Joko Anwar

Joko Anwar (born 3 January 1976) is an Indonesian film director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. Prior to becoming a filmmaker, he worked as a journalist and film critic.

Joko Anwar
Born (1976-01-03) 3 January 1976
Medan, North Sumatra, Indonesia
EducationBandung Institute of Technology
OccupationFilm director, screenwriter, producer
Years active2003–present
AwardsSee full list
WebsiteOfficial website

Anwar first rose to prominence for co-writing Nia Dinata's 2003 hit Arisan! which won five awards at the 2004 Citra Award. He then made his feature film directorial debut with the romantic comedy Joni's Promise in 2005, gaining a Best Director nomination at the 2005 Citra Award. He has since directed a wide range of genres: the noir thriller Dead Time: Kala (2007), psychological thriller The Forbidden Door (2009), supernatural horror Satan's Slaves (2017), and live-action superhero Gundala (2019).

Anwar has won three Citra Awards out of 13 nominations for directing and screenwriting. He won the Best Director Award in 2015 for urban drama A Copy of My Mind and in 2020 for the critically acclaimed horror hit Impetigore as well as the Best Screenplay Award for co-writing Mouly Surya's 2008 Fiksi.. He has also been nominated for a total of 7 Maya Awards, winning Best Director for Satan's Slaves in 2017.

As an actor, Anwar has appeared in multiple films, including starring roles in Edwin's award-winning feature film debut Blind Pig Who Wants to Fly opposite Ladya Cheryl.

In 2019, Indonesia Tatler includes Anwar in its list of the most influential film directors in modern Indonesian cinema.[1]

Early life

Anwar was born in Medan, North Sumatera where he grew up watching kung fu and horror films.[2] He went to SMA Negeri 1 Medan, a public school, and spent a year in the United States as an exchange student at the Wheeling Park High School in West Virginia. He wrote and directed plays as a student. While he wanted to study filmmaking seriously, he went to enroll at the prestigious Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB) to study Aeronautical Engineering because his family could not afford to send him to a film school. After graduating in 1999, he became a journalist and film critic at The Jakarta Post.

Anwar's first film production experience came as an assistant director in Sekar Ayu Asmara's directorial debut Biola Tak Berdawai in 2002.

Career

2003–2008: Arisan!, directorial debut, and mainstream success

During an interview with Nia Dinata, who was gaining praise for her 2002 release Ca-bau-kan, for The Jakarta Post, Anwar impressed the filmmaker who in turn asked him to join a project she was working on.[2] The two co-wrote the screenplay for what would be Dinata's biggest hit to date Arisan! released in 2003.[2] The film won rave reviews and snatched multiple Best Film awards at the 2004 Citra Award, the 2004 MTV Indonesia Movie Awards, and the 2004 Bandung Film Festival. Dinata and Anwar also won praise for their screenplay, receiving a Citra Award nomination for Best Screenplay.

In 2005, Anwar made his directorial debut with the romantic comedy Joni's Promise (Janji Joni) with a star-studded cast that includes Nicholas Saputra, Mariana Renata, Rachel Maryam, Surya Saputra, and dozens of celebrity cameos, including Nia Dinata, based on a story he first wrote in 1998. The film propelled Anwar to mainstream success as it became a box office hit and earned 9 nominations at the 2005 Citra Award, including Best Film and Best Director for Anwar, losing to the biographical drama Gie and Hanung Bramantyo (Brownies) respectively. The film was credited with reviving the career of Barry Prima, an international martial artist and actor, who is Anwar's childhood hero.[2]

In 2007, Joko Anwar wrote and directed Dead Time: Kala, Indonesia's first film noir feature film. It won rave reviews from critics with Sight & Sound picking it as one of the year's best while naming Anwar as one of the smartest filmmakers in Asia.[3] The film was screened at numerous film festivals and won a Jury Prize at the 2007 New York Asian Film Festival.[4] The Hollywood Reporter praused the film as "a sophisticated noir whodunit in homage to Fritz Lang's M".[5] In the same year, Anwar wrote the screenplay for two other major releases: Dimas Djayadiningrat's sex comedy Quickie Express and an adaptation of Moammar Emka's best-selling novel, Jakarta Undercover. The former won Best Film at the 2008 Jakarta International Film Festival.

