‘Sore’, ‘Rangga & Cinta’ Producers On Why Indonesian Companies Are Collaborating
Imajinari Pictures, the studio behind box office hits Agak Laen and Missing Home, brought together three producers at JAFF Market to discuss why collaboration has become increasingly important in Indonesian filmmaking.
The panel, moderated by Imajinari chief commercial officer Dipa Andika, featured veteran producer Mira Lesmana, whose recent credits include Rangga & Cinta, a musical adaptation of teen classic What’s Up with Love?; Suryana Paramita, producer of Sore: Wife From The Future, Indonesia’s official entry for the Oscars; and Kiki Ucup, co-producer of Operasi Pesta Pora, Imajinari’s upcoming feature and its most ambitious, biggest-budget production so far.
Lesmana was one of the central figures who helped revive Indonesian cinema in the late 1990s, at a time when most producers had shifted to television. Through her production outfit Miles Films, she produced Sherina’s Adventure (Petualangan Sherina, 2000), which sold over 1.6 million tickets, followed by What’s Up With Love? (Ada Apa Dengan Cinta?, 2002), which surpassed 2.7 million admissions. Since then, Lesmana has been regarded as one of the key architects of Indonesia’s modern film resurgence.
As head of a relatively small, independent production house, Lesmana explained that she started seeking collaborators from both Indonesia and overseas some time ago. During production of Rainbow Troops (Laskar Pelangi, 2008), she began collaborating with outside partners such as Mizan, the publisher of the novel the film is based on, which eventually joined the film’s production.
By 2019, she had fully embraced co-productions, working with local production house Base Entertainment and Korea’s CJ ENM on Glorious Days (Bebas, 2019). When she produced Rangga & Cinta, released in 2025, multi-party collaborations had become her norm.
However, she also explained that finding additional partners is not just about raising finance for a project, but also about pooling experience in a rapidly developing industry: “Multiple collaborations with other production houses not only help lower our workload but also helps up support each other in the long run.”
Paramita explained that Cerita Film, the production house behind Yandy Laurens’ sleeper hit Sore: Wife From The Future, started its journey by actively seeking collaborators. The company’s first feature, black-and-white romcom Falling In Love Like In Movies (Jatuh Cinta Seperti di Film-Film, 2023), proved difficult to finance independently, prompting the company to search for partners. After numerous rejections, Imajinari finally came on board.
“I do realise that I’m a newcomer in this industry, so I want to learn as much as I can from our collaborators,” Paramita explained.
Sore: Wife From The Future also had multiple collaborators including Imajinari and Miles Films. The film is a sci-fi romantic drama, not a well-known genre in Indonesia, so was not expected to be a hit. But after opening with only 40,000 admissions on its first day, the film quickly gained momentum through word-of-mouth and went on to sell more than 3 million tickets.
Paramita said ideal collaborators are those who share the same creative vision and are not driven solely by profit. In the case of Sore, both Imajinari and Miles Films became key partners, as once companies find they can work well together; it makes sense to collaborate again.
Imajinari’s next feature further expands the idea of collaboration beyond film production companies by involving Boss Creator, the music promoter and event organiser behind Pesta Pora, one of Indonesia’s biggest music festivals.
Ucup, who is co-producing the film, introduced the concept of cross-promoting music festivals and films, a synergy that aligns perfectly with the project. Operasi Pesta Pora stars and is produced by Iqbal Ramadhan (Dilan 1990, Mencuri Raden Saleh), with several scenes captured directly during this year’s Pesta Pora festival, which took place in Jakarta in early September.
While film collaboration is not new to Indonesia, the trend is clearly accelerating as the industry develops. Lesmana said the most crucial aspect is sustainability: once you find the right partners, she said, you hope the collaboration continues well into future projects.
JAFF Market is taking place for three days (November 29-December 1) during Jogja-Netpac Asian Film Festival (JAFF). Today’s sessions cover topics including Southeast Asian co-production, animation and Indonesia’s booming box office.
