John Badalu
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- Film producer
- film publicist
- film programmer
John Badalu | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1971 Makassar, South Sulawesi, Indonesia |
| Died | 21 May 2025 (aged 53–54) Bali, Indonesia |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 2000–2025 |
John Badalu (1971 – 21 May 2025) was an Indonesian film producer, publicist, and programmer. He was known for producing films that highlighted LGBTQ+ stories and other minority communities in Southeast Asia.[1] He founded the Q! Film Festival, a LGBTQ+ film festival held in Jakarta, which ran from 2002 to 2017.
In 2000, he worked with British Council and Goethe-Institut to coordinate cultural film festivals and became a freelance journalist and film critic. He founded the Q-Munity in 2001, an organization that began as a group of ethnic Chinese Indonesians interested in contemporary Chinese cinema. A year later, the organization initially aimed to launch a festival of Chinese films. They eventually staged the Q! Film Festival, a festival featuring films that dealt with issues of sexuality, where he served as festival director.[2] The festival ran for fifteen years, ending with its disbandment in 2017.
In 2006, he served as a jury for the Teddy Award, an award presented at the 56th Berlin International Film Festival.[3] He was awarded the Ashoka Fellowship in 2008 in recognition of his advocacy for LGBTQ+ communities through film.[4] Throughout the 2000s and 2010s, he served as a festival delegate at several film festivals, including Berlin International Film Festival, Shanghai International Film Festival, Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival, and Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival, scouting Southeast Asian films.[5]
In 2012, he produced Paul Agusta's queer drama film Parts of the Heart, which premiered at the International Film Festival Rotterdam.[6] In 2013, he co-produced Mouly Surya's What They Don't Talk About When They Talk About Love. The film had its world premiere at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival.[7] He served as a jury of BIFF Mecenat Award at the 18th Busan International Film Festival.[8] In 2014, he served as an associate producer of Lucky Kuswandi's directorial debut film In the Absence of the Sun, which had its world premiere at the 27th Tokyo International Film Festival.[9]
In 2017, he produced Thai romantic drama film, Malila: The Farewell Flower by Anucha Boonyawatana, which won the Kim Jiseok Award at the 22nd Busan International Film Festival.[10] In 2023, he produced Khozy Rizal's short film, Basri & Salma in a Never-Ending Comedy, being the first Indonesian short film to compete for the Short Film Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival.[11] At the 2024 Indonesian Film Festival, he won two Citra Awards for producing Under the Moonlight and My Therapist Said, I Am Full of Sadness, which won the Best Documentary Feature and Best Documentary Short Film, respectively.[12]