In 2008, Anwar co-wrote the screenplay for psychological thriller fiksi., Mouly Surya's directorial debut. The film was a huge hit and received universal acclaim. At the 2008 Citra Award, it received 10 nominations and won 4, including Best Screenplay, giving Anwar his first Citra Award.

2009–2016: International recognition and Citra Award for Best Director

Anwar explored the psychological thriller genre in his next film, The Forbidden Door (Pintu Terlarang), which was released in 2009. Starring Fachri Albar and Marsha Timothy as a married couple with dark secrets, the film gained notable recognition from the international film community. TIME magazine film critic Richard Corliss wrote that the film could be "Anwar's calling card for international employment, if only Hollywood moguls wanted something out of their own narrow range" and that it is "an example of what movies could be but rarely dare to try".[6] Maggie Lee of The Hollywood Reporter wrote that it "would make [Alfred] Hitchcock and [Pedro] Almodóvar proud" while praising Anwar for "[accessorizing] his creepy suspense-horror with a dazzling array of auteur-homage".[7] The film was screened at several international film festivals, including The Times BFI London Film Festival, the International Film Festival Rotterdam, and the Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival, where it won the Best of Bucheon award. In the same year, he also played a minor role in Macabre, Timo Tjahjanto's and Kimo Stamboel's breakout slasher hit. In 2013, he appeared as a shady film producer in Sammaria Simanjuntak's satirical comedy Demi Ucok.

Anwar's next release was the horror-thriller Modus Anomali, which premiered in Indonesia in April 2012. Anwar cast rising star Rio Dewanto in the lead role as a man who must rescue his family from a killer who is hunting them. The film was screened at the South by Southwest where it received generally positive reviews including from Richard Kuipers of Variety who called it a "brainteaser" and that "this extreme arthouse entry will leave a lasting impression on many auds".[8] It received theatrical release in France and was retitled as Ritual for its North American release.

In 2015, Anwar released his fifth feature film the urban drama A Copy of My Mind with Chicco Jerikho and Tara Basro in the lead roles. Shot only in 8 days, the film was the only film from Southeast Asia to be screened at the 2015 Venice Film Festival.[9] At the 2015 Citra Award, the film was nominated for 7 awards, including Best Film with Anwar winning Best Director for the first time and Basro winning Best Actress in addition to another win for sound mixing.

2017–2019: Satan's Slaves, Gundala, Impetigore, and second Citra Award for Best Director

In his first supernatural horror effort, Anwar released his sixth feature film Satan's Slaves (Pengabdi Setan) in 2017. A loose remake of the 1980 cult classic of the same name, Satan's Slaves is the highest-grossing Indonesian film of 2017 as well as the highest-grossing horror film of all time in the country with 4.2 million admissions.[10] It also fared well in other territories, including becoming the highest-grossing Indonesian film ever to be released in Malaysia.[11] At the 2017 Citra Awards, the film won 7 out of its 13 nominations, including in the Best Original Song category for Anwar who co-penned the song "Kelam Malam" with Tony Merle under the pseudonym The Spouse. At the second Overlook Film Festival, the film won the Feature Film Jury Prize.[12] Anwar also co-wrote the screenplay for Stip & Pensil with Ernest Prakasa and Bene Dion Rajagukguk, for which they were nominated at the 2017 Citra Awards for Best Original Screenplay.

In addition to Satan's Slaves, Anwar appeared in small acting roles in seven films between 2017 and 2018. This includes Galih & Ratna, My Generation, The Underdogs, Daysleepers, 27 Steps of May, and Ave Maryam, and the Malaysian crime thriller Fly by Night.

