The screening of A DISTORTED INDIVIDUAL. (Adythia Utama, 2025) was held for the first time on 22 November 2025 at Langgeng Art Foundation. The film is competing alongside three other nominees in Indonesia Feature-Length Competition Festival Film Dokumenter 2025. After the screening, the audience was invited to join a Q&A session with director Adythia Utama. The Q&A session was led by Vanis as the moderator.
The session opened with a question about the experience of presenting the film outside of the director’s usual scene. Adythia responded that it was an exciting moment, noting that the atmosphere felt engaging rather than flat. Vanis continued the conversation by asking about Adythia’s dual position as filmmaker and the persona, Individual Distortion, questioning how the two roles shift or merge. Adythia explained that the two figures are essentially one person, with Individual Distortion representing a more confident and energetic version of himself. While he described himself as someone who is not naturally confident, inhabiting the persona allowed him to move boldly, “If I’m Individual Distortion, I just push myself to be confident,” he stated.
The moderator highlighted that the film reveals ambition as fuel throughout Adythia’s journey, whether making pizza or pursuing the AMI Awards, framing a personal story through a raw approach. Adythia shared that the film emerged during a quiet period in 2023 when work slowed down, prompting him to make a film that felt close to home, which was music and himself. What began as joking motivation with his friends turned into the foundation of the film.
When asked whether the filmmaking process included alternative scenarios depending on being nominated or not at AMI, Adythia replied that both outcomes were prepared, “I believed 80% that I would get in, and 20% that I wouldn’t.” The results, however, were unpredictable, insinuating that the documentary can’t be predicted. The ending was ultimately improvised, filmed while he was traveling in Italy and performing at Pestapora.
An audience member commented on the entertaining tone of the film, asking whether the humorous criticism toward AMI was intentional. Adythia explained that while one friend interviewed in the film was actively criticizing AMI and pointing on the argument that AMI was rigged, however the process revealed that being nominated for AMI was not easy. He added that although the intention was to make a critical film, the result became more like self-critique for him.
The Q&A session also explored technical and stylistic decisions, including the film’s black-and-white visual approach. Adythia noted inspiration from 1990s black-and-white films and mentioned that color grading would be simpler, while also referencing a philosophical aspect that the monochrome tone allows audiences to evaluate what they perceive as true or false within his persona.
Additional questions from the audience asked about what was the best pizza he ate in Naples, Italy, referencing the iconic L’Antica Pizzeria da Michele seen in the film Eat Pray Love (Ryan Murphy, 2010), and about the connection between artistic identities and everyday pleasures. Adythia remarked that while music is important, pizza remains the ultimate source of joy for him, “If I’m going to fail, at least I can still eat pizza,” he playfully joked.
Closing the session, Vanis asked whether Adythia feels more comfortable opening FL Studio or Adobe Premiere, referencing his role as a musician or filmmaker. Adythia responded that he enjoys filmmaking and joked that even if he cannot win AMI, perhaps he can make it to FFI, “But if not, at least I made it to FFD.” He thanked the audience for attending with a closing statement, “If Hindia said to find your voice, perhaps I can ask us to find our recordings for your voice, I ask for your recordings.”
The second screening of A DISTORTED INDIVIDUAL. will be held on November 25, 2025, at Pascasarjana ISI Yogyakarta. Book your ticket at ffd.or.id. (Sarahdiva Rinaldy, 22/11/2025 [Ed/Trans. Vanis])
