‘Becoming Human’ Wins Top Prize At JAFF; ‘Better Off Dead’ Sweeps Indonesian Screen Awards

Cambodian filmmaker Polen Ly’s Becoming Human walked away with the top honour at the 20th edition of Jogja-Netpac Asian Film Festival (JAFF, November 29-December 6), while Kristo Immanuel’s Better Off Dead scooped five prizes in the Indonesian Screen Awards. 

Becoming Human, which premiered at Venice film festival in the Biennale College Cinema section, took JAFF’s Golden Hanoman award in the main competition as well as the NETPAC award. The supernatural drama follows the guardian spirit of an abandoned cinema who wanders the world, witnessing its brutality, and contemplates whether to become human again or remain a homeless ghost.

The win marks the second time a Cambodian film has won JAFF’s top honour following Masaharu Sugano’s Cambodian Son in 2015.

Competing against 12 other titles, Better Off Dead won in five out of ten categories in the Indonesian Screen Awards, including Best Film, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Editing and a shared Best Performance award (see full list of awards below).

Released in August, the film earned rave reviews but sold only 184,000 tickets. The dark cringe comedy follows an awkward young man who fakes deaths and tragedies once he realises it’s a way to gain attention from his colleagues. The film’s sweep at JAFF gives a significant boost to actor-turned-filmmaker Immanuel’s growing reputation as an emerging director.

Thailand also made a strong showing at JAFF, with A Useful Ghost nabbing the Silver Hanoman, adding to an awards haul that started with the main prize in this year's Cannes Critics Week.

The Philippines also scored big at JAFF, collecting four awards across two titles: Whammy Alcazaren’s short film Water Sports picked up both the Blencong Award and the Student Award, while Antoinette Jadaone’s Sunshine earned a jury special mention in the main competition and took home the Geber Award.

JAFF director Ifa Isfansyah commented on the festival’s core spirit since its founding: “Two decades of JAFF are about togetherness, celebration and mutual trust. Moving forward, the challenges will only grow – particularly in how we think about the sustainability of the film ecosystem amid rapid changes in media and digital landscapes.”

That sense of community was evident in the strong participation of Jakarta-based industry figures across JAFF Market, various community events – including the festival’s lively ping-pong competitions – and the thoughtfully curated programmes, signalling JAFF’s expanding influence in the region. This year’s edition drew more than 30,000 visitors, marking its highest attendance to date.

JOGJA-NETPAC ASIAN FILM FESTIVAL 2025:

Golden Hanoman: Becoming Human, dir: Polen Ly

Silver Hanoman: A Useful Ghost, dir: Ratchapoom Boonbunchachoke

Jury Special Mention: Sunshine, dir: Antoinette Jadaone

Blencong Award: Water Sports, dir: Whammy Alcazaren

Jury special mention for ‘Light of Asia’: Hyena, dir: Altay Ulan Yang

INDONESIAN SCREEN AWARDS:

Best film: Better Off Dead, dir: Kristo Immanuel

Best director: Kristo Immanuel, Better Off Dead

Best screenplay: Kristo Immanuel & Jessica Tjiu, Better Off Dead

Best cinematography: Vera Lestafa, Dopamine

Best performance: Omara Esteghlal, Better Off Dead & Afiqa Kirana, The Period Of Her

Best editing: Ryan Purwoko, Better Off Dead

Best production design: Ahmad Zulkanraen (production designer) & Wahyu Efata (art director), Ikatan Darah

Best music: Anto Hoed & Melly Goeslaw, Rangga & Cinta

Best sound design: The Period Of Her
Sound designers: Pramudya Adhy Wardhana, Ridho Fachri, Renaldy Lomo, Alexandrie Dolly
Sound recordists: Luthfi Ag, Iqbal ‘Encik’ Marekan, Halid Ilham, Ikhsan Nugroho

Best poster: Sore: A Wife From The Future

NETPAC AWARD: Becoming Human, dir: Polen Ly

GEBER AWARD: Sunshine, dir: Antoinette Jadaone

STUDENTS AWARD: Water Sports, dir: Whammy Alcazaren