Reza Rahadian Turns His Grandmother's 32-Year Exile Into Busan Drama 'Casparina'

A journalist stripped of her Indonesian citizenship in 1965 returns home decades later to children who grew up without her in "Casparina," the second feature from actor-director Reza Rahadian, presented at the Asian Project Market within the Busan International Film Festival's Asian Contents & Film Market (ACFM).

The film draws on the life of Rahadian's grandmother, Francisca Casparina Fanggidaej, whose opposition to the regime that took power in 1965 cost her citizenship — and separated her from her children for 32 years.

What is the story?

The protagonist, Rina, is driven into exile for opposing the government. Thirty-four years later, a letter tells her the old regime has collapsed and she is free to come home. Torn, she returns to her children Andi and Lila, now grown and settled into lives that never included her.

As mother and children work through years of hurt and resentment, they slowly find their way back to each other and come to understand what she gave up for her country and her family.

Why did Rahadian make it?

Rahadian said he was drawn to a story of motherhood told through children whose mother was missing from their lives, set in a moment when a person's citizenship could be taken away suddenly, by force and without warning. The separation kept his grandmother and her children apart for 32 years.

"This is for me a very important story," he said.

He hopes viewers come away understanding that hard choices carry a price, and that they are sometimes driven by forces a person cannot see. He also wants audiences to grasp, in his words, "what it means to be a mother that is absent for 32 years" — and what it meant for her children to be unable to say openly who their mother was, because doing so could have put their lives at risk.

What happened to the real Casparina?

Producers Arya Ibrahim and Gita Fara place the project within the political upheaval of 1965, which tore families apart and left people who lost their citizenship living as exiles.

According to the producers, Casparina was in Beijing representing Indonesia at an international forum when her citizenship was revoked over her opposition to the new regime. She left six children behind and spent 32 years in exile:

• First in Beijing
• Later in the Netherlands
• Then, finally, the family reconnected

For the producers, stories like hers explain much about Indonesian history and identity. They call Casparina "a victim of an era" and see the film as a reminder not to repeat the same mistakes.

A director with Busan form

Rahadian's first feature as director, "On Your Lap," won four prizes at the Busan festival's Vision awards in 2025, including the audience award and the Fipresci award.

"Casparina" is in the early stages of scriptwriting. In Busan, the producers aim to meet potential partners and collaborators, film funds and co-production opportunities — a first step toward bringing a 32-year family separation back to Indonesian screens.