Netflix Strengthens Longstanding Commitment to Southeast Asia Storytelling at JAFF 2025

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Netflix Strengthens Longstanding Commitment to Southeast Asia Storytelling at JAFF 2025

Entertainment

03 December 2025

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Southeast Asian films and series on Netflix are continuing to reach wider audiences than ever. Global view hours of Southeast Asian content grew by nearly 50% from 2023 to 2024, with locally made titles finding fans worldwide. To date, more than 100 Southeast Asia titles have appeared in Netflix's Global Top 10 - and over 40 of those charted in 2025 alone. Titles from the region also ranked in the Top 10 lists of over 80 countries this year.

Against this backdrop, Netflix expanded our partnership with Jogja-NETPAC Asian Film Festival (JAFF) this year to reaffirm our support for the region's creative community. Timed to the festival's 20th anniversary, we rolled out a full slate of industry initiatives, including the debut of Creative Asia in Southeast Asia, and a two-year partnership with the Indonesian Producers Association (APROFI), beginning with the launch of a national production safety guidebook. We also hosted a successful Season 2 of our hands-on production training program Reel Life Camp, and a first-ever unit still photography workshop that will help local photographers step confidently into new creative roles.

Malobika Banerji, Senior Director, Content - SEA at Netflix, reflects: Even as the streaming world has changed, our support for this region has stayed consistent - and proudly local. And our commitment isn't just to the creators already in the spotlight. We care just as deeply about those who are still finding their voice - the next generation of filmmakers, storytellers, and crew who will shape the future of this region.

Launching the First Creative Asia in SEA

Creative Asia brings together emerging filmmakers and the region's leading creators, offering the insight and inspiration that help new voices break through. Following our second event at BIFF earlier this year, we partnered with JAFF to deliver a program designed specifically to give young Southeast Asian filmmakers a deeper understanding of craft, collaboration, and the evolving opportunities across the region.

JAFF Founder & Executive Director Ifa Isfansyah shared: I'm honored that JAFF is the next film festival to host Creative Asia, after its inaugural launch at BIFF in 2024. What's truly meaningful is that Netflix, BIFF, and JAFF all share a common vision: to nurture Asian cinema as a reflection of the dynamic and vibrant societies in our region. As global recognition of Asian creativity continues to grow, I am excited to see such initiatives take root and flourish.

Key Creative Asia sessions included:

Creator-to-creator conversation: Joko Anwar (Nightmares and Daydreams) and Erik Matti (BuyBust) spoke candidly about navigating creative risk, cultural specificity, and the evolution of Southeast Asian genre storytelling.

Southeast Asia zombie wave: Following a year that saw zombie films emerge from the region in the past year, we invited Kulp Kaljareuk (Ziam), Carlo Ledesma (Outside), and Kimo Stamboel (The Elixir) to compare notes on how the genre takes shape differently across the region, from social commentary to folklore-inspired worldbuilding. The Elixir also recently ranked #1 among non-English films globally for two consecutive weeks and entered the Top 10 in 75 countries.

Production workshop: Netflix's regional teams offered emerging creators a practical look at how stories move from concept to screen - covering development, physical production, and the realities of working on international-scale sets.

Nurturing Strong Local Partnerships

JAFF also marked the beginning of a new chapter in our collaboration with Indonesia's creative industry. Netflix and the Indonesian Producers Association (APROFI) signed a two-year Memorandum of Understanding on December 1, aimed at strengthening our shared vision for a robust, inclusive, and world-class local ecosystem.

Through this partnership, we will work closely with APROFI to develop and fund a series of workshops for both above- and below-the-line roles, provide more on-the-job training opportunities on Netflix projects, and foster greater industry dialogue. We jointly introduced a first-ever national guidebook on production safety in Indonesia- a practical resource designed to help productions operate more safely and sustainably.

Irene Umar, Indonesia's Vice Minister of Creative Economy, welcomed the collaboration: The Indonesian film industry is a significant engine of our economy. Netflix has played a major role in the global film and television ecosystem, and I truly appreciate its contribution to Indonesia. Our gotong-royong (community-driven) approach means in-depth collaboration across stakeholders - and here we see the clearest evidence of it with the film industry, associations, and key players like Netflix and APROFI coming together. I believe this MoU marks the beginning of a long-term partnership, and I am committed to continuing this work with all of you.

Providing Real-World Industry Lessons for Emerging Talent

After a hugely successful first Reel Life Film Camp at JAFF last year, we hosted Season 2 at JAFF this week. Introduced in Southeast Asia in 2023 and supported by the Netflix Fund for Creative Equity, Reel Life is a practical training initiative created with local industry experts to help prepare aspiring filmmakers for professional work in the industry. Over both seasons, we received over 800 applications and hosted almost 100 participants in intensive online, in-person, and on-the-job training.

Our participants took part in online and in-person workshops on production, post-production, visual effects, editing and screenwriting; and dedicated talent networking sessions. In collabo

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