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Kanya Iwana’s Debut Feature ‘Ibu’ Explores Generational Trauma at JAFF Future Project

Published

4 months ago

November 30, 2025

Kanya Iwana’s Debut Feature ‘Ibu’ Explores Generational Trauma at JAFF Future Project

Kanya Iwana, an Indonesian multidisciplinary artist making her feature directorial debut, has “Ibu” selected for the JAFF Future Project, about three generations of women wrestling with inherited identity in 2011 Yogyakarta.

The Indonesia-U.S. co-production, directed by Iwana and produced by Zack Rice through production company Feed You Films, is among 10 titles selected for the JAFF Future Project at this year’s JAFF Market in Yogyakarta, Indonesia.

“Ibu” follows Maya, a formidable Javanese woman who once dreamed of becoming a writer but subsumed her ambitions under obligation and tradition. Now a widow, she parents through manipulation disguised as protection, resenting her daughters for chasing freedoms she was taught she could never claim.

Her eldest daughter Tash fled to Los Angeles years ago, juggling single motherhood with an uncertain creative career. When Maya’s husband Arief dies, Tash returns home to face not only her domineering mother but her commanding grandmother Dewi and half-sister Inez, a 16-year-old navigating the same emotional minefield Tash fled. Everything ruptures during Arief’s Seventh-Day Prayer Ceremony when Maya publicly unravels, confessing fears she has never voiced.

“I’ve always been so interested in exploring the atlas of family dynamics, whether it is a traditional Indonesian family (often inspired by my own upbringing) or a tenuously liberal American family,” Iwana says. “As I become a parent myself and have to do a lot of inward thinking, I’ve become more inspired to explore narratives that surround the complications of parenting — to break generational curses while maintaining valuable customs.”

The director is inspired not just as a mother, but also as a daughter. “At 16, I moved away from home and has been away ever since,” she says. “This story mirrors so much of my feelings towards that part of my life and my experiences of homecoming: from grief to pride. Writing such strong and complex female characters as the core of ‘Ibu’ has become somewhat of a beautiful, nostalgic, and healing process.”

“‘Ibu’ illustrates the nuances of how loss, traditions, and stigma can lead to generational trauma,” Iwana says. “It explores the consequences violent secrets can have as they are kept from each other in a family unit. ‘Ibu’ zeroes in on our protagonist, Tash, as she works towards escaping that trauma — although it catches up to her.”

Breaking the cycle isn’t always smooth and perfect. “Her desperation to break that cycle actually puts her in the position she wants to avoid, which is a flawed but relatable human experience,” she says. “Breaking the cycle isn’t always smooth and perfect, but the journey to giving yourself grace is a beautiful one. At the end of the day, ‘Ibu’ showcases an array of different textures that spotlight the same thing: the desire to be loved.”

Producer Rice adds, “I launched Feed You Films with my producing partner, Christine Woods, to champion debut features from experienced directors who have the craft and vision — but haven’t yet been given the support or resources to make their first feature. Kanya Iwana is exactly the filmmaker we built this company for.”

Rice was first introduced to Iwana through her work as a photographer and commercial director. “She demonstrated a singular aesthetic and a cinematic eye that touches your soul,” he says. “But it wasn’t until I read her screenplay for ‘Ibu’ that I truly understood the scope of her talent. The honesty and emotional precision in her writing floored me.”

To validate the vision, Feed You Films produced a proof-of-concept short titled “Home.” “Kanya once again exceeded every expectation,” Rice says. “She arrived prepared, intentional, and completely in command of her set — capturing every shot she needed without wasting time or resources on unneeded coverage. She led a mostly female crew with sensitivity, kindness, and total clarity, and everyone on set rallied behind her vision.”

At JAFF Market, the team’s top priority is securing remaining production equity to greenlight the film. “The JAFF Future Project program is uniquely positioned to connect filmmakers with investors who understand Southeast Asian stories and want to champion bold new voices,” the filmmakers say.

They’re also seeking distribution and sales partners who understand both the Indonesian market and international art-house space. “As the only U.S.-based filmmakers selected for the Future Project program this year, joining the Indonesian film community is essential to us,” they say. “This film can only succeed as a true cross-cultural collaboration.”

JAFF Future Project functions as both a development platform and co-production hub, designed to advance independent works toward completion and distribution. The initiative runs Nov. 29-Dec. 1 at the Jogja Expo Center in Yogyakarta as part of the broader 20th-anniversary celebration of the Jogja-Netpac Asian Film Festival.

