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🇮🇩 Indonesia /Culture & Society

Film Laut Bercerita Enters the Main Competition at Busan 2026

From Republika · () Indonesian

Translated from Indonesian and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Named sources New plan
  • Indonesian director Yosep Anggi Noen’s film Laut Bercerita will compete in the main program of the Busan International Film Festival from Oct. 6 to 15, 2026.
  • The festival in Busan, South Korea, will host the film’s world premiere and introduce its story to Asian and international audiences.
  • Producer Gita Fara and Noen said the selection could broaden discussion of Indonesian cinema and its global relevance.

Laut Bercerita will make its world premiere in the main competition at the 2026 Busan International Film Festival, placing Yosep Anggi Noen’s film alongside international entries seeking the festival’s top award.

The festival will run from Oct. 6 to 15 in Busan, South Korea. Producer Gita Fara said Busan offered the right platform for the film’s first audience, particularly because it reaches viewers of Asian cinema as well as an international audience.

Busan International Film Festival is the right platform for the first audience to see this film. It is a film that tells a story about Indonesia, watched by Asian and international cinema audiences. We hope its screening in Busan can also spark a broader conversation across Asia about why this story is important to tell.

— Gita FaraThe producer described the festival as the ideal venue for the film’s world premiere.

“Busan International Film Festival is the right platform for the first audience to see this film,” Fara said. “It is a film that tells a story about Indonesia, watched by Asian and international cinema audiences. We hope its screening in Busan can also spark a broader conversation across Asia about why this story is important to tell.”

Being in the main competition, Laut Bercerita carries a story that needs to be told to the world. Nineteen years ago, at the beginning of my film career, I attended an introductory film workshop in Busan, and now I am very happy to return to Busan with this film.

— Yosep Anggi NoenThe director discussed the film’s selection and his personal return to Busan.

For Noen, the selection brings him back to Busan 19 years after he attended an introductory film workshop there at the beginning of his career. He described the festival as an important event for Asian and global cinema.

“Being in the main competition, Laut Bercerita carries a story that needs to be told to the world,” Noen said. He added that the growing international attention given to Indonesian films at Busan showed that stories from the country could connect with audiences worldwide and stand alongside films of global stature.

Indonesian films are now being seen around the world, proof that stories from Indonesia have global relevance. At the same time, their quality is improving because they can stand alongside world-class films.

— Yosep Anggi NoenHe linked the selection to the growing international profile of Indonesian cinema.
About this summary

Originally published by Republika in Indonesian. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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