Photocopier, one of the most highly-anticipated upcoming Indonesian films, will be streamed on Netflix early next year.
Netflix, through its official social media accounts in Indonesia, announced that the debut feature film from director Wregas Bhanuteja will be available on the platform starting Jan. 13, 2022.
BREAKING NEWS: FILM PENYALIN CAHAYA, BAKAL TAYANG 13 JANUARI 2022 DI NETFLIX!
— Netflix Indonesia (@NetflixID) November 8, 2021
Iya, film yang dapet 17 nominasi di Festival Film Indonesia 2021 ini bakal jadi original Netflix berikutnya yang bisa kamu tonton tahun depan 🙌 pic.twitter.com/yScocBD2Ag
Produced by Kaninga Pictures and Rekata Studio, a digital media company of Kompas Gramedia Group, Photocopier is written and directed by Wregas. Through this film, the filmmaker will center on the injustices that survivors of sexual violence and harassment face in Indonesia.
With the Indonesian title of Penyalin Cahaya, the film had its international premiere at the prestigious Busan International Film Festival last month, competing under the New Currents section along with 10 films from nine other countries for the New Currents Award, New Currents Audience Award, NETPAC Award, dan FIPRESCI Award.
The film dominated the Indonesian Film Festival (FFI) with 17 nominations, including best director, best original screenplay for Wregas and Henricus Pria, best actor for Chicco Kurniawan, best actress for Shenina Cinnamon, and best picture. The awarding ceremony will be held on Wednesday evening.
Photocopier tells the story of Sur (Shenina Cinnamon), who lost her scholarship after her drunk selfie circulated online, for which she was accused of bringing disgrace to her faculty. However, Sur had no recollection of the previous night’s events, as she blacked out when attending a college party.
She then asked for help from her childhood friend Amin (Chicco Kurniawan), a photocopier who lives and works at the campus, to find out what actually happened to her that night at the party. The film also stars young up-and-coming Indonesian actors such as Lutesha, Dea Panendra, Jerome Kurnia, and Giulio Parengkuan while also featuring senior actors Lukman Sardi and Ruth Marini.
Hailing from Yogyakarta, 28-year-old Wregas isn’t a new name in the indie film circuit. He gained recognition in local and international film festivals through his short films, such as Lemantun (2014) and Prenjak or In The Year of Monkey (2016), the latter of which won Best Short Film in the Cannes Film Festival’s Semaine de la Critique program in 2016. The victory meant he became the first (and so far only) Indonesian to win an award in the prestigious festival.
More recently, Wregas helmed the short film No One is Crazy in This Town (2019), which was adapted from author Eka Kurniawan’s short story of the same name. The short had its world premiere and competed at BIFF 2019 as well as the 2020 Sundance Film Festival.
