IF/Then Heads to Jakarta

Earlier this week, TFI was in Jakarta for our Southeast Asia edition of our IF/Then Shorts documentary program, made possible by our exceptional partners In Docs and Bekraf. The event started with two full days of a story development lab. 16 film teams from four countries were treated to small group workshops and masterclasses by industry experts, including “Creative Producing” by veteran producer Gary Kam, “How to Work with Al Jazeera” by Aloke Devichand, “Editing and Story Development” by Berlin based filmmaker Sebastian Winkles and “How to Work with POV” by John MacFarlane.

The final day’s pitch event was a full day affair with each of the 16 projects pitching their films. Of the 16, 10 projects were selected to move forward with a USD $500 grant to develop their stories further, and to return to the IF/Then Shorts Forum and final pitch competition in Bali at Docs By The Sea this August. One project was also selected to attend Sheffield Doc Fest this June (sponsored by the British Council) and one other project was awarded a USD $100 cash prize for the “Most Improved Pitch.”

The finalists are…

HOW FAR I’LL GO (Indonesia)
Director & Producer: Ucu Agustin
Co-Producer: Dian Raisha

BULLET-LACED DREAMS (The Philippines)
Director: Cha Escala & Kristoffer Brugada

DIARY OF CATTLE (Indonesia)
Director & Producer: David Darmadi & Lidia K. Afrilita
NOTE: Lidia was also selected to attend Sheffield Doc Fest, supported by the British Council

SONGBIRDS OF ACEH (Malaysia)
Director & Producer: Aminda Faradilla
Producer: Jean Chang

TOUCH THE COLOR (The Philippines)
Director: Baby Ruth Villarama
Producer: Carlo Joel Gutierrez

HOME (Indonesia)
Director: Arunaya Gondhowiardjo
Producer: Firman Widyasmara

SWALLOWS TRAPPED IN TWILIGHT (Thailand)
Director & Producer: Komtouch Napattaloong
Producer: Nontawat Numbenchapol

DANCING QUEEN (Thailand)
Director: Watcharee Rattanakree
Producer: Abhichon Rattanapayon

THE OTHER HALF (Indonesia)
Director: Wahyu Utami Wati
Producer: Damar Ardi

THE LEGEND OF THE FISH (The Philippines)
Director: Venice Atienza

Special prize for “Most Improved Pitch”
THE ACT OF FORGIVING (Indonesia)
Director: Kurnia Yudha Fitranto & Teguh Hari
Producer: Amerta Kusuma

These 10 films will go on to compete for the coveted prizes of the IF/Then Shorts pitch competition:

A total cash prize of IDR 400,000,000 for 4 projects to be used for the completion of the films and an opportunity to participate in Tribeca Film Institute’s year-long distribution initiative.

Full funding of 1 project by Al Jazeera English for broadcast on Witness, the channel’s flagship character-driven doc strand, and an opportunity to participate in Tribeca Film Institute’s year-long distribution initiative.

Huge thanks to our partners and industry experts that helped make this event a success and congratulations to all of the participants!

We’ll keep you posted on the big winners in Bali this August!

Colleen Hammond – Tribeca Film Institute Blog