AFF x JAFF Market 2025

Strengthening Creative Bridges Between Australia and Southeast Asia

Indonesia, 29 Nov – 1 Dec 2025.

Adelaide Film Festival (AFF) aims to develop, support and engage the filmmaking community by a suite of initiatives including facilitated participation at international festivals and markets, known as the “AFF Festival Bridges” program, including established partnerships with the Cannes Marche du Film and JAFF Market.

AFF first established a ‘Festival Bridge’ with the Jogja NETPAC Asian Film Festival (JAFF), Yogyakarta, Indonesia in 2023 and this has evolved with the establishment of JAFF MARKET, the first ever Southeast Asian film market in 2024.

The Adelaide Film Festival is proud to continue its partnership with the Jogja-NETPAC Asian Film Festival in 2025, supporting creative collaboration between Australia and Indonesia through the JAFF Market initiative.

The initiative is funded by the Australian Government, Office for the Arts. AFF x JAFF Market aims to cultivate enhanced connectivity between Australian and Indonesian filmmakers, to promote greater cultural understanding between the two countries and generate new opportunities for Australian filmmakers. The AFFx JAFF offers two Australian project teams with existing feature film or feature length documentary projects containing suitable Indonesian story or production elements the opportunity to engage in the inaugural JAFF Market with structured support from Mylab.

“AFF and JAFF have been collaborating for three years and in this second year of the JAFF Market, we continue to open pathways for filmmakers across Asia and Australia to engage in meaningful exchange in sustaining the region’s independent film ecosystem".

Mat Kesting, CEO and Creative Director of the Adelaide Film Festival. 

This year, two Australian projects will represent the nation at the JAFF Market in Yogyakarta, Indonesia (29 November – 1 December):

Aaron Wilson’s Under the Banyon Moon, a feature film in development.

Christopher Cochrane-Friedrich’s Aluk, a feature documentary work in progress.

Both projects embody the shared spirit of storytelling that connects cultures across borders.

Under the Banyon Moon

Directed by Aaron Wilson, Under the Banyon Moon follows a 33-year-old Australian school teacher who, adrift after ending an unfulfilling engagement, travels to Indonesia in search of meaning. A reunion with her first love — and an unexpected connection with his enigmatic best friend — forces her to confront the tension between nostalgia and the courage to imagine a new future.

Wilson, a Victorian-based filmmaker who has lived and worked extensively across Southeast Asia, is known for his deeply human, cross-cultural narratives. His acclaimed features Canopy (TIFF 2013) and Little Tornadoes (MIFF 2021) explored vulnerability, identity, and resilience themes that continue to shape his work in Under the Banyon Moon.

Aluk

Filmmaker Christopher Cochrane-Friedrich’s documentary Aluk follows three generations of a family in Tana Toraja, Sulawesi, one of the few remaining communities where Aluk To Dolo (“the way of the ancestors”) is still observed. Against the backdrop of modernisation, migration, and climate change, the film contemplates loss, legacy, and the fragile continuity of cultural traditions.

Based in Victoria, Cochrane-Friedrich works between Australia and Sulawesi, developing projects that foreground collaboration and cultural exchange. His work spans documentary, narrative, and experimental cinema, grounded in independent practice and regional partnership.

Building Cultural and Creative Connectivity

The AFF × JAFF initiative represents a vital cultural bridge between Australia and Southeast Asia, fostering enduring relationships through the art of cinema. By championing projects that explore identity, belonging, and shared humanity, the collaboration supports filmmakers in telling stories that transcend geography while celebrating cultural specificity.

Established in 2024, the partnership continues to expand opportunities for co-production, mentorship, and creative exchange — reinforcing AFF’s commitment to deepening Australia’s engagement with the Asia-Pacific film community.

Read more in Variety