In 2018, it was announced that Anwar would helm the live-action adaptation of comic book superhero character Gundala.[13] The film was released domestically in August 2019, launching the first phase of a superhero film series that will make up the BumiLangit Cinematic Universe along with other popular Indonesian comic book superhero characters.[14] Internationally, it premiered at the Midnight Madness section of the 2019 Toronto International Film Festival. At the 2019 Citra Award, Gundala received 9 nominations and won 3 for cinematography, sound mixing, and visual effects.[15] Earlier in January 2019, the comedy drama Orang Kaya Baru was released. Anwar wrote the screenplay for the film and received another Citra Award nomination for Best Original Screenplay.

In October 2019, Anwar released the folk horror Impetigore (Perempuan Tanah Jahanam) as his eighth feature film, becoming a critical and commercial success.[16] At the 2020 Citra Award, Anwar won his second Citra Award for Best Director as well as a nomination in the Best Original Screenplay category. He also received another nomination in the Best Adapted Screenplay category for writing Kimo Stamboel's remake of Indonesian horror classic The Queen of Black Magic. Impetigore's 17 nominations broke the record for most nominations received by a film which was previously held by Mouly Surya's Marlina the Murderer in Four Acts with 14 nominations in 2018.[17] Internationally, it premiered at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival to generally positive reviews. Josh Hurtado of Screen Anarchy praises Anwar for continuing "to carve out a niche for himself as one of the world's leading genre auteurs, going from strength to strength, he's got an incredibly impressive body of work already, and seems to only get better as he becomes more ambitious."[18] In November 2020, Impetigore was announced as Indonesia's official submission for the 2021 Academy Awards.[19]

2020–present: Bumilangit Cinematic Universe and other upcoming projects

Shortly after the release of Gundala, Anwar was announced as the executive producer to oversee the production of several films included in the planned Volume 1 of Bumilangit Cinematic Universesuperhero franchise.[20] The first of these films to follow Gundala will be the Upi Avianto-directed Sri Asih and Ody C. Harahap-directed Patriot Taruna: Virgo and the Sparklings which were originally slated for a 2020 release but were pushed back to 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[21] A total of 8 films are planned for the Volume 1 series, all of which will receive treatment from Anwar as the creative producer.[20]

In July 2020, Anwar teased his next project on Instagram by posting a collage of all his previous eight films with a ninth picture presumed to be hinting at his ninth feature, writing "My 9th movie. It's on. After 9 movies, probably a good time to start fresh."[22]

Personal life

Anwar actively interacts with his fans on social media, especially Twitter.[23] In September 2009, he posted on his Twitter account that he would go into a convenience store fully naked if he gains 3,000 followers within the day.[24] He reached 13,000 followers and fulfilled the promise while causing minor controversies.[25] As of January 2021, he has 1.7 million followers on Twitter.

Filmography

Feature films
Year Film Director Producer Writer
2003 Arisan! No No Yes
2005 Joni's Promise Yes No Yes
2007 Jakarta Undercover No No Yes
Dead Time: Kala Yes No Yes
Quickie Express No No Yes
2008 Fiksi. No No Yes
2009 The Forbidden Door Yes No Yes
2012 Ritual Yes No Yes
2015 A Copy of My Mind Yes Executive Yes
2017 Stip & Pensil No No Yes
Satan's Slaves Yes No Yes
2019 Orang Kaya Baru No No Yes
Gundala Yes No Yes
Impetigore Yes No Yes
The Queen of Black Magic No No Yes
2021 Sri Asih No Executive Yes

Short films
Year Film Director Producer Writer
2003 Joni Be Brave Yes No Yes
2004 Ajeng Ajeng Yes No Yes
2012 Grave Torture Yes No Yes
Fresh to Move On Yes No Yes
Durable Love Yes No Yes
Suncatchers Yes No Yes
2013 The New Found Yes No Yes
2016 Jenny Yes No Yes
Don't Blink Yes No Yes
2017 Jalanin Aja Yes No Yes