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World

Nigeria’s Christians on edge for Easter after Palm Sunday massacre

Published

24 minutes ago

April 2, 2026

Press Room

Nigeria’s Christians on edge for Easter after Palm Sunday massacre

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JOHANNESBURG — A Holy Week attack in a predominantly Christian town in Nigeria that left a reported 28 dead has led to widespread fears that more of Christ’s followers could be targeted over the coming Easter weekend.

On Palm Sunday last weekend, multiple gunmen reportedly shouted a Muslim declaration as they randomly opened fire in the predominantly Christian town of Angwan Rukuba in the Jos District of Nigeria’s Plateau State.

“The terrorists stormed the area in a commando style and started shooting, sporadically chanting, ‘Allahu Akbar’ (God is great in Arabic),” a field worker told the aid agency Voice of the Martyrs from the scene. “The area is (a majority) Christian community.”

AFTER TRUMP STRIKES ISLAMIST TERRORISTS, US GENERAL TRAVELS TO NIGERIA WITH MILITANTS ‘ON THE RUN’

Henrietta Blyth, CEO of Open Doors UK & Ireland, told Fox News Digital this Easter there are fears of more attacks against Christians in Nigeria.

“Tragic events like this are all too common in Plateau State and large areas of northern Nigeria,” Blyth said.

“And too often they can occur on Christian holy days like this. Indeed, people in the region will remember the devastating 2023 Christmas Eve attacks in Benue state that killed over 140 people.”

Police officers gather at the site of Sunday night’s terrorist attack in Gari Ya Waye community in Jos North, Nigeria, March 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Samson Omale)

Nigeria is ranked the seventh-worst country in the world for Christian persecution by Open Doors. The organization claims it accounts for 72% of the total number of Christian killings worldwide in 2025.

A local human rights lawyer who asked to conceal his name due to security fears, was nearby when the latest attack happened. He told Fox News Digital, “A group of people came, around 20, some on motorcycles, and started shooting.”

He added the area is essentially a Christian one “and for anybody to go and openly shoot at people, then it must be that that person had Christians in mind.”

CHRISTIANS TARGETED IN SYSTEMATIC KIDNAPPING CAMPAIGN IN NIGERIA BY JIHADI HERDSMEN, EXPERTS SAY

Funerals for some 27 Christians who were reportedly killed by Islamist Fulani tribesmen in the village of Bindi Ta-hoss, Nigeria, July, 28, 2025 (Courtesy: Christian Solidarity International )

Another local Christian resident, who also asked to withhold his name, told Fox News Digital, “I can assure you that the majority position among Christians in Nigeria is that what we are experiencing in Nigeria is Islamic expansionism, and it must be stopped, using whatever means is necessary.”

The human rights lawyer said there are reports of videos circulating that are threatening more attacks against Christians, adding, “Here in Jos in Nigeria, we say that there is no Christian holiday or event left on the Christian calendar that has escaped an attack by radical Islamists or terrorists in Nigeria, whether it is Christmas, Easter or Good Friday, Palm Sunday or Sunday services or whatever. We are trapped.”

Christians hold signs as they march on the streets of Abuja during a prayer and penance for peace and security in Nigeria in Abuja March 1, 2020. (Kola Sulaimon/AFP via Getty Images)

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In a statement to Fox News Digital, Todd Nettleton of the Voice of the Martyrs’ group said that, in countries like Nigeria, “Easter is often a season of peril. Holy days on the Christian calendar, including Christmas and Easter, are often times when those who hate the Gospel target our brothers and sisters in violent attacks.”

Open Doors’ Blythe said, “The fear of being brutally attacked will hang over millions of Christians across Nigeria and sub-Saharan Africa, as they prepare for Easter, a festival that should be the most joyful moment in the Christian calendar. We will be praying that Christians around the world will be safe and free to celebrate and worship jubilantly this Eastertide.”

Fox News Digital reached out to the Nigerian government for comment but received no response.

Paul Tilsley is a veteran correspondent who has reported from four continents for more than three decades. Based in Johannesburg, South Africa, he can be followed on X @paultilsley.

World

Will the Iran war threaten the EU's green transition?

Published

2 hours ago

April 2, 2026

Press Room

The European Union’s climate ambitions could be delayed as the war against Iran is driving energy prices through the roof and raising questions of supply security. EU leaders maintain the conviction that the path to energy independence lies in more clean power and less reliance on fossil fuels.

World

Ukraine signals progress on US security guarantees after call with Trump envoys

Published

12 hours ago

April 1, 2026

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