Julian Rosefeldt’s “Euphoria” will open Balinale‘s 19th edition, with Joshua Oppenheimer’s “The End” closing the program.
The festival is adding a new competitive category: Best Indonesian Short Tapestry of Indonesia, dedicated to local short-form storytelling.
Indonesia’s only Academy Award qualifying festival presents 94 films from 38 countries. The narrative feature competition brings together four titles: Mohamed Zran’s Tunisian drama “Mon Ami,” Morad Mostafa’s Egyptian film “Aisha Can’t Fly Away,” South Korean entry “Death Drive” from Park Eolgul, and German director Mascha Schilinski’s “Sound of Falling.”
The documentary feature competition includes Dmytro Hreshko’s “Divia,” a co-production between Poland, Ukraine, and the Netherlands; Leigh-Ann Beverley’s U.S.-produced “The Madness of Moonlight”; and two Spanish entries, “The Rain Won’t Let Us Fly” by Ignacio Marín and Rubén Díez, and Gonzalo Hergueta’s “The Designer Is Dead.”
The short narrative section features eight films, including “Psychopomp” from “Game of Thrones” actor Kit Harington and Amir Zaza’s Netherlands-produced “Close Your Eyes Hind.” Adnan Al Rajeev’s “Ali” is a Bangladesh-Philippines co-production, while Ugnė Skonsmanaitė’s “Jasmine. Home. Mother.” spans Lithuania, the U.K., and the U.S. Rounding out the section are Dian Weys’ France-South Africa co-production “Vultures,” Bálint Kenyeres’ “The Spectacle” from France and Hungary, U.K. co-directors Kat Butterfield and Daniel Audritt’s “Life Goes On,” and South Korean entry “Lip Balm” from An Kwangsik.
The short documentary competition features Oppenheimer’s “The Revolution Against Death” alongside Andreas Grützner’s German film “Actually, I Didn’t Want to Stay Long,” Pawel Chorzepa’s Polish entry “The Tuners,” and U.K. co-directors Alexander Kiehl and Misha Novak’s “Grappling Grace.”
The short animation section includes “The Magician,” a Croatia-France-Romania co-production from Bogdan Muresanu; Thomas Villepoux’s Belgium-France entry “Jailbirds”; Chilean director Daniel Lobos’ “Lifetime Warranty”; Daniel Kreizberg’s “Anyone Lived in a Pretty How Town,” produced across Lithuania, Monaco, and the U.S.; South Korean entry “White Hare” from Jee Inkyu; and French collective effort “Chère Fin,” directed by Khéma Cousin, Lien Franckel, Laora Le Boursicot, Alissende Masson, Joséphine Mournier, and Clément Saden.
The Best Short Film prize, which carries Academy Award qualifying status, will be drawn from winners across the short narrative, short documentary, and short animation sections. Oppenheimer also directs the multinational closing night selection “The End,” originating from Denmark, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the U.K., Sweden, and the U.S.
A 10-member jury will adjudicate the competition. Indonesian representatives include filmmaker, producer, and screenwriter Yosep Anggi Noen, filmmaker, cinematographer, and lecturer I Made Denny Chrisna Putra, actor Marcella Zalianty, actor-singer Annissa Nurul Shanty Kusuma Wardhani Heryadie, and filmmaker and producer Nirartha Bas Diwangkara. International jurors include New Zealand filmmaker Joseph J.U. Taylor, Italian network executive Denise Castelli, U.S. documentary filmmaker Eros Zhao, Australian documentarian Richard Todd, and Australian researcher David Hanan. Donna Smith and Dr. Lawrence Blair serve as jury advisors.
Institutional backing comes from Indonesia’s Ministry of Culture, Dana Indonesiana, and the LPDP education endowment fund. The industry platform Bali Film Forum runs alongside the main program, and a community strand, Cinema by the Sea, is also on offer.
Founded in 2007 by the Bali Film Center, the 19th edition runs June 1–7 in Sanur.
