Autobiography (film)

Autobiography is a 2022 thriller drama film written and directed by Makbul Mubarak [id] in his directorial debut. It stars Kevin Ardilova and Arswendy Bening Swara. The film had its world premiere at the 79th Venice International Film Festival during the Horizons program on September 2, 2022, where it won the FIPRESCI Award for Best Film in sections other than the main competition. Autobiography won the sole award in Best Original Screenplay category among other seven nominations at the 2022 Indonesian Film Festival. The film was selected as the Indonesian entry for Best International Feature Film at the 96th Academy Awards.

Autobiography
Promotional release poster
Directed by	Makbul Mubarak [id]
Written by	Makbul Mubarak [id]
Produced by	Yulia Evina Bhara
Starring	Kevin Ardilova Arswendy Bening Swara
Cinematography	Wojciech Staroń
Edited by	Carlo Francisco Manatad
Music by	Bani Haykal
Production company	KawanKawan Media
Distributed by	Alpha Violet Amazon Prime Video (Southeast Asia)
Release dates	2 September 2022 (2022-09-02) (Venice) 19 January 2023 (2023-01-19) (Indonesia)
Running time	115 minutes
Countries	Indonesia France Germany Poland Singapore Philippines Qatar
Language	Indonesian
Budget	$362,932[1]

Plot

The film follows Rakib (Kevin Ardilova), who serves as a housekeeper and assistant to a retired general, Purnawinata (Arswendy Bening Swara), who runs an election campaign to be a regent.

Cast

• Kevin Ardilova as Rakib
• Arswendy Bening Swara as Purnawinata
• Yusuf Mahardika as Agus
• Lukman Sardi as Soewito
• Yudi Ahmad Tajudin as Nala
• Rukman Rosadi as Amir
• Haru Sandra as Andra
• Gunawan Maryanto as a construction worker

Production

Mubarak proposed the first draft of the script of Autobiography to Bhara in 2017.^[2] The project was selected as a part of the TorinoFilmLab in 2017 and 2018 Ties That Bind.^[3][4]

The principal photography took place in Bojonegoro, East Java, Indonesia.^[5]

Release

Alpha Violet acquired worldwide sales rights to the film in July 2022.^[6]

Autobiography had its world premiere during the Horizons program at the 79th Venice International Film Festival on 2 September 2022.^[7] Its North American premiere was at the Contemporary World Cinema at the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival in September 2022,.^[8] The film had its Asian premiere during the A Window on Asian Cinema at the 27th Busan International Film Festival on 7 October 2022.^[9][10] Autobiography was also screened at the Adelaide Film Festival on 22 October 2022.^[11] It was theatrically released in Indonesia on 19 January 2023 and garnered 33,407 admissions during its run.

Autobiography was distributed by Amazon Prime Video in the Southeast Asia region on 13 April 2023.^[12]

Reception

Critical response

On the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes website, the film has an approval rating of 91% based on 11 reviews, with an average rating of 7.5/10.^[13]

