Streaming company shines light on Southeast Asia

Streaming company Netflix held its first presentation centering on Southeast Asia during its Asia-Pacific showcase on June 13 at the Fairmont Jakarta Hotel in central Jakarta, Indonesia.

Three countries in particular were highlighted — Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines.

"This is an opportunity to shine a light on the content from these countries, and we promise viewers that we are committed to bringing great stories from there," Minyoung Kim, vice-president of APAC content on Netflix, said during the showcase.

Kim emphasized the company's decision to invest in local creative communities to bring out "authentic stories" from Southeast Asian countries, noting that Indonesia would see "some of the biggest shows" that Netflix would introduce this year.

Some of the projects from Indonesia in 2024 include Borderless Fog by award-winning director Edwin, The Shadow Strays by action auteur Timo Tjahjanto, and two projects recently released: Joko Anwar's Nightmares and Daydreams and Mouly Surya's Trigger Warning.

Nightmares and Daydreams, released on June 14 following yearlong anticipation, is the first Netflix original series by household filmmaker Joko. It is also fertile ground for the director to experiment with a new genre in the country — supernatural sci-fi.

"In Indonesia, supernatural things are common, and while we usually tie them with a superstitious explanation, we're now offering a different type of explanation, one that is more scientific," Joko said.

Serving as the executive producer and one of the show's directors, Joko said the project was made in two years and that the team was given ample creative freedom by Netflix, adding that there was "no ego" in the process.

Southeast Asian films and series have fared consistently well on Netflix, with some even making it to the Global Top 10 List of what subscribers watch, including Indonesia's Cigarette Girl and Thailand's Hunger.

Last year's report by Singapore analysis firm Media Partners Asia stated that Netflix's revenue growth would benefit from more material contributions from parts of Southeast Asia, including Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand.

The streaming company appeared to continue the plan. In Thailand, which has seen success with drama series The Believers this March, Netflix is increasing its original content from six titles last year to 10 titles this year.

It includes horror series Terror Tuesday: Extreme and sci-fi anthology Tomorrow and I.

The Philippines is also set to expand its slate by offering an original psychological thriller in October called Outside, which deals with a family in a zombie outbreak.

"We in Southeast Asia have very similar stories, mythologies and folklores. How great would it be for all of us to collectively share that slowly but surely through streaming platforms," director Carlo Ledesma said.

The only way Southeast Asia can do that, he believed, is to give more opportunities to local creators, thereby pushing more variety in their works and shining the light on what is happening this side of the world.

"Outside for me is about family,… and it played out my worst fears as a father," he added, noting it can be very relatable despite being his most personal project yet.

THE JAKARTA POST