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Film Review
It Is Not So Much That the Artifacts Are Mute, as That We Are Deaf
Huaqueo is a practice of gravedigging to obtain pre-Columbian artifacts. The people who practice are…
Directing Film, Directing Life
I am 25, a woman still navigating my own “film”: messy, uncertain, full of detours,…
Cleanliness is Part of Faith, They Say
“Cleanliness is part of faith.” That dogmatic proverb has long been internalised into the bodies…
The Sound from Migrant Workers in the Park
A couple sits across from each other in a park. They share questions and stories…
Tracing Memory through the Things in a Room
A while ago, I found myself in my rented room, repacking my belongings and preparing…
To the Inevitable Death, I Love You
The tight grip of two elderly couples reading a book loosens as they turn the…
Highlight
A Black-and-White Film about the Colorful Life of Individual Distortion
The screening of A DISTORTED INDIVIDUAL. (Adythia Utama, 2025) was held for the first time…
Challenging a Single Historical Narrative through Archives and Art
On a bright afternoon, Cemeti–Institute for Art and Society–grew ever more alive with visitors. On…
Photography, Cinema, and the Liminal Space Between Them
DOC Talk’s session, “Foto: Ruang-Waktu Sinema” (lit. Photo: Cinema Space-Time), held at Langgeng Art Foundation…
The Grand Transversal Process of La Casa Grande
On 24 November 2025, the screening of Short Competition was held at Kedai Kebun Forum,…
Outreach Activities of filmdokumenter.id: Bridging Education and Documentary Films
In the first quarter of 2025, Forum Film Dokumenter Database Program team organized a series…
Festival Strategy, Curatorial Work, and Their Interplay
The Curatorship & Context: Strategy of Festival & Networking panel session was held at Pascasarjana…
Index
Thiiird (2023): Rediscovering Optimism in the Midst of Gloom
Read articleFouad Mahouly is busy repairing broken cars in his shabby car repair shop. In the midst of the dirty, crumbling, rubble shop, he continues to welcome his guests with the…
Loneliness (2023): Befriending the Loneliness
Read article“When we enter the theater and are willing to give up our bodies and all our senses to absorb and be absorbed (reciprocally), we are then immersed in a cinematic…
Yang Kelak Akan Retak (2023): The Remnants of War
Read articleThe importance of remembrance is the key talking point of Yang Kelak Akan Retak (Dito Yuwono, 2023) as we visually revisit certain remnants of war scattered around Java. The focus…
All the Things You Leave Behind (2022): Thailand’s Afterimage in the Vietnam War
Read articleHistory is a new chapter of human life. It is what shapes the course of life and the way we see the world, and war is one of the factors…
All my Scars Vanish in the Wind (2022): Finding Peace within an Agonizing Memory
Read articleContent warning: The film in this review contains material that may be triggering. Viewer discretion advised. There is always a way to rearrange memories. It is a way to sort…
Terra Incognita (2022): Interpret Me However You Want
Read articleWelcome to Terra Incognita (Timoteus Anggawan Kusno, 2022). Enjoy this short ride through space and time where nothing is out of your bounds. This film will take you not here…
Gulabi Gang (2012): Cracked Mirror of the Sorrowful Truths
Read articleIf the iconic film Mean Girls once told us to wear pink on Wednesdays, Gulabi Gang (Nishtha Jain, 2012) has a far deeper and more meaningful message to share. Gulabi…
Yarokamena (2022): A Bloody Binocular
Read articleContent warning: This review contains material that may be triggering. Reader discretion advised. Not only the eye, the camera in Yarokamena (Andrés Jurado, 2022) also function as the ears. Gerardo…
Shanghai Quarantopia (2023): Desperation in the Impermanent Dystopia
Read articleQuarantine is a long, sleepless, waiting game for Clarissa Zhang in Shanghai Quarantopia (2023). The days that followed after March 28, 2022 are vacant of cheerful smiles and small topics…
three sparks (2023): A Heartfelt View of Village Life in Albania’s Heartlands
Read articleIn three parts, three sparks (Naomi Uman, 2023) presents an outsider’s look into rural Albanian life. A bold and brilliant look into village life, it can be seen as an…
Landshaft (2023): The Wandering Man in the Landscape of Conflict
Read articleIf there were words to describe the nuance of traveling through Armenia and Azerbaijan, it would be somberly majestic. The vast mountains and dry plains are the main stage of…
Hours of Ours (2023): To Find A Home
Read articleIn his latest documentary, Hours of Ours (Komtouch Napattaloong, 2023), trying to convey the meaning of “home” became Napattaloong’s mission to solve. He gave the viewers an intimate glimpse into…
Zona Norte (2022): Even If There’s A Will, There’s No Way
Read article“Maybe I’m going to die. I don’t know.” Anthony was lying unconscious on a sidewalk in Tijuana, a city located near the Mexican-American border, after three days of non-stop heroin…
Student Competition FFD 2023: Those Who Hold on to Temporariness
Read articleChange is the only constant in life. Some are perpetual like the seasons, but some are dynamic, allowing new circumstances to present themselves. This series of documentaries in the Student…
Songs of Souls (2023): A Celebration of Culture, A Condemnation of Conflict
Read articleConsidering the current state of the world, social media is crowded with scenes reminding us of the unhuman and unruly atrocities that are caused by acts of war. The death…
