Asian Shadows Secures Global Sales for Eddie Cahyono’s ‘Ibuku’ at Busan

Asian Shadows has just taken on the international sales rights to Eddie Cahyono’s newest Indonesian feature, “Ibuku.” The film is set to screen in competition at the Busan International Film Festival, and the boutique sales outfit is hoping to push the story onto screens far beyond Southeast Asia.

“Ibuku” follows Sumiati, a widowed mother in her sixties who lives alone in a remote Javanese village after her husband’s tragic suicide. When word reaches her that her only daughter, Sri, has been sentenced to death in Saudi Arabia for killing a man who tried to assault her, Sumiati embarks on a frantic quest for the money and the paperwork that might let her reach her child one last time.

Leading the cast, legendary actress Christine Hakim inhabits Sumiati with the kind of gravitas that’s earned her roles in classics like “Tjoet Nja’ Dhien,” Hollywood’s “Eat Pray Love,” and HBO’s “The Last of Us.” Ayushita Nugraha plays the desperate daughter, Sri, while veteran actor Landung Simatupang appears as village chief Djatmiko, the unlikely liaison who connects the grieving mother with Indonesian officials and journalists.

The film is a co‑production between Indonesia’s ANP Talenta Media, run by actress‑turned‑producer Tika Bravani, and Japan’s Knockonwood Inc., headed by Shin Yamaguchi. Hong Kong’s Chinese Shadows adds creative producers Isabelle Glachant and Li Xiaorong to the mix, and Cahyono himself serves as executive producer through his Memorieslight Pictures. For Bravani, this marks her first credit as a feature‑film producer.

Shot on 16mm film, “Ibuku” leans heavily on Cahyono’s research into the lives of Indonesian migrant workers—many of whom leave home to escape poverty, forced marriages, or domestic abuse. Rather than focusing on the migrants themselves, the narrative looks back at those they leave behind, painting an intimate portrait of a mother coping with loss, hope, and relentless bureaucracy.

“‘Ibuku’ is a poetic and touching portrait of a mother seen through the timeless eyes of her own daughter,” said Maria Ruggieri, head of sales and acquisitions at Asian Shadows. “We’re excited to introduce this deeply human story to audiences around the world.”

Asian Shadows isn’t new to Cahyono’s work; the company handled worldwide sales for his 2014 feature “Siti,” which swept three National Indonesian Awards and earned accolades at both the Singapore and Shanghai International Film Festivals. The Hong Kong‑based boutique, founded in 2014, focuses on representing Asian‑directed cinema, with past titles including Mouly Surya’s “Marlina the Murderer in Four Acts” and Garin Nugroho’s “Memories of My Body.”