Jakarta-based Matta Cinema Productions is shopping for six projects at Busan’s Asian Content & Film Market, with budgets ranging from $440,000 to $1.1 million and production timelines growing until 2028.
The company has announced its lineup at ACFM’s Happy Hour event with the banner “True Indonesian Stories: From Local Roots to Global Screen,” and is seeking international collaboration while maintaining CEO and producer Nugroho Dewanto as a 80% focus on Indonesian audiences.
The highlight of Slate is a trilogy of crime dramas, developed in collaboration with Tempo Media Group, Indonesia’s largest research media organization, founded in 1971. The three films adapted substantial cases from Tempo’s criminal investigation, each in collaboration with PALACIDIARY PICTURES, TEMPO’s vice president, 2026-2028.
“The Door of Kanjulhan” dramatically depicts the tragedy of Maran’s Kanjulhan Stadium soccer, which killed 131 people due to the development of tear gas. The summary describes the dream night of a young family in a soccer derby that turns into a nightmare as tear gas and locked gates trigger a deadly stadium stampede.
“The Longest Night” is based on a university bullying case that led to the death of a medical student in the semaran, following a young anesthesiology resident trapped in a brutal culture of bullying who rises from suicide attempts to fight back with evidence.
“The Village of Hopes” tackles Indonesia’s nationwide online gambling crisis through the story of the lives of three in a struggling village.
Arrived early in production is “My own last evening up,” an adaptation of the award-winning novel that will enter production on a budget of $480,000 in November. The film follows the 76-year-old widow, and presents hidden memoirs of love, loss and history before assembles the children for their final dinner and choosing the sea to reunite with his late wife. The film will be directed by a previous feature, “Sara,” which premiered the world in Busan in 2023.
Two additional projects are being developed with Luang Basbeth Berserita, led by Liza Angaraheni, who won the Taika Prize for the Pusan Asian Film School Pitching Project last year. Written by the late Gertan Zilhoff, a former programmer at the International Film Festival Rotter Dam, the Last Resort carries the highest slate budget for $1.2 million. The film follows a Japanese single mother and builds an illegal “suicide tourism” business on a remote Indonesian island to help its daughter live a better life.
“Unforgettable Flavor” is inspired by Mustika Rasa, a 1965 recipe book launched by Indonesia’s first president, Sukarno, and has a budget of $720,000. The story follows a modern young officer assigned to lead the Cookbook project, traveling across Indonesia to maintain the spirit of cooking, navigating the fragile love tested by the 1965 storm.
Matta Cinema Production, Tempo Media Group and Ruang Basbeth Bercerita are on display in Pavilion Jakarta, hosted by the Jakarta Government and Indonesia’s Ministry of Education.