Accolades

Awards and Nominations for Autobiography

Award	Date of ceremony	Category	Recipient(s)	Result	Ref.
Venice Film Festival	10 September 2022	FIPRESCI Award	Makbul Mubarak	Won	[14]
	11 September 2022	Orizzonti Award for Best Film		Nominated
Adelaide Film Festival	25 October 2022	Feature Fiction Award		Won	[15]
Tokyo Filmex	5 November 2022	Grand Prize		Won	[16]
Asia Pacific Screen Awards	11 November 2022	Best Screenplay		Won	[17]
Golden Horse Film Festival and Awards	16 November 2022	NETPAC Award	Autobiography	Won	[18]
		Observation Missions for Asian Cinema Award	Autobiography	Won
Stockholm International Film Festival	19 November 2022	Bronze Horse for Best Film	Makbul Mubarak	Nominated	[19]
		Best Debut		Won
Marrakech International Film Festival	19 November 2022	Best Feature Film	Makbul Mubarak	Nominated	[20]
		Best Performance by an Actor	Arswendy Bening Swara	Won
Indonesian Film Festival	22 November 2022	Best Picture	Yulia Evina Bhara	Nominated	[21]
		Best Director	Makbul Mubarak	Nominated
		Best Actor	Kevin Ardilova	Nominated
		Best Supporting Actor	Arswendy Bening Swara	Nominated
		Best Original Screenplay	Makbul Mubarak	Won
		Best Sound	L.H. Aim Adinegara and Hadrianus Eko	Nominated
		Best Original Song	Sal Priadi for "Ambilkan Bintang"	Nominated
QCinema International Film Festival	23 November 2022	Best Film	Makbul Mubarak	Won	[22]
		Best Director		Won
Jogja-NETPAC Asian Film Festival	3 December 2022	Golden Hanoman Award	Autobiography	Won	[23]
Singapore International Film Festival	4 December 2022	Silver Screen Award for Asian Feature Film	Makbul Mubarak	Won	[24]
World Film Festival of Bangkok	12 December 2022	Lotus Awards for Best Film	Makbul Mubarak	Nominated	[25]
		Jury Prize of Technical Achievement	Carlo Francisco Manatad	Won
			Wojciech Staroń	Won
Hainan International Film Festival	24 December 2022	Best Film - Asian New Director	Autobiography	Won	[26]
Tempo Film Festival	18 December 2022	Best Film	Yulia Evina Bhara	Won	[27]
		Best Screenplay	Makbul Mubarak	Nominated
		Best Director		Nominated
		Best Actor	Kevin Ardilova	Won
		Best Supporting Actor	Arswendy Bening Swara	Won
			Rukman Rosadi	Nominated
Asian Film Awards	12 March 2023	Best New Director	Makbul Mubarak	Nominated	[28]
		Best Screenplay		Nominated
CinemAsia Film Festival	13 March 2023	Jury Special Mention	Autobiography	Won	[29]
Malaysia International Film Festival	29 July 2023	Best Film	Autobiography	Won	[30]
		Best Director	Makbul Mubarak	Won
		Best Screenplay		Won
		Best Actor	Kevin Ardilova	Nominated
		Best Supporting Actor	Arswendy Bening Swara	Won
		Best Cinematography	Wojciech Staroń	Won

See also

• List of submissions to the 96th Academy Awards for Best International Feature Film
• List of Indonesian submissions for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film

