As this year’s Alternativa Film Project kicks off, the second edition will see the event land in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, moving from last year’s location in Almaty, Kazakhstan, where it hosted its Alternativa Film Awards. Founded by technology company InDrive, the global non-profit film initiative is looking to grow into one of Asia’s premiere film events, with a mission to give international visibility to filmmakers whose work has potential to bring social change. 

Describing itself as a “nomadic project,” the event will look to set up camp each year in a different location. 

“From the very beginning, the concept of the awards was that it should be nomadic and move from one region to another,” Alternativa Film Project head Liza Surganova tells Deadline. “Last year, we started in Central Asia, with this choice mainly pushed by InDrive having the biggest office there. We felt like this region was quite overlooked and not really researched by film programmers, and also did not have many events happening there in terms of the international film scene.”

Surganova notes that it planned to keep the second edition of the event in Asia, before moving to another continent, and that Southeast Asia stood out for its growing and vibrant film industry. 

“Southeast Asia’s film industry is developing quite fast, and many new names are appearing, but it is not as well-developed compared to Japan, South Korea or India’s film industries, so we felt like we could bring something there that will benefit local filmmakers,” she says. “Indonesia is one of the centers of the region where people from other countries are used to coming to.”

Impactful Stories

The Alternativa Film Awards, which takes place at the end of the event on November 29, focuses on films with a strong “social impact”, says Surganova. She says there are no strict set of rules that define the term but notes that the selection committee focuses on topics that they consider important for the region as well as films that have a wide appeal. “It’s important to focus on films that can be interesting to a wide audience,” she says. “So we try not to choose very artsy festival titles.” 

Noting the ongoing funding challenges that independent filmmakers are facing, Surganova emphasized that the Alternativa Film Project wants to help tackle this by creating more opportunities for networking, especially for film professionals in countries with a smaller domestic scene. As a result, it created a three-day Industry Days strand. 

“If you are a filmmaker from Laos or Kyrgyzstan where there is not as much happening locally, we want to offer an opportunity for you to meet people from overseas, talk about what is important for you, pitch your project and offer connection so that, in the future, it will be easier to send someone your script or look for funding.” 

Surganova admitted that the nomadic nature of the event is a big challenge but is hopeful that it will evolve and adapt alongside the industry.  

“First of all, as a big event, it’s not easy to organize,” she explained. “An even bigger challenge is to get the local audience interested in this event, because they do not know you there. When you organize a nomadic event, you’re always like a foreigner and newcomer. They’ll know festivals like JAFF [Jogja-NETPAC Asian Film Festival] and other festivals in the region instead.”

Surganova emphasized the importance of collaborating with local partners, to secure support in the awards’ host city. The upcoming edition in Indonesia has already formed partnerships with Minikino Film Week, Docs by the Sea, InDocs, SAE Indonesia Creative Media Academy, Gelanggang Inovasi & Kreativitas Universitas Gadjah Mada, with the support of Indonesia’s Ministry of Culture and Education, Jakarta Film Week, Jogja-NETPAC Asian Film Festival 2024 and ARTOTEL Suites Bianti.