Acting credits
Year Film Role Notes
2003 Arisan! Restaurant Manager
2006 Love for Share Producer
2008 Mereka Bilang, Saya Monyet! Manager
Blind Pig Who Wants to Fly Yahya Main role
2009 Macabre Yuppie #3
2010 Madame X Aline
2012 Parts of the Heart Peter (age 35)
Missing Neighbour Short film
2013 Demi Ucok Film Producer
3Sum Cameo
2014 Before the Morning After Member of DPR
2015 Nay Pram Voice
Melancholy Is a Movement Himself
2016 Three Sassy Sisters Taxi Driver
2017 Galih & Ratna Dedy
My Generation Konji's Dad
The Underdogs Ellie's Dad
Satan's Slaves Dono Budiono
2018 Fly by Night Alan
Daysleepers Tito
27 Steps of May Opponent's Boxer Manager
Ave Maryam Father Martin

Television
Year Title Director Producer Writer Note
2015–16 Halfworlds Yes No Yes Season 1 (8 episodes)
2018 Folklore Yes No Yes Episode: "A Mother's Love"

Frequent collaborators

Awards and nominations
Year Award Category Work Result Notes
2004 24th Citra Awards Best Screenplay Arisan! Nominated shared with Nia Dinata
2005 25th Citra Awards Best Director Joni's Promise Nominated
2005 MTV Indonesia Movie Awards Best Director Nominated
2006 Vesoul Asian Film Festival Golden Wheel Nominated
2008 28th Citra Awards Best Screenplay Fiksi. Won shared with Mouly Surya
2009 Bangkok International Film Festival Golden Kinnaree Award The Forbidden Door Nominated
2009 29th Citra Awards Best Adapted Screenplay Nominated
2009 Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival Best of Bucheon Won
2012 Molins Film Festival Best Director Ritual Won
2012 South by Southwest Midnight Audience Award Nominated
2013 Fantasporto Grand Prize Nominated Orient Express section
Special Jury Award Nominated
2015 Venice Film Festival Best Film A Copy of My Mind Nominated Venice Horizons section
2015 35th Citra Awards Best Director Won
2015 Jogja-NETPAC Asian Film Festival Geber Award Won
Golden Hanoman Award Nominated
2016 5th Maya Awards Best Director Nominated
Best Original Screenplay Nominated
2016 Five Flavours Asian Film Festival New Asian Cinema Best Film Nominated
2016 Asian Television Awards Best Direction for Fiction Halfworlds Nominated
2017 37th Citra Awards Best Original Screenplay Stip & Pensil Nominated shared with Ernest Prakasa & Bene Dion Rajagukguk
Best Theme Song "Kelam Malam" Won shared with Tony Merle (credited as The Spouse)
Best Director Satan's Slaves Nominated
Best Adapted Screenplay Nominated
2017 1st Tempo Film Festival Best Director Nominated
Best Screenplay Nominated
2017 6th Maya Awards Best Director Won
Best Adapted Screenplay Nominated
Best Theme Song "Kelam Malam" Won shared with Tony Merle (credited as The Spouse)
Arifin C. Noer Prize Satan's Slaves Nominated
2018 Indonesian Box Office Movie Awards Best Director Won
Best Screenplay Nominated
Best Song "Kelam Malam" Won shared with Tony Merle (credited as The Spouse)
2018 Oslo Films from the South Festival Audience Award Satan's Slaves Nominated
2018 Cinepocalypse Best Director Won
2018 Molins Film Festival Best Director Nominated
Best Screenplay Nominated
2019 39th Citra Awards Best Original Screenplay Orang Kaya Baru Nominated
Best Adapted Screenplay Gundala Nominated
2019 3rd Tempo Film Festival Best Director Impetigore Nominated
Best Screenplay Nominated
2020 Bandung Film Festival Best Director Gundala Nominated
2020 9th Maya Awards Best Director Impetigore Nominated
Best Original Screenplay Nominated
2020 40th Citra Awards Best Director Won
Best Original Screenplay Nominated
Best Adapted Screenplay The Queen of Black Magic Nominated
Best Theme Song "Pujaan Hati" Nominated shared with Tony Merle (as The Spouse) & Tia Hasibuan

