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A Desperate Mother, a Frozen Mountain Range and the Spirits That Roam It
Indonesian filmmaker Kevin Rahardjo, director of Smothered, is taking his next scare far from home, as first reported by Variety. His supernatural feature was presented at the Tokyo Gap-Financing Market, part of the TIFFCOM content market that runs alongside the Tokyo International Film Festival, and it marks the first time Indonesia and Kyrgyzstan have teamed up on a film.
The story follows a young Indonesian woman who travels to the snowbound mountains of Kyrgyzstan hoping a mystical healer can save her unborn child. Her search ends up binding the baby’s fate to the jinn said to haunt the region, and the script pulls from the legend of King Solomon, who was believed to hold power over those spirits. Makbul Mubarak (Autobiography) and Tumpal Tampubolon (Crocodile Tears) wrote the screenplay, and Rahardjo told Variety the project gave him a chance to explore, through horror, how far someone will go chasing the idea of a “complete” life.
Filming took place around Kyrgyzstan’s Issyk-Kul region and in Jakarta, with dialogue in English, Indonesian and Kyrgyz. The movie is now in post-production and aiming for a 2027 release. While in Tokyo, the producers are looking for partners to fill the remaining financing gap and handle distribution, with pre-sales or a festival launch next year as the target.
Producer Yulia Evina Bhara of Jakarta-based KawanKawan Media pitched the pairing as a natural fit, with Indonesia bringing a proven, profitable horror market and Kyrgyzstan contributing auteur talent, untouched landscapes and access to audiences across Central Asia. Rahardjo already has another genre film lined up after this one, a creature feature set in a rural Indonesian village.
Director: Kevin Rahardjo
Writers: Makbul Mubarak, Tumpal Tampubolon
Producers: Yulia Evina Bhara, Amerta Kusuma, Sultan Pirzhan, Elvira Sarieva, Maksat Bolotbek, Nazira C. Noer
Studios: KawanKawan Media, FreeMinds, Bairak Group
Status: Post-production
Release: 2027
Source: Reporting and confirmation via Variety.