by FilmInk Staff
Adelaide Film Festival (AFF) has announced two Australian feature film projects selected for the 2025 AFF and Jogja NETPAC Asian Film Festival (JAFF) Exchange.
The Australian projects to be presented at the JAFF Market in Yogyakarta in December are Aaron Wilson’s Under the Banyon Moon, which is a feature film currently in development, and Christopher Cochrane-Friedrich’s feature documentary, Aluk, which is a work in progress.
Under the Banyon Moon is about a 33-year-old Australian school teacher who, restless after ending an unfulfilling engagement, journeys to Indonesia, where a reunion with her first love and an unexpected connection with his enigmatic best friend force her to choose between nostalgia and the courage to imagine a new future.
Victorian filmmaker Aaron Wilson has lived and worked across South-East Asia. A director, writer and producer in film, VR, and commercials, Aaron is drawn to narratives that explore human vulnerability and cross-cultural connection. In 2006, he took part in a residency program with Objectifs Centre for Filmmaking and Photography Singapore. His debut feature Canopy (TIFF 2013) was released internationally, while his second, Little Tornadoes (MIFF 2021), released in Australian cinemas in 2022 to critical acclaim.
Christopher Cochrane-Friedrich’s Aluk follows three generations of a family in Tana Toraja (Sulawesi, Indonesia) who live in one of the few remaining villages in which Aluk To Dolo (the way of the ancestors) is still observed. In the face of rapid social transformation, increasing migration for lack of local industry, and the impacts of the climate crisis, the family must reckon with the loss of their patriarch and their community’s uncertain future.
Christopher also from Victoria, is a director, producer, writer and editor who works across documentary, narrative and experimental film projects. Having lived and worked between Naarm (Melbourne), Mparntwe (Alice Springs) and Sulawesi, his work is grounded in collaborative modes of filmmaking, and he is dedicated to the development of independent filmmaking practices in Australia and the Nusantara archipelago. Chris co-founded the film collective Dogmilk in 2017, the cross-cultural exchange organisation Sipakatuo in 2021, and, in 2024, the production company Cut By Dog.
“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,” said Mat Kesting, CEO and Creative Director of the Adelaide Film Festival.
“Together with JAFF Market’s commitment to supporting early-stage projects, we are helping build a more connected creative landscape across the Asia-Pacific.”
Throughout the three-day market, participating filmmakers will present their works in curated pitching sessions and one-on-one meetings with producers, investors, and industry partners. The initiative focuses on bridging creative ambition with financing and production realities, positioning JAFF Future Project as a launchpad for regional co-productions and global festival exposure.
The AFF and Jogja NETPAC Asian Film Festival (JAFF) Exchange is funded by the Australian Government, Office for the Arts. AFF x JAFF Festival Bridge aims to cultivate enhanced connection between Australian and Indonesian filmmakers, to promote greater cultural understanding between the two countries and generate new opportunities for Australian filmmakers.
