While they’re among our closest neighbours, the cinema of Indonesia doesn’t get a whole lot of attention in Australia, save for the martial arts carnage of The Raid and its recent sequel. Yet there’s a lot more to the Asian archipelago’s movie industry than broken limbs and severed tendons, as is demonstrated by the program at this year’s Indonesian Film Festival.
Although unable to rival other national film fests in terms of size, the IFF aims to showcase the diversity of Indonesia’s national cinema through a selection of films across a variety of genres. Amongst the most intriguing entries on the 2014 program are Something in the Way, a drama about a devout Muslim taxi driver who falls in love with a prostitute, and What They Don’t Talk About When They Talk About Love, a coming-of-age story set in a school for the blind.
The festival will also welcome several filmmakers, producers and actors as guests, with many screenings being followed by audience Q&As.
For the full IFF program, visit www.iffaustralia.com