References
  1. "6 Most Influential Film Directors in Modern Indonesian Cinema". Indonesia Tatler. Retrieved 23 January 2021.
  2. "Joko Anwar Profile on The Jakarta Post (2007-)". Archived from the original on 5 March 2011.
  3. "Sight & Sound Films of 2007 (2007)" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 September 2008.
  4. Twitch.com Report(2008)
  5. "New Movie Reviews & Film Reviews". The Hollywood Reporter.
  6. Corliss, Richard (4 July 2009). "Breaking News, Analysis, Politics, Blogs, News Photos, Video, Tech Reviews". Time. ISSN 0040-781X. Retrieved 23 January 2021.
  7. "The Forbidden Door -- Film Review (2009)".
  8. Kuipers, Richard (14 October 2012). "Modus Anomali". Variety. Retrieved 24 April 2020.
  9. "Joko Anwar's new film, 'A Copy of My Mind' is the only Southeast Asian film to be selected for the 2015 Venice Film Festival | Coconuts Jakarta". coconuts.co. 31 July 2015.
  10. "Pengabdi Setan Film Terlaris 2017 | Databoks". databoks.katadata.co.id (in Indonesian). Retrieved 23 January 2021.
  11. Media, Kompas Cyber. "Pengabdi Setan Jadi Film Terlaris Sepanjang Masa di Malaysia". KOMPAS.com (in Indonesian). Retrieved 23 January 2021.
  12. Aldrich, Ryland (25 April 2018). "Overlook 2018 Awards Wrap: Top Prize for Satan's Slaves, Big Win for All Attendees". Screen Anarchy. Retrieved 24 April 2020.
  13. Times, I. D. N.; Barus, Ramadani. "Joko Anwar akan Sutradarai "Gundala" –Pahlawan Super Indonesia". IDN Times (in Indonesian). Retrieved 23 January 2021.
  14. Robinson, Tasha (13 September 2019). "The Indonesian superhero film Gundala is out to launch a vast cinematic universe". The Verge. Retrieved 24 April 2020.
  15. Indonesia, C. N. N. "Daftar Lengkap Pemenang Piala Citra FFI 2019". hiburan (in Indonesian). Retrieved 23 January 2021.
  16. Frater, Patrick (24 October 2019). "Joko Anwar's 'Impetigore' Tops Indonesia Box Office Ahead of Film Markets". Variety. Retrieved 24 April 2020.
  17. Tasikmalaya, Pikiran Rakyat (8 November 2020). "Pecahkan Rekor Nominasi FFI 2020, Joko Anwar Buktikan Tak ada Kasta dalam Film - Pikiran Rakyat Tasikmalaya". tasikmalaya.pikiran-rakyat.com (in Indonesian). Retrieved 23 January 2021.
  18. Hurtado, J (31 January 2020). "Sundance 2020 Review: Impetigore, Indonesia's Pre-Colonial Traditions Terrify In Joko Anwar's Latest". Screen Anarchy. Retrieved 24 April 2020.
  19. "Indonesia Selects 'Impetigore' for 2021 Oscars". The Hollywood Reporter. 12 November 2020. Retrieved 5 February 2021.
  20. developer, medcom id (10 September 2019). "Joko Anwar Produseri Seluruh Film Jagat Sinema Bumilangit". medcom.id (in Indonesian). Retrieved 5 February 2021.
  21. Media, Kompas Cyber. "Biaya Produksi Besar, Joko Anwar: Film-film Bumilangit Sulit Tayang di Layanan Streaming". KOMPAS.com (in Indonesian). Retrieved 5 February 2021.
  22. Media, Kompas Cyber. "Teka-teki Film Kesembilan Joko Anwar Halaman all". KOMPAS.com (in Indonesian). Retrieved 5 February 2021.
  23. Anwar, Joko. "Joko Anwar on Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved 24 January 2021.
  24. Anwar, Joko (22 September 2009). "If I got my 3000th follower today, I'll go into a Circle K naked". Twitter. Retrieved 24 January 2021.
  25. "7 Kicauan Menarik dan Kontroversi". Tempo. 10 February 2011. Retrieved 23 January 2021.

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