The Madani International Film Festival (Madani Fest) was founded in 2017 under the Madani Kultur Publika Foundation, a collaborative initiative between Mizan and Pabrikultur. From the outset, Madani Fest has embodied a cultural movement aimed at countering religious conflicts carried out in the name of Islam, while highlighting the positive values of coexistence through the presentation of Living Islam—Islam as lived practice—aligned with the ethical traditions of Muslim societies worldwide.
The cinematic culture promoted by Madani serves as a window into broader strategic steps. Madani Fest functions as a flexible platform for advancing the wider Madani cultural movement, including contributing to the evolving landscape of cultural exchange and the creative economy within Muslim communities in the future.
Over time, its form has expanded beyond an annual festival into a year-round series of activities. Among them is Jemaah Sinema Madani, which collaborates with various communities and Muslim civil society organizations across Indonesia.
Objectives
- A forum for contributing to dialogue through theoretical and aesthetic reflections, creative works, and cultural products such as film, as well as cultural practices within the pluralistic Muslim societies of Indonesia and Southeast Asia.
- A vehicle for cultural diplomacy through invitations to present works, discursive dialogues, and immersive exchanges that bring together creators from various countries. This also includes forms of international collaboration such as residencies, curatorial exchanges, and the selection of works for international film festivals.
- A platform for the activation and collaboration of a community called Jamaah Sinema Madani, operating nationally and year-round as a forum for communication and coordination of civic initiatives rooted in cinema culture.
- A medium for contributing to the development of a layered arts ecosystem rooted in cinema culture in Jakarta, aligned with one of the strategic targets of Jakarta’s Long-Term Regional Development Plan (RPJPD) 2025–2045, specifically under the chapter on Economic Growth Directions.
The 8th Year of Madani Fest
This year marks the eighth edition of Madani Festival. Below are the themes carried throughout the years:
- Coexistence (2018)
- Reconcile (2019)
- Re(dis)covery (2020)
- Light (2021)
- Ufuk (2022)
- Buhul (2023)
- Marwah (2024)
- Misykat (2025)
Films Previously Screened
- To date, Madani Fest has showcased nearly 500 films from around 100 countries.
- Each year, Madani also invites filmmakers from across the globe to submit their works to the Shorts Film Competitionand the Feature Non-Competition program. Thousands of filmmakers from diverse countries send in their films, which are then carefully curated by the Madani team for screening during the festival. This year alone, 1,711 films were submitted from dozens of countries.
Madani Collaborations
From year to year, Madani has built partnerships and collaborations with a wide range of communities and institutions. These include Islamic organizations such as Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) and Muhammadiyah, film communities, cultural centers, study groups, universities, and pesantren (Islamic boarding schools) across many cities in Indonesia—among them Aceh, Bali, Riau, Lampung, Palembang, Maluku, Kupang, Yogyakarta, Jember, and Sukabumi.
Over the years, Madani has collaborated with a diverse network of partners, including: Aceh Documentary, the Cultural Heritage Preservation Board Region I (Aceh), Riau Arts Council, Komunitas Film Kupang, Flobamora Film Festival, Festival Budaya Loloan, @america Cultural Center, Jakarta Film Week, Indonesia IATSS Forum Association (IIFA), Alumni Forum of the Australia–Indonesia Muslim Exchange Program (AIMEP), Komunitas Utan Kayu, East Cinema, Komunitas Museum Huruf, Komunitas Layar Setaman (Palembang), IWEC Academy, Holy Market, rangkai.id, Komunitas Rumah Mesra (Jember), Komunitas Walang Kreatif (Ambon), Wanu Sinema (Ambon), the Anti-Corruption Film Festival (ACFFEST) of the Indonesian Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), Istiqlal Mosque, Institut Français Indonésie (IFI), Pusbang Film, Kaninga Pictures, Garin Workshop, Maarif Institute, Goethe-Institut, Falcon Pictures, Kwikku, KlikFilm, and Viddsee.
Madani has also worked with academic institutions such as the University of Indonesia, Universitas Paramadina, STAI Al-Aqidah Al-Hasyimiyyah, the Indonesian International Islamic University (UIII), Pondok Pesantren Manba’ul Ulum Bali, the State Islamic University of Ambon, and Binus University.
In 2023, Madani contributed to the curation of Indonesian films featured at the Indie Indonesia Year of Culture Film Series (August 31 – September 2, 2023) in Doha, Qatar. This cultural festival was organized through a collaboration between the Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia in Doha and the Doha Film Institute (DFI).
Most recently, in 2025, Madani collaborated with the Muslim International Film Festival in London, UK, particularly in the jurying of the Madani Shorts Film Competition.
Madani Books
Madani has also published two books:
- “In Search of Madani Cinema: Film and the Islamic World” (2019)
- “99 Madani Films” (2022)
International Speakers of Madani Fest
- Dr. Kataryzna Ancuta (Poland)
- Aida Begic (Bosnia-Herzegovina)
- Akram Shibly (Syrian-American)
- Yo Nonaka (Jepang)
- Andrew N. Weintraub (America)
- Quirine van Heeren (Belanda/Indonesia)
- Dag Yngvesson, Ph.D (America)
- Amir Masoud Soheili (Iran)
- Ian Wilson (Inggris/Australia)
- Dr. Kristian Petersen (Amerika)
- Sabir Pirzada (Pakistani-American)
- Rish Shah (British-Indian)
- Saagar Shaikh (Indian-American)
- Kauthar Abdulalim (Australia)
- Kang Rithdee (Thailand)
- Briliante Mendoza (Filipina)
- Jon Tawlson (Inggris)