Thrilled to announce that My Plastic Mother has been selected to compete in the official programme for the 35th edition of the Flickerfest International Short Film Festival in Australia.

This is yet another Hollywood Oscar qualifying film event to select this Indonesian production.

The screening will take place at the idyllic Bondi Beach from 23 January to 1 February 2026, with the Director, Producer and Distributor in attendance!

My Plastic Mother, aka Anak Macan, was premiered at the prestigious Beirut International Short Film Festival, Libano; and Leeds International Film Festival, UK. Both are Hollywood Oscars qualifying festivals.

My Plastic Mother has racked up a record number of selections at film festivals in just two months on the film festival circuit.

Among the many accolades this splendid Asian masterpiece has received in just two months is its NOMINATION for the Indonesian National Awards.

Synopsis:

Eki, living by the landfill, searches for a memento to honor his late mother. Battling the relentless rain, landslides, and looming threats from scavengers and machinery, he fears her memory could be lost beneath the waste forever.

Amar Haikal statement:

I grew up without my mother. As a kid, I did not really consider it to be a problem until I saw the relationship my classmates had with their mothers. For example, family photo days in elementary school were always a terror; the other kids brought in photographs of their whole family, and all mine had was just a photo of me and my father. It made me feel incomplete. I would then end up crafting well-thought-out lies to my friends about my mother working overseas. I slowly became a very troublesome and hurtful kid, to the point of expulsion in the sixth grade. As I reflect, the frustration and confusion that I kept to myself were the one that led me to hurt others around me.

With this film, I want to encapsulate those years of my childhood. It is a story about longing and the desire we all have to feel complete, interpreted through the pure desire of a child. The protagonist is a naughty, harsh boy that secretly keeps a lot of pain inside – which is also a trait most male don’t get the chance to outgrow.

In 2021, as I was shooting a documentary project in the landfill of Bantar Gebang, a huge landslide happened. Burying hundreds of old public graveyards with plastic waste sent from the capital, Jakarta. The locals refer to the kids who play in the landfill as “Anak Macan” or “Tiger Boy” due to their reckless nature. But I see it as an ironic relation to the mascot of Jakarta, the Kemayoran Tiger. All the characters in this film are played by non-professional actors, they are the kids who live in Bantar Gebang. This story is theirs as much as it is mine.

Muhammad Alfat Apriansyah excels in his role as Eki, in what is one of the most extraordinary performances of the year and for which he was NOMINATED at the Singapore International Film Festival.

Stay tuned because in a few days we will announce more news about this gem of Asian cinema.

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