Facilitating Indonesian Delegation To Join BIFF In South Korea, Kemendikbudristek Wants The National Film Ecosystem To Increase

Illustration of filming films. (Unsplash-Jakob Owens)

JAKARTA - The Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology (Kemendikbudristek) supports the quality of Indonesian cinema by facilitating delegates who participated in the 28th Busan International Film Festival (BIFF) in South Korea on October 4-13, 2023.

"We have made various fundamental efforts to improve the quality of the film ecosystem," said Minister of Education, Culture, Research and Technology Nadiem Anwar Makarim in a statement, Sunday, October 8.

Nadiem explained that his party had long worked with Indonesian film actors to build strategies and ecosystems that were worthy of supporting the achievements and presence of Indonesian directors and works on the world stage.

For example, through facilitation of non-degree scholarships for film actors and Dana Indonesiana, which was launched as Merdeka Learning Episode 18 and the international film co-production fund.

Regarding BIFF 2023 which provides special attention to Indonesia, Nadiem stated that this could not be separated from the mutual cooperation between film people and the government.

The Indonesian delegation team at BIFF 2023 consists of filmmakers, committees, governments, and media totaling 50 people who received travel grants as a form of facilitation from the Ministry of Education and Culture through the Directorate of Film, Music and Media (PMM).

At BIFF 2023, there were 15 titles by Indonesian filmmakers that competed and aired in the cinema focus program Indonesia Renaissance of Indonesian Cinema including short films, feature films, and series.

PMM Director of the Ministry of Education and Culture Ahmad Mahendra said that in addition to providing facilitation for Indonesian delegates at BIFF 2023, his party will also participate in the Asian Contents & Film Market (ACFM) series at Exhibition Center 1, BEXCO, Busan on October 7-10, 2023.

Mahendra hopes that through this facilitation support, Indonesian films will be watched more and more by the global audience and will have a derivative impact such as film promotion and opening up opportunities for networking and co-production with various countries.

ACFM is a market with a variety of media content ranging from movies to audiovisuals, publications, webtoons, and web novels offered as well as network and business platforms for industry professionals around the world to provide various programs.

The program includes a joint investment and production market, conferences and industrial events, and film production funding programs.

"Our hope is that there will be concrete follow-up to this effort and more and more parties will cooperate with Indonesian film people," he concluded.