1st Edition

Film Activism in Contemporary Indonesia Platforms of Participation and Representation

Edited By Edwin Jurriëns, Jemma Purdey, Novi Kurnia Copyright 2026
242 Pages 23 B/W Illustrations
by Routledge

242 Pages 23 B/W Illustrations
by Routledge

This edited volume seeks to evaluate the complex tensions between democratic renewal and regression by focusing on the activist efforts by Indonesian filmmakers to maintain and open spaces for creative experimentation, critical reflection, and social diversity. After the fall of the authoritarian New Order regime (1967–98), Indonesia embarked on a journey of renewed freedom, known as Reformasi... Read more

List of Contributors

1. Introduction 

Edwin Jurriëns, Jemma Purdey and Novi Kurnia

Section 1: Historical Roots 

2.   Ambivalent Alliances, “Taking to the Streets,” and Progressive Neoliberalism: Decades of Film Activism in Indonesia

Intan Paramaditha

3.   Political and Social Critique in Some Key Indonesian Films in the First Fifty Years of the New Nation: An Underground Tradition? 

David Hanan

4.  Indonesian New Cinema: Ambitions for Artistic and Socio-Political Change after Reformasi 

Nan Triveni Achnas

Section 2: Contemporary Platforms

5. Internationalization as Democratization? Film Festivals, Streaming and Creative Freedom 

Thomas Barker

6. Short Film and Komunitas Film in Contemporary Indonesia 

Jemma Purdey

7. Indonesian Post-Cinema: Festivals and Filmmaker-Artists at the Intersection between Cinema and Contemporary Art 

Irham Nur Anshari

Section 3: Gender Inclusion

8. Engaging the Present, Investing in the Future: Promoting GESI Perspectives in the Indonesian Tertiary Film Education Curriculum and Infrastructure 

Evi Eliyanah, Novi Kurnia, IGAK Satrya Wibawa and Tito Imanda

9.  Screaming in Silence through Body Movement on Screen: Voicing out Pain, Fear, Trauma and Desire in Memories of My Body (2018)

Sekar Sari

10.  Film and the Politics of Aesthetics: On Before, Now & Then 

Seno Gumira Ajidarma

Section 4: Local Voices

11.  Speaking Nearby in Indonesian Environmental Documentary: Female Agency and Relationality in Our Mothers’ Land 

Edwin Jurriëns

12.  Youth Stories and Rural Voices in West Sumbanese YouTube Films 

Ratna Erika M. Suwarno

13. Negotiating Critique: YouTube, Short Films, and the Politics of Indirect Criticism in Indonesia 

Tito Ambyo

Index

Biography

Edwin Jurriëns is the Deputy Associate Dean International‑Indonesia and Associate Professor in Indonesian Studies at the Asia Institute, Faculty of Arts, The University of Melbourne. His most recent book is The Art of Environmental Activism in Indonesia: Shifting Horizons (Routledge, 2023).

Jemma Purdey is an Adjunct Fellow at the Australia‑Indonesia Centre, Monash University. She writes on Indonesian politics and contemporary history. She is the editor of Inside Indonesia magazine, co‑host of Talking Indonesia podcast and the director of ReelOzInd! Australia Indonesia Short Film Festival.

Novi Kurnia is Associate Professor at Universitas Gadjah Mada and a researcher on gender, media, and digital literacy, particularly gender and social inclusion in Indonesian cinema. She co‑founded KAFEIN (an association of Indonesian cinema scholars) and contributes to film festivals.