Very little has been heard from Indonesian filmmakerMouly Suryasince her buzzy 2017 Cannes titleMarlina the Murderer in Four Acts.
Surya has released three features.
Her debut,Fiction, won four awards, including Best Picture at the Festival Film Indonesia in 2008.
Mouly SuryaNatalie Cass/Getty Images.
It also won the Grand Prize at Tokyo Filmex and was selected as Indonesias Oscar entry.
What have you been up to?
And in 2021an American/Hollywood project Ive been developing suddenly was given the green light to go into production.
DEADLINE:It feels like a lot has changed in the world, and also the industry since 2017.
What have you made of the last few years?
SURYA:The world has changed.
The rise of social media and how it kills the video star I find it quite fascinating.
And how one platform kills another so fast in less than a decade.
In Indonesia, there has been a significant rise in resources alongside new talents and new voices.
DEADLINE:How do you feel about the current filmmaking ecosystem?
What are the biggest trends youve noticed?
SURYA:The burst for content.
Even though streamers have the approach of having everything for everybody.
The kind of freedom you get in a developing industry and nowhere else.
Sometimes it can be very liberating.
DEADLINE:IMDb states that you have two projects currently in production and set for 2024.
Can you tell me about those projects and when will we see them?
SURYA:Yes, its true.
I mean, I havent released a film in 6 years, and I will have two in 2024.
How crazy is that?
It is a script I wrote early in the pandemic.
DEADLINE:Youve worked independently on your last features.
What has the experience of working with Netflix on Trigger Warning been like?
Has it changed anything about how you work?
SURYA:Work changing?
I dont mean to put a rosy brush all over it.
I mean, it was a lot of pressure and very intense but I embrace it all.
The challenge was to communicate it through the cultural barrier.
DEADLINE:How did Trigger Warning come about?
How was working with Jessica Alba?
That was my first attraction to the film.
Then I Skyped with the producers this is the pre-Zoom era and shared that sentiment with them.
I guess maybe thats why I got the job.
Jessica began showing interest in the project.
I had my first phone call with her.
We were sharing both our visions on that one-hour phone call about the film.
Jessica stood by me throughout the whole process of development and production as one of my biggest allies.
Well, she really does stand by that speech because thats exactly how I felt working with her.
If so, why?
But inBattlefield, I was genuinely surprised by how different it is.
Its been night and day.
Even I can sense peoples hesitation to disagree with me.
I said to myself, Wow, am I a big-time film director now?
People put directors on a pedestal after they see their movies succeed.
Especially after I madeTrigger.
But I guess Ive experienced something not many people back home have experienced.
The perception has changed.
DEADLINE:What do you plan to do in this next phase of your career?
SURYA:To be honest, I dont have a five-year plan or a concrete plan in general.
I am one of those who live by today and hope for the best for tomorrow.
There is no sure thing ever in filmmaking.
Then lets see what the next door will present me with.
DEADLINE:Why was it important for you to accept the Kurosawa Akira Award at Tokyo?
SURYA:You see, as we all know, a female director is a rare breed.
But we dont just do that.
