Santri Film Festival 2025, Islamic Boarding School Becomes Center For Creativity And Cultural Diplomacy

JAKARTA - The Ministry of Culture inaugurated SANFFEST 2025 (Santri Film Festival) at the Darunnajah Islamic Boarding School, Ulujami, South Jakarta, Sunday (7/9). This festival carries the theme "From the Santri Window, Viewing the World", asserting that students are not only heirs to pesantren traditions, but important actors in Indonesian cultural diplomacy.

Minister of Culture Fadli Zon emphasized that SANFFEST 2025 is not just a film event. This festival is a cultural movement that makes pesantren the center of inspiration for civilization. Indonesia has more than 42 thousand pesantren, the largest number in the world. Traditions that have lived in Islamic boarding schools for centuries are now introduced through films, becoming a medium of da'wah as well as a bridge to cultural diplomacy.

Film is soft power. In it is the art of acting, literature, music, fashion, to culinary. Through film, the value of da'wah can be conveyed in a smooth but strong way. Developed countries have long utilized this cultural power," said Menbud Fadli Zon.

He added that since 1987 the music has been used as a medium of da'wah, proving that the tradition has always had a dialogue with the times. Wayang, keris, to local culture is used by the guardians as a means of da'wah. Islam does not destroy tradition, but embraces the essence of its value," he explained.

Menbud Fadli hopes that SANFFEST will continue, equipped with workshops, scenario training, talent management, and the Islamic boarding school film community. Pesantren has an important position in cultural preservation and development," he said.

The leader of the Darunnajah Islamic Boarding School, KH Sofwan Manaf, added that the biggest challenge is to prepare students to face technology. With the 2019 Islamic Boarding School Law, now there is real support. Students study religion as well as general knowledge, psychology, technology, and cinema. This is important so that they are ready to face the modern world," he said.

The festival, which was first held, featured the work of santri films from all over Indonesia, panel discussions, and international forums. SANFFEST was born from the awareness that film is the most effective universal language of spreading peaceful messages and positive narratives about pesantren life: full of science, tolerance, and creativity.

The Ministry of Culture targets the birth of a new creative ecosystem in Islamic boarding schools. Students are encouraged to become screenwriters, directors, and producers, as well as build a peaceful narrative and break stereotypes. Through cinematic works, pesantren is expected to become the face of Indonesian cultural diplomacy on the global stage.