Netflix is ramping up its funding in Southeast Asian storytelling with a complete slate of trade initiatives unveiled at Indonesia’s Jogja-Netpac Asian Movie Competition, together with a two-year partnership with the Indonesian Producers Affiliation (APROFI) and the debut of its Artistic Asia program within the area.
The streaming large’s expanded collaboration with JAFF, timed to the competition’s twentieth anniversary, indicators a long-term dedication to nurturing native expertise and manufacturing infrastructure throughout Southeast Asia, the place Netflix content material is experiencing explosive progress. World view hours of Southeast Asian titles surged practically 50% from 2023 to 2024, with greater than 40 regional titles charting in Netflix’s World Prime 10 in 2025 alone.
“Even because the streaming world has modified, our help for this area has stayed constant — and proudly native,” stated Malobika Banerji, senior director of content material for Southeast Asia at Netflix. “Our dedication isn’t simply to the creators already within the highlight. We care simply as deeply about those that are nonetheless discovering their voice — the following era of filmmakers, storytellers, and crew who will form the way forward for this area.”
Netflix and APROFI formalized a two-year memorandum of understanding aimed toward strengthening Indonesia’s manufacturing ecosystem. The partnership will fund workshops for above- and below-the-line expertise, present on-the-job coaching alternatives on Netflix initiatives, and foster trade dialogue. As a part of the collaboration, the companions launched Indonesia’s first nationwide guidebook on manufacturing security, designed to assist productions function extra safely and sustainably.
Irene Umar, Indonesia’s vice minister of inventive economic system, welcomed the initiative on the signing ceremony. “The Indonesian movie trade is a major engine of our economic system. Netflix has performed a serious function within the international movie and tv ecosystem, and I actually respect its contribution to Indonesia,” Umar stated. “Our gotong-royong (group pushed) strategy means in-depth collaboration throughout stakeholders — and right here we see the clearest proof of it with the movie trade, associations, and key gamers like Netflix and APROFI coming collectively. I consider this MoU marks the start of a long-term partnership.”
Netflix partnered with JAFF to convey Artistic Asia to Southeast Asia for the primary time, following this system’s 2024 debut at Busan Worldwide Movie Competition. The initiative connects rising filmmakers with established creators together with Joko Anwar, Erik Matti, Kimo Stamboel, Kulp Kaljareuk, Carlo Ledesma and Indonesian creator Dee Lestari.
“I’m honored that JAFF is the following movie competition to host Artistic Asia, after its inaugural launch at BIFF in 2024,” stated Ifa Isfansyah, JAFF founder and govt director. “What’s actually significant is that Netflix, BIFF, and JAFF all share a standard imaginative and prescient: to nurture Asian cinema as a mirrored image of the dynamic and vibrant societies in our area.”
Programming included a creator dialog between Anwar (“Nightmares and Daydreams”) and Matti (“BuyBust”) on navigating inventive danger and cultural specificity, plus a panel on Southeast Asia’s rising zombie style that includes Kaljareuk (“Ziam”), Ledesma (“Exterior”) and Stamboel (“The Elixir”). The latter title just lately ranked No. 1 amongst non-English movies globally for 2 consecutive weeks and entered the Prime 10 in 75 nations.
Netflix hosted the second season of Reel Life Movie Camp at JAFF, following a profitable inaugural version final yr. The sensible coaching initiative, supported by the Netflix Fund for Artistic Fairness, acquired greater than 800 functions throughout each seasons and hosted practically 100 individuals in intensive on-line, in-person and on-the-job coaching overlaying manufacturing, post-production, visible results, modifying and screenwriting. The streamer additionally launched a unit nonetheless images workshop designed to assist native photographers transition into new inventive roles, and ran a second season of its Screenwriters Fellowship in collaboration with Soda Machine Movies.
Netflix supplied a primary take a look at its Southeast Asian pipeline, together with behind-the-scenes footage from the extremely anticipated remake of Thailand’s interval drama “Ploeng Phra Nang.” Matti confirmed his upcoming Filipino sequence “BuyBust: The Undesirables” will stream subsequent yr.
In a serious literary adaptation announcement, Netflix will companion with celebrated Indonesian creator Dee Lestari to adapt three of her best-selling novels — “Rapi Jali,” “Aroma Karsa” and “Perahu Kertas” — into authentic sequence. The initiatives shall be helmed by feminine filmmakers, with Sabrina Rochelle directing “Rapi Jali” and Kamila Andini tackling “Aroma Karsa.”
The competition additionally hosted the world premiere of “Lupa Daratan” (Misplaced within the Highlight), an Indonesian comedy from writer-comedian Ernest Prakasa about an award-winning actor who loses his means to behave simply as he’s solid to play the president of Indonesia.
To this point, greater than 100 Southeast Asian titles have appeared in Netflix’s World Prime 10, with regional content material rating within the Prime 10 lists of over 80 nations this yr.
