Raphael Wregas Bhanuteja is an Indonesian film director and screenwriter. In 2016, Wregas became the first Indonesian director to win an award at Cannes Film Festival, for his short film Prenjak.

Raphael Bhanuteja

Biography edit

Wregas Bhanuteja was born in Yogyakarta[1] and learned short film making in De Britto College High School Yogyakarta.[2] After graduating high school in 2010, he attended the Faculty of Film and TV, Jakarta Institute of Arts, majoring in film directing.[3][failed verification]

During his study, Wregas produced several short films, including Senyawa (2012), shot on 16 mm celluloid film.[4] In 2014, Wregas graduated from Jakarta Institute of Arts with his final project, a short film called Lemantun (2014) about a cupboard inherited by his grandmother.[5] Lemantun attained several best short film awards, namely in XXI Short Film Festival 2015 and Indonesian Film Appreciation 2015.[6]

In 2015, Wregas' short film Lembusura (2014), about the eruption of Mount Kelud, made into selection in the 65th Berlin International Film Festival 2015, competing in the section of Berlinale Shorts Competition.[7][8] Wregas was named the youngest director in the festival at only 22 years old.[5] After Berlin, he made another short film called The Floating Chopin (2015), an interpretation of the song Chopin Larung by Guruh Soekarno Putra.[9]

In 2016, Wregas, in collaboration with Studio Batu Yogyakarta, wrote and directed Prenjak/In The Year Of Monkey (2016), a story of a woman who sells lighter in Yogyakarta. In The Year Of Monkey was selected in the 55th Semaine de la Critique, Cannes Film Festival 2016 and awarded Leica Cine Discovery Prize for short film.[10] This has made Wregas the first Indonesian director to receive an award in Cannes Film Festival.[11][12]

In 2019, Wregas made another short film titled Tak Ada Yang Gila Di Kota Ini/No One Is Crazy In This Town (2019). The film was selected to compete in Wide Angle: Asian Short Film Competition as a part of Busan International Film Festival held 3–12 October 2019 in Busan, South Korea. The film is an adaptation of a short story with the same title by Eka Kurniawan, telling the story of Marwan (cast by Oka Antara) who is instructed to exile people with mental disorders to the woods.[13]

Bhanuteja's feature-length directorial debut, Photocopier, is set to premiere at the 26th Busan International Film Festival, in October 2021. The film tells the story of Sur, a college student who loses her scholarship as her drunk selfie circulates online.[14]

Filmography edit

Feature films edit

Year Title Director Writer Producer Notes
2021 Photocopier Yes Yes No
2023 Andragogy Yes Yes No

Short films edit

Year Title Director Writer Producer Notes
2012 Senyawa Yes Yes No
2014 Lemantun Yes Yes No
2015 Lembusura Yes Yes No
2016 The Floating Chopin Yes Yes No
2016 Prenjak Yes Yes No
2017 Dry Season in My House Yes Yes No
2018 Warmest Regards from a Dog Yes Yes No
2019 No One Is Crazy in This Town Yes Yes No

References edit

  1. ^ "Film Lemantun Karya Wregas Bhanuteja Kini Bisa Ditonton di YouTube". Tribun Jogja (in Indonesian). Retrieved 17 October 2020.
  2. ^ "Profil Wregas Bhanuteja". tirto.id (in Indonesian). Retrieved 8 December 2020.
  3. ^ "'Prenjak' wins another international award in Singapore". The Jakarta Post. Archived from the original on 17 July 2020. Retrieved 17 July 2020.
  4. ^ Indonesia, Femina (11 June 2016). "Wawancara Wregas Bhanuteja: Kekuatan Wanita di FIlm Prenjak". femina.co.id (in Indonesian). Retrieved 8 December 2020.
  5. ^ a b "Wregas Bhanuteja". Generation T. 12 December 2018. Archived from the original on 17 July 2020. Retrieved 17 July 2020.
  6. ^ "Wregas Bhanuteja – Institut Kesenian Jakarta". Retrieved 8 December 2020.
  7. ^ Mediatama, Grahanusa (28 December 2015). "Indonesian cinema 2015: The year of going global". kontan.co.id (in Indonesian). Archived from the original on 18 July 2020. Retrieved 17 July 2020.
  8. ^ "Lembusura". Berlinale.de. Archived from the original on 17 July 2020. Retrieved 17 July 2020.
  9. ^ "ESSAY: Watching 'Floating Chopin' in Bali". The Jakarta Post. Retrieved 8 December 2020.
  10. ^ "Indonesian short movie Prenjak wins award at Cannes". The Jakarta Post. Archived from the original on 17 July 2020. Retrieved 17 July 2020.
  11. ^ "RI filmmaker makes history at Cannes". The Jakarta Post. Archived from the original on 17 July 2020. Retrieved 17 July 2020.
  12. ^ "Wregas Bhanuteja | La Semaine de la Critique of Festival de Cannes". Semaine de la Critique du Festival de Cannes. Archived from the original on 6 July 2020. Retrieved 17 July 2020.
  13. ^ "Short film 'Tak Ada yang Gila di Kota Ini' to compete at Busan festival". The Jakarta Post. Archived from the original on 29 April 2020. Retrieved 17 July 2020.
  14. ^ "Wregas Bhanuteja's debut full-length feature 'Photocopier' set for world premiere at Busan International Film Festival". Coconuts Media. 2 September 2021. Retrieved 18 September 2021.