Emergency Broadcast: Engaging with the World’s Thruths Through Cinema
A different kind of emergency broadcast will be heard in Jakarta—not through radio or television, but from Teater Asrul Sani, Taman Ismail Marzuki. On Saturday, October 25, 2025, from 4:00 to 6:00 PM (WIB), Emergency Broadcast will screen six films from Indonesia, Iran, Myanmar, Canada, and Austria that reignite conversations on freedom, justice, and humanity.
A new program from Jakarta Film Week 2025, Emergency Broadcast offers an experimental space where cinema becomes more than just something to watch—it becomes a call to speak, to reflect on life as it has unfolded, as it continues to unfold, and as it remains embedded in our memory, culture, and shared spaces.
This program marks a new direction for Jakarta Film Week, the annual international film festival organized by the Jakarta Tourism and Creative Economy Department. Entering its fifth edition, the festival expands its meaning—from a place to watch films into a space for learning, dialogue, and uncovering what often lies hidden beneath the everyday.
Films Featured in Emergency Broadcast
Each film in this program stems from complex social and political realities. From Indonesia come three films that trace the ties between people, history, and land: Tutaha Subang (2024) by Wulan Putri, Geger Perikoloso (2024) by Indigo Gabriel Zulkarnain, and Memories from Fire’s Chaos (2025) by Eko Fitri Yulyanto. These films speak of wounds that remain unhealed—from the memory of the 1998 riots to the struggles to protect ancestral lands and the sacredness of nature and tradition.
In Iran and Myanmar, the calm of daily life can collapse in an instant under conflict and repression. The Steak (2023) by Kiarash Dadgar and Metamorphosis (2025) by Lin Htet Aung depict how a child’s birthday can be shattered by war, or how television broadcasts can be turned into tools of state propaganda.
Meanwhile, Caught in 4K (2025) by Adriana Mrnjavac from Austria explores a quieter kind of violence—the digital kind. It sheds light on the threat of cybergrooming, a form of abuse that robs children of their innocence and begins in virtual spaces before spilling into the real world.
“Emergency Broadcast is not merely a series of films about tragedy, but about how humans respond to violence and loss—by surviving, remembering, and speaking out again,”
said Novi Hanabi, Program Manager of Jakarta Film Week 2025.
Raslene, Programmer of Jakarta Film Week 2025, added that the curation emerged from the need to perceive interconnections between different realities.
“We wanted to showcase films that spark resonance across borders, because what happens in one place often reflects similar struggles elsewhere—just in different forms.”
Post-Screening Discussion
The broadcast does not end in the darkness of the screening room. After the six films are shown, the audience will be invited to a dialogue with writer Dea Anugrah, filmmakers Wulan Putri and Indigo Gabriel, and Ronna Nirmala, Managing Editor of Project Multatuli. The discussion will explore how filmmakers and journalists approach sensitive issues ethically—portraying harsh realities without losing empathy—and how they bridge personal experience with collective awareness.
From Jakarta, We Listen to the World
This year, Jakarta Film Week presents a renewed face: a festival that not only takes place on cinema screens but also resonates in public spaces—turning film into a spark for conversations about everyday life, politics, and humanity. From homes torn apart to digital spaces where children lose their innocence, Emergency Broadcast reveals how human experiences across the world are deeply connected and echo one another.
Two films from the festival’s main program carry this same spirit. The Life That Remains (2024) by Dorra Zarroukreflects on post-conflict life and the human effort to rebuild meaning after loss. The Voice of Hind Rajab (2024) by Kaouther Ben Hania documents a child’s testimony amid genocide—a symbol of both pain and resilience under violence. Both films illustrate how injustices in different places share the same human roots.
Jakarta Film Week 2025 will take place from October 22–26, 2025, across several venues: CGV Grand Indonesia, CGV FX Sudirman, Taman Ismail Marzuki, Hotel Mercure Cikini, Galeri Indonesia Kaya, and online via VIDIO.
In addition to Emergency Broadcast, the festival will present a wide range of international films and programs through JFWNET – Industry Program, which brings together film professionals through workshops, labs, masterclasses, talks, and a pitching forum.
Tickets will be available starting October 13, 2025, via TIX ID or directly at the venues.
For more information, visit the official social media channels @jakartafilmweek.
Arga Arifwangsa | Asia Khairunnisa Luthan
