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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,…
Festival Strategy, Curatorial Work, and Their Interplay
The Curatorship & Context: Strategy of Festival & Networking panel session was held at Pascasarjana…
Teka-teki Sinema Film Programming Workshop 2025 Has Been Conducted
The first edition of Teka-teki Sinema film programming workshop has officially wrapped up. The workshop…
Index
Frames from Bucha’s Suburbia
Read articleThe Bucha massacre, committed by Russian forces who occupied the area in February 2022, and the subsequent withdrawal of Putin’s troops along with the liberation of Kyiv’s outskirts unfolded in…
On Behalf of Women, A Massive Thank You (to) Devi
Read articleIn the first 2 minutes, the silence begins to crack, awakened by Devi’s calm yet trembling voice like a whisper from a wound that refuses to be forgotten, “For years…
A Day at Balane 3
Read articleJust like the title of this review, BALANE 3 (Ico Costa, 2025) invites us to experience Balane 3, a settlement in Inhambane, a town in southern Mozambique. Watching this film…
There’s No Ceremony Today
Read article“Ritual without reverence is empty.” In The Analects, Confucius says that without humanity, rituals are nothing but empty shells. The spirit is echoed in A Land With No Ceremony (Bichun…
At Last, the Outsider Rises from Underground
Read articleIt’s a bit difficult to describe Individual Distortion. It’s not quite grindcore, nor is it breakcore, given the chaos present in its sonic explosions. The band itself claims to be…
Glimpsing through the Nation’s Iron Curtain
Read articleThe archives of Indonesian cinema and the history behind it seem to have been distorted by the state that shut its doors, locking away every manifestation of ideas deemed to…
Why Do You Love Me?
Read articleWhy do you love me So sweet and tenderly I’ll do everything to make you happy — Why Do You Love Me? (Koes Plus, 1972) When I was a kid,…
Let’s Go Playing this Afternoon!
Read articleAs a young man born in the early 2000s, I still knew the kind of afternoons filled with the joy of being outside with friends rather than being stuck with…
Between Stone, Body, and Imagination
Read articleWhat do you see when you stare at a rock? For some people, a stone is nothing more than a hard, still, and lifeless object. However, other people are able…
Corpses of Cinema
Read articleColonialism ravages cultures, weaving its fabric of doctrine that cloaks past civilizations with its imperialistic powers for one reason only: to take over the Old World and undeservedly reap its…
Away from India, Homesick and Forgotten Spirits
Read articleMore than 130,000 Indians were conscripted to fight in Flanders during the First World War when they were under the ruling of the British raj—promising to them that after the…
Tracing Memory through the Things in a Room
Read articleA while ago, I found myself in my rented room, repacking my belongings and preparing to go home, while quietly sorting through the things that no longer served a purpose.…
A Red Circle Torn Open Like a Blooming Flower
Read articleThe memory that the veil of denial has covered must gradually be ripped open and left exposed, compelling us to face the sadness of the past, whether through the silence…
Aliens are not Foreigners
Read articleAlongside the roaring flow of the murky Ciliwung River, The Key to the Past (Hafiz Rancajale, 2025) unveils Jakarta, a city that keeps fixing its body but never heals. Manggarai…
To the Inevitable Death, I Love You
Read articleThe tight grip of two elderly couples reading a book loosens as they turn the pages. Their grip tightens even more after a small interruption from a friend who knocks…
