‘Sundance Film Festival: Asia’ returns for in-person festival

Sundance Film Festival: Asia, presented by the Sundance Institute and XRM Media, has announced the return of the 2022 edition of the Festival on Thursday 25^th – Sunday 28^th August, 2022 in Jakarta, Indonesia with support from IDN Media.

The Festival will take place in person and include film screenings and panels catered to Indonesian audiences and additional events to enhance the experience, all to be announced in the summer.

“We’re thrilled to be able to continue working with XRM Media to present the Festival in person this year in Jakarta. It is a powerful  opportunity to share new independent films we love with engaged audiences in Indonesia,” said Tabitha Jackson, festival director of the Sundance Film Festival.

William Utomo, COO, IDN Media, stated that: “We are very excited to work together to create the in-person festival experience and continue to serve the best interest of movie lovers in Indonesia. We hope that the Sundance platform can continue to push the movie industry forward.”

“Beyond our Festival in January, we strive throughout the year to find more emerging filmmakers around the world working in the short film form,” said Mike Plante, senior programmer for short films. “Last year our short film competition was a fantastic success. We loved the submissions, showcased ten of them in Sundance Asia and were thrilled to have two of them in our Festival last January. Really excited to see more this year.”

To continue the support of Indonesian filmmakers, the Festival will again hold the Sundance Film Festival: Asia Short Film Competition, sponsored by Argo. Filmmakers can submit short films across any genre or theme that have been completed on or after 1 January, 2020, with a duration between 3 to 20 minutes. Submissions are now open through 31 May, 2022 to Indonesian citizens living domestically or abroad, 18 years or older.

A jury of representatives from the Sundance Institute, IDN Pictures, and Argo will curate a program of short films from among the competition submissions. The jury will also select a Jury Award winner, which will receive a $2000 USD cash prize sponsored by Argo. The jury includes:

• Kim Yutani, Director of Programming, Sundance Film Festival
• Heidi Zwicker, Senior Programmer, Sundance Film Festival
• Mike Plante, Senior Programmer, Short Film, Sundance Film Festival
• Susanti Dewi, Head of IDN Pictures
• Amanda Salazar, Head of Programming and Acquisitions, Argo

Official selected shorts will be screened on Argo at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival: Asia in August and offered worldwide digital distribution on the platform post-festival. These films will also be automatically submitted for consideration in the 2023 Sundance Film Festival.