"This film is very important for cultural promotion and cultural diplomacy," he told ANTARA after meeting with the filmmakers of Women From Rote Island at the Nusantara III Building, Parliament Complex, Senayan, Jakarta, on Thursday.
Zon cited the example of South Korea as a country that has successfully used films as a way to introduce its culture to the world.
He encouraged Indonesia to take similar steps by pursuing cultural themes in films to introduce and promote national culture in other countries.
To support this, Zon said that his ministry will assist in the production of cultural-themed films by increasing the capacity of local filmmakers as well as supporting the distribution of such films in the global market to showcase Indonesia's uniqueness before the international community.
"With films, we could not only introduce culture, but also show a strong national identity to the world," he explained.
Directed by Jeremias Nyangoen, Women From Rote Island is considered to be a film with a local cultural background that can help promote Indonesia's culture.
It won four awards at the 2023 Indonesian Film Festival, including best feature film, best director (Nyangoen), best original screenplay (Nyangoen), and best cinematography (Josep Christoforus Fofid).
Additionally, the Indonesian Oscar Selection Committee has named Women From Rote Island as its official entry for the best international feature film category for the 97th Academy Awards in 2025.
Related news: Minister Fadli Zon stresses need for more diverse film genres
Related news: JFW valuable platform advancing filmmakers' competitiveness: Minister
Translator: Yoanita Hastryka Djohan
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
Copyright © ANTARA 2024
