Raphael Wregas Bhanuteja is an Indonesian film director and

screenwriter A screenwriter (also called scriptwriter, scribe, or scenarist) is a person who practices the craft of writing for visual mass media, known as screenwriting. These can include short films, feature-length films, television programs, television ...

. In 2016, Wregas became the first Indonesian director to win an award at

Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Film Festival (; ), until 2003 called the International Film Festival ('), is the most prestigious film festival in the world. Held in Cannes, France, it previews new films of all genres, including documentaries, from all around ...

, for his short film '' Prenjak''.

Biography

Wregas Bhanuteja was born in

Yogyakarta Yogyakarta is the capital city of the 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 Hamengkubuwono, a monarchy, Yogyakarta is regarded as an importan ...

and learned short film making in De Britto College High School Yogyakarta. After graduating high school in 2010, he attended the Faculty of Film and TV, Jakarta Institute of Arts, majoring in film directing. During his study, Wregas produced several short films, including ''Senyawa'' (2012), shot on 16 mm celluloid film. In 2014, Wregas graduated from Jakarta Institute of Arts with his final project, a short film called ''Lemantun'' (2014) about a cupboard inherited by his grandmother. Lemantun attained several best short film awards, namely in XXI Short Film Festival 2015 and Indonesian Film Appreciation 2015. In 2015, Wregas' short film Lembusura (2014), about the eruption of Mount Kelud, made into selection in the 65th

Berlin International Film Festival The Berlin International Film Festival (), usually called the Berlinale (), is an annual film festival held in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the festival has been held every February since 1978 and is one of Europ ...

2015, competing in the section of Berlinale Shorts Competition. Wregas was named the youngest director in the festival at only 22 years old. After Berlin, he made another short film called ''The Floating Chopin'' (2015), an interpretation of the song Chopin Larung by Guruh Soekarno Putra. In 2016, Wregas, in collaboration with Studio Batu Yogyakarta, wrote and directed ''Prenjak/In The Year Of Monkey'' (2016), a story of a woman who sells lighter in Yogyakarta. ''In The Year Of Monkey'' was selected in the 55th Semaine de la Critique,

2016 and awarded Leica Cine Discovery Prize for short film. This has made Wregas the first Indonesian director to receive an award in Cannes Film Festival. In 2019, Wregas made another short film titled Tak Ada Yang Gila Di Kota Ini/No One Is Crazy In This Town (2019). The film was selected to compete in Wide Angle: Asian Short Film Competition as a part of

Busan International Film Festival The Busan International Film Festival (BIFF; ), formerly the Pusan International Film Festival (PIFF), held annually in Haeundae District, Busan, South Korea, is one of the most significant film festivals in Asia. The first festival, held fro ...

held 3–12 October 2019 in Busan, South Korea. The film is an adaptation of a short story with the same title by Eka Kurniawan, telling the story of Marwan (cast by Oka Antara) who is instructed to exile people with mental disorders to the woods. Bhanuteja's feature-length directorial debut, ''

Photocopier A photocopier (also called copier or copy machine, and formerly Xerox machine, the generic trademark) is a machine that makes copies of documents and other visual images onto paper or plastic film quickly and cheaply. Most modern photocopiers ...

'', is set to premiere at the

26th Busan International Film Festival The 26th Busan International Film Festival opened on October 6, 2021 at the Busan Cinema Center in Busan, South Korea with the South Korean film '' Heaven: To the Land of Happiness'' by Im Sang-soo. Park So-dam and Song Joong-ki hosted the open ...

, in October 2021. The film tells the story of Sur, a college student who loses her scholarship as her drunk selfie circulates online. The director's new film, scheduled to be released in 2025, was announced in 2024; according to press releases and interviews, this horror film will star Angga Yunanda, Anggun C. Sasmi,

Maudy Ayunda Ayunda Faza Maudya, commonly known as Maudy Ayunda (born 19 December 1994) is an Indonesian actress, singer-songwriter, entrepreneur and author. Ayunda made her debut in the entertainment industry through the film ":id:Untuk Rena, Untuk Rena" ...

, Bryan Domani, Chicco Kurniawan,

Indra Birowo Indra Birowo (born 9 January 1973) is an Indonesian actor and comedian, who made his television debut in the comedy show ''Extravaganza''. Indra is the third child of Wargandi Suryo and Farida Yusuf. He was educated at Canisius College in Jakar ...

, Ganindra Bimo, and Muhammad Asyrof Al-Ghifari; it will focus on a village where the people consider being possessed by spirits to be a source of shared satisfaction and pleasure.

Filmography

Feature films

Short films

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wregas Bhanuteja Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Indonesian film directors Indonesian screenwriters