Indonesian-Australian producer Intan Kieflie will present a focused genre slate at the Cannes Film Market through her companies Kraken Entertainment and Anak Negeri Films, including the market launch of “Ibu: Mother of the Lost,” a bilingual maternal horror project in pre-production with talent including Yayan Ruhian and Christine Hakim.
Kieflie operates between Jakarta and Melbourne and has more than 15 years of experience across the Indonesian and Australian screen industries. Her Cannes presentation is structured around three pillars: the completed supernatural horror “Sukma,” from director-actor Baim Wong; the ready-to-release ritual horror “Ritual Gaib: Nyai Randasura”; and “Ibu.”
“This is not only about selling one film,” Kieflie said. “It is about building a pathway. Indonesian producers have powerful stories, but the international market needs to understand how to read them, how to position them, and where they can travel.”
“Ritual Gaib: Nyai Randasura” anchors a wider horror franchise called “The Black Ritual Universe,” a multi-platform property built across a film, a book, a video podcast and documentary content. “Ibu,” which is also connected to that universe, follows a grieving mother named Dewi who withdraws to a dilapidated lakeside property she intends to transform into an orphanage. But once there, she finds two dead children already living there and calling her by the titular name. The project is being developed in both English and Bahasa Indonesia, with the cast also including Alexander Wraith and Kieflie herself. It is being brought to Cannes for co-production, investment, strategic partners, and pre-sale.
“With ‘Ibu,’ we are building a horror film that does not only scare people,” Kieflie said. “It breaks your heart first, then lets the horror grow from that wound.”
Kieflie founded Anak Negeri Films in Indonesia and Kraken Entertainment in Australia with the aim of creating a more direct international pathway for Indonesian genre cinema — one that reduces reliance on overseas intermediaries that have historically introduced Indonesian titles to global buyers following domestic success. The Cannes slate targets buyers across North America, Europe, U.K./Ireland, Australia/New Zealand, Southeast Asia, Middle East and North Africa, Latin America and Russia/CIS.
“Indonesia is not short of stories,” Kieflie added. “Every island has its own fear, ritual, ghost and emotional truth. The opportunity now is to bring those stories to the right global partners with the right packaging, the right strategy, and the right respect for where they come from.”