Ifa Isfansyah (born Yogyakarta, 1979) is an Indonesian film director. Initially a maker of short films, his first featured film, ''
Garuda di Dadaku'' (''Garuda on my Chest''), was released in 2009. His following film, ''
Sang Penari'' (''The Dancer''), won four Citra Awards at the 2011
Indonesian Film Festival.
Biography
Ifa was born in
Yogyakarta
Yogyakarta (; jv, ꦔꦪꦺꦴꦒꦾꦏꦂꦠ ; pey, Jogjakarta) is the capital city of Special Region of Yogyakarta in Indonesia, in the south-central part of the island of Java. As the only Indonesian royal city still ruled by a monarchy, ...
in 1979. He grew up in a small village and enjoyed soccer in his youth; first playing with a
Muhammadiyah-sponsored team, he was a reserve in junior high school. After high school, where he dabbled in basketball and playing the bass, he enrolled at the
Indonesian Institute of the Arts.
In 2001, Ifa founded the independent film community Fourcolors Films; the following year, he released his first short film, ''Air Mata Surga'' (''Heaven's Tears''), together with Eddie Cahyono. ''Mayar'', also released in 2002, which was shown in several film festivals, including
International Film Festival Rotterdam.
Four years later, Ifa released ''Harap Tenang, Ada Ujian!'' (''Please Be Quiet, There are Tests!''), a short film about the
2006 FIFA World Cup
The 2006 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Germany 2006, was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which had won the right to host th ...
in comparison with the
2006 Yogyakarta earthquake, which was screened in film festivals in Indonesia, Japan, Kazakhstan. The same year he received a scholarship to study film at Im Kwon Taek Film School in
Dongseo University
Dongseo University (DSU) is a private university in Busan, the second largest city of South Korea. Established in 1992 through the Dongseo Educational Foundation, it provides higher education to approximately 11,000 full-time students, includi ...
, South Korea. In 2007 he released ''Setengah Sendok Teh'' (''Half a Teaspoonful'').
Ifa made his feature film debut with ''
Garuda di Dadaku'' (''Garuda on my Chest''), which was released on 18 June 2009; the film follows a young boy who dreams of playing in the
Indonesian football league.
On 10 November 2011, Ifa released his second feature-length film, ''
Sang Penari'' (''The Dancer''), which had spent three years in production. Based on the trilogy ''Ronggeng Dukuh Paruk'' (''Ronggeng of Paruk Hamlet'') by
Ahmad Tohari
Ahmad Tohari (born 13 June 1948) is an Indonesian author.
Early life
Ahmad Tohari was born in the village of Tinggarjaya, Jatilawang, Banyumas, the fourth of twelve children. Although Tohari's parents were both from farming backgrounds, his fat ...
, the film follows the life of a young ''
ronggeng
Ronggeng ( jv, ꦫꦺꦴꦁꦒꦺꦁ, translit=ronggèng) is a type of Javanese dance in which couples exchange poetic verses as they dance to the music of a rebab or violin and a gong. Ronggeng might have originated from Java in Indonesia.
Ro ...
'' in
Banyumas
Banyumas ( jv, ꦧꦚꦸꦩꦱ꧀, formerly spelt "Banjoemas") Regency is a regency ( id, kabupaten) in the southwestern part of Central Java province in Indonesia. Its capital is the town of Purwokerto, but that town no longer has a central a ...
,
Central Java, and touches on the
communist purge of 1965–1966. The film was selected as the Indonesian entry for the
Best Foreign Language Oscar at the
85th Academy Awards
The 85th Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored the best films of 2012 and took place on February 24, 2013, at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles beginning at 5:30 p. ...
, but it did not make the final shortlist.
Awards
Ifa's film ''Sang Penari'' garnered four Citra Awards at the 2011
Indonesian Film Festival, including
Best Picture
This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards.
Best Actor/Best Actress
*See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress#F ...
and
Best Director Best Director is the name of an award which is presented by various film, television and theatre organizations, festivals, and people's awards. It may refer to:
Film awards
* AACTA Award for Best Direction
* Academy Award for Best Director
* BA ...
.
Personal life
Ifa is married to fellow director
Kamila Andini
Kamila Andini (born 6 May 1986) is an Indonesian film director known for her critically acclaimed debut '' The Mirror Never Lies''.
Biography
Andini was born on 6 May 1986 and is the eldest daughter of filmmaker Garin Nugroho. Although uninterest ...
, daughter of director
Garin Nugroho
Garin Nugroho Riyanto (born 6 June 1961) is an Indonesian film director.
Biography
Nugroho was born in Yogyakarta, Special Region of Yogyakarta on 6 June 1961. He was the fourth child of postal workers Soetjipto Amin and Mariah, who eventually ...
.
Filmography
, Ifa has been involved in 21 film productions (both theatrical and short) as director, producer, and/or screenwriter.
*''Harap Tenang, Ada Ujian!'' (2006), as director and screenwriter
*''Setengah Sendok Teh'' (2007), as director and screenwriter
*''Huan Chen Guang'' (2008), as producer, director, and screenwriter
*''9808 Antologi 10 Tahun Reformasi Indonesia'' (2008), as producer, director, and screenwriter
*''
Garuda di Dadaku'' (2009), as director
*''Belkibolang'' (2010), as director
*''
Sang Penari'' (2011), as director and screenwriter
*''Cewek Saweran'' (2011), as screenwriter
*''Rindu Purnama'' (2011), as screenwriter
*''Rumah dan Musim Hujan'' (2012), as producer, director, and screenwriter
*''Ambilkan Bulan'' (2012), as director
*''9 Summers 10 Autumns'' (2013), as director and screenwriter
*''Isyarat (2013), as producer
*''Masked Monkey - The Evolution of Darwin's Theory'' (2014), as co-producer
*''
Pendekar Tongkat Emas'' (2014), as director and screenwriter
*''Siti'' (2014), as producer and executive producer
*''Pesantren Impian'' (2016), as director
*''Catatan Dodol Calon Dokter'' (2016), as director
*''
Turah'' (2016), as producer
*''
The Seen and Unseen
''The Seen and Unseen'' ( id, Sekala Niskala) is a 2017 drama film directed and written by Kamila Andini.
Cast
*Ni Kadek Thaly Titi Kasih as Tantri
*Ida Bagus Putu Radithya Mahijasena as Tantra
*Ayu Laksmi as Mother
*I Ketut Rina as Father
*Hap ...
'' (2017), co-producer
*''Hoax'' (2018), as producer, director, and screenwriter
*''
Memories of My Body'' (2018), as producer
*''
Mountain Song'' (2019), as producer
*''
Abracadabra
''Abracadabra'' is a magic word, historically used as an incantation on amulets and common today in stage magic.
Etymology
''Abracadabra'' is of unknown origin, but according to the ''Oxford English Dictionary'', its first known occurrence ...
'' (2019), as producer
*''
Yuni'' (2021), as producer
*''
Before, Now & Then'' (2022), as producer
References
;Footnotes
;Bibliography
*
*
*
*
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Isfansyah, Ifa
1979 births
Living people
Indonesian film directors
Indonesian Muslims
People from Yogyakarta
Citra Award winners
Films directed by Ifa Isfansyah
Maya Award winners