Jakarta World Cinema Plans to Revive First Feature Competition With International Jury
Jakarta World Cinema will bring back its First Feature Competition next year, open to filmmakers worldwide and judged by an international jury, after pausing the section this year.
Jakarta World Cinema plans to bring back its First Feature Competition next year, opening the section to filmmakers from around the world and placing it under the judgment of an international jury. The festival did not accept submissions for the competition this year, after the section was put on hold.
The pause was tied to the difficulty of assembling an international jury. Until now, the festival said, the competition has been judged only by Indonesian jurors. Organizers see the planned change as a way to broaden the competition beyond its domestic panel and to give debut features from outside Indonesia a place in the lineup.
The return of the section is intended to restore a platform for first-time directors, a category that has long been central to independent cinema festivals. By reopening submissions to international filmmakers, the festival aims to draw a wider pool of debut works and place Jakarta alongside other regional festivals that showcase emerging voices.
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