References

1. "Autobiography". Southeast Asia Fiction Film Lab. Retrieved 13 September 2022.
2. Ramachandran, Naman (2 September 2022). "Morality Thriller 'Autobiography' Examines Effects of Military Dictatorship on Indonesian Youth – Venice". Variety. Retrieved 13 September 2022.
3. Siregar, Lisa (23 May 2017). "Two Indonesian Filmmakers Will Participate in Prestigious Torino Film Lab". Jakarta Globe. Retrieved 13 September 2022.
4. "Ties That Bind 2018". European Audiovisual Entrepreneurs. Retrieved 13 September 2022.
5. Dienfitri, Annisa (31 August 2022). "'Kayak Sebuah Keajaiban' Cerita Kevin Ardilova Syuting Film 'Autobiography' di Bojonegoro, Takjub Ditonton Masyarakat Lokal sampai Gelar Tikar!". Grid.id. Retrieved 13 September 2022.
6. Dalton, Ben (26 July 2022). "Alpha Violet boards Venice Horizons selection 'Autobiography' (exclusive)". Screen International. Retrieved 12 September 2022.
7. Blauvelt, Christian (27 July 2022). "Venice 2022 Lineup: 'Blonde,' 'Bardo,' 'The Whale,' 'Eternal Daughter,' and More". IndieWire. Retrieved 12 September 2022.
8. Bergeson, Samantha (17 August 2022). "TIFF Unveils Contemporary World Cinema Lineup: 'Aftersun,' 'EO' Among Toronto Premieres". IndieWire. Retrieved 13 September 2022.
9. "Busan International Film Festival". Busan International Film Festival (in Korean). Retrieved 22 October 2022.
10. Noh, Jean (7 September 2022). "Busan film festival to open with Iran's 'Scent Of Wind', Tony Leung to receive honour". Screen International. Retrieved 13 September 2022.
11. "Autobiography". Adelaide Film Festival. 21 October 2022. Archived from the original on 22 October 2022. Retrieved 22 October 2022.
12. Ramachandran, Naman (13 March 2023). "Venice Winner 'Autobiography' Snapped Up by Prime Video (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved 13 April 2023.
13. "Autobiography (Drama 2022)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved 2 May 2024.
14. Abbatescianni, Davide (10 September 2022). "The 79th Venice Film Festival announces the winners of its parallel awards". Retrieved 12 September 2022.
15. "AFF22 Feature Fiction and Feature Documentary Award Winners Announced". Adelaide Film Festival. 25 October 2022. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
16. Fathurrozak (8 November 2022). "Film Autobiography Raih Penghargaan Utama di Tokyo Filmex 2022". Media Indonesia. Retrieved 20 November 2022.
17. Frater, Patrick (12 October 2022). "Kamila Andini's 'Before Now and Then' Heads APSA Award Nominations, New Zealand's 'Muru' Collects Diversity Prize". Variety. Retrieved 18 October 2022.
18. "《獨裁的豢養》榮獲奈派克獎 2022金馬電影學院成果放映". Yahoo! (in Chinese). Retrieved 19 November 2022.
19. Frost, Caroline (19 November 2022). "'Holy Spider' Leads Prize List At Stockholm Film Festival; Other Winners Include Frances O'Connor And Laura Poitras". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 20 November 2022.
20. Goodfellow, Melanie (19 November 2022). "Iranian Drama 'A Tale of Shemroon' Scoops Top Prize At Marrakech". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 14 January 2023.
21. Mario, Vincentius (24 October 2022). Kistyarini (ed.). "Daftar Lengkap Nominasi Festival Film Indonesia 2022" [Complete list of 2022 Indonesian Film Festival nominations]. Kompas. Retrieved 25 October 2022.
22. "Autobiography, BOLD EAGLE big winners in QCinema 2022 Pylon Awards". Manila Bulletin. 23 November 2022. Retrieved 14 January 2023.
23. Wong, Silvia (6 December 2022). "'Autobiography', 'The Exiles' win top prizes at Indonesia's Jogja-NETPAC film festival". Screen Daily. Retrieved 8 December 2022.
24. Ramachandran, Naman (4 December 2022). "'Autobiography' Wins Top Prize at Singapore Silver Screen Awards, Laha Mebow Wins Best Director for 'Gaga'". Variety. Retrieved 27 December 2022.
25. Ajanapanya, Nongluck (12 December 2022). "15th World Film Festival of Bangkok wraps up with Apichatpong bagging Victor Award". The Nation. Retrieved 14 January 2023.
26. Shackleton, Liz (19 December 2022). "China's Hainan Island International Film Festival Returns As In-Person Event; Competition Titles Include 'Aftersun', 'Saint Omer', 'The Beasts'". Yahoo! Sports. Retrieved 14 January 2023.
27. Yuliastuti, Dian (18 December 2022). "Pengumuman Pemenang Film Pilihan Tempo 2022: Autobiography, Film Pilihan Tempo 2022". Tempo. Retrieved 14 January 2023.
28. Rosser, Michael (6 January 2023). "'Decision To Leave' leads Asian Film Awards nominations". Screen Daily. Retrieved 14 January 2023.
29. "Cinemasia Film Festival 2023 Announces Award Winners". cinemasia. 16 March 2023. Retrieved 9 July 2023.
30. Ikram, Amy (29 July 2023). "MIFFEST 2023 Awards at Zepp Kuala Lumpur". Wajib Tonton. Retrieved 13 September 2023.

External links

• Autobiography at IMDb
• Autobiography at Rotten Tomatoes