.

A panel of international judges will be selecting the best films in each category, to create a unique and exciting program for two nights of screening. Filmmakers will get a chance to win and have their films screened at the auditorium of Institut of Français d’Indonésie, a state of the art theater that has held international concerts, film screenings, and cultural activities; right in the middle of Jakarta!

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Jakarta Independent Film Festival is organized by HF Productions' Indonesian branch, an international production company run by a collective of independent filmmakers, producers and marketing professionals. Our mission is to create a collection of film festivals that support independent filmmakers in a very competitive and often unfair industry. We believe there is disenchantment with the anonymity and exclusivity of the festival circuit. We aim to provide a support system for emerging talents and independent filmmakers, based entirely on their skill set and passion.

Awards & Prizes

Our panel of international judges will shortlist nominees of each category for the Official Selection. The selected few from the Official Selection will be screened to a live audience at the auditorium of Institut of Français d’Indonésie. We will also hold an award ceremony, where we will be awarding winners from these categories:

Best Short Film
Best Feature Film
Best Short Documentary
Best Feature Documentary
Best Student Project
Best Comedy Film
Best Drama Film
Best Experimental
Best Music Video
Best Cinematography
Best Director
Best Editor
Best Screenplay
Best Indonesian Film

Rules & Terms

• All submissions must be in English (Or accompanied by English subtitles, if in any other language).
• All films must be made in or after 2016.
• Short Films should be under 30 minutes in duration.
• Student films must provide proof of school/university ID.
• Best Indonesian Film category is exclusively for Indonesian produced films.
• Filmmakers are responsible for the copyright of their own materials.
• By submitting to us, you give us the right to screen your film in front of a live audience at Institut of Français d’Indonésie, Jakarta, Indonesia.
• Nominations: All films nominated for an award in every category. Not all nominated films will be screened.
• Official Selection: Nominated films selected for screening will be notified via email. If you received a Nomination email, but no Official Selection email, it means your film will not be screened, but is still a contender for an award in its category.
• Award Winners: Chosen from the Nominations (which includes the Official Selection).
• We may use clips from your film on social media, based on the press kits you have provided us with.
• We retain the right to change the date and venue of the festival under special circumstances. All filmmakers will be informed about any changes through our online platforms.
• We place no restrictions on your work in terms of premiere status or whether your work has been made available online.
• Any technical issues with the submitted films are 100% the responsibility of the filmmakers. If, at the time of judging, your video file doesn’t work or doesn’t have English subtitles (if in a language other than English), it will be automatically rejected, without a refund. Please contact the festival team ASAP if there are any issues with the submission process, and a solution will be found.
• We cannot provide refunds.
• By submitting to us you agree to our terms and conditions and to receiving marketing newsletters and discounts about film festivals in the form of emails. We will never sell your information to third parties.
• We reserve the right to update our terms and conditions.