14 producers join JAFF Market’s first exchange in Yogyakarta

By Daniel Okafor

Fourteen producers will join the debut Producers Exchange at Indonesia’s JAFF Market in Yogyakarta, Nov. 28-30. Among them are Wong Kew Soon, producer of Mother Bhumi starring Fan Bingbing; Rajib Mohajan, producer of Cannes Un Certain Regard title Rehana Maryam Noor; and Lisa Scott, whose credits include BBC One and Stan drama The Tourist.

JAFF Market’s third edition runs alongside the Jogja-Netpac Asian Film Festival (JAFF) and is sponsored this year by Amar Bank. The program steers visiting producers toward Indonesian partners through pre-booked meetings arranged around each producer’s background and interests.

What does the exchange put on the calendar?

Each participant receives a tailored calendar of pre-booked meetings with teams from the JAFF Future Project selection, rights holders from JAFF IP Connection, exhibitors and other delegates.

Topics range from adaptation and financing to co-production and release. The format resembles a production schedule more than a general trade-fair walk-around. It favors preparation over serendipity.

Linda Gozali, market director of JAFF Market, said:

“We want international producers to see and experience Indonesia as a creative and production partner, with stories, talent and companies they can make films with,”

“Producers Exchange is designed to move those conversations towards joint development, financing and access to audiences, and to build partnerships that continue long after the market closes.”

Which producers make up the 14?

• Malaysia’s Wong Kew Soon produced Snow in Midsummer, which won the Firebird Award for best film at the Hong Kong International Film Festival. He also produced Mother Bhumi, starring Fan Bingbing, which won three Golden Horse Awards and played in Tokyo’s main competition.

• U.S.-based Rajib Mohajan, representing Bangladesh and the U.S., produced Rehana Maryam Noor, which went to Un Certain Regard in 2021. He now develops films and documentaries through Studio Forty-Five Hundred.

Singapore’s Sam Chua Weishi has recent feature credits including Rafael Manuel’s Filipiñana, which played at Sundance this year, and Nelicia Low’s Karlovy Vary title Pierce.

Singapore’s Wendy Lie’s latest, Nelson Yeo’s The House on the Moon, competed at Locarno. Her first feature, Ang Geck Geck’s Ah Girl, took a special jury prize at Rotterdam this year.

Taiwan’s Shao-Yi Chen, general manager of Screenworks Asia, was executive producer on the Taiwanese-Indonesian horror film and series Losmen Melati. Her drama series Islanders earned 10 nominations at this year’s Golden Bell Awards.

South Korea’s Kimbo Kim, founder of the Seoul- and New York-based outfit 37th Degree, produced the Korean-American feature Abroad and directed Forte.

Indonesia’s Nana Riskhi, a former Tempo TV CEO, is supervising producer on Netflix Indonesian Original General Mayhem: The Killing of Brigadier J.

Indonesia’s Nick Musa has credits including Death Knot and Orpa. Riskhi and Musa are the only participants representing Indonesia alone.

Thailand’s Phimphloi Nan Saensuk, known as Nan, works as a producer for IFA Bangkok after more than seven years at Sahamongkolfilm International. She is developing the romantic vampire thriller series Soulless with director Anucha Boonyawatana.

Filipina producer Danzen Santos Katanyag is president of Digital Dreams International.

Mongolia’s Otgontuya Zorig, CEO of Repeater LLC, is producing the music drama Letter from Paris.

Vancouver-based filmmaker Jason Karman, representing Canada and Indonesia, made his feature debut with Golden Delicious, which played 62 festivals.

The list brings together producers with festival-circuit credits and cross-border experience. That makes the program useful as an early meeting point, rather than a finished partnership.

What does the Adelaide Film Festival connection bring?

Two Australians, Lisa Scott and Rae Choi, will join through the market’s tie-up with the Adelaide Film Festival (AFF). Scott’s credits include The Tourist, made with U.K. company Two Brothers Pictures, as well as Pine Gap, Wolf Creek and Janet King.

Choi, founder of Limina Pictures, produced Canneseries selection Ina. She is working with Robert Connolly on his upcoming feature Shiver.

Mat Kesting, AFF’s CEO and creative director, said the tie-up offers Australian producers a focused way to build ties with Indonesian filmmakers and companies from the earliest stages of a project.

“We hope these exchanges lead to films shaped by both countries’ creative perspectives, with partners who can help them reach audiences across Australia, Indonesia and the wider region,” he said.

What do participants receive?

Each selected producer receives four nights’ lodging in Yogyakarta, market accreditation, entry to networking events and screenings, and exposure on JAFF Market’s official platforms.

JAFF was founded in 2006. This year’s festival runs Nov. 28-Dec. 5. Gozali’s measure is straightforward: joint development, financing, access to audiences and partnerships that continue after the market closes. Those are the results to watch once the festival ends Dec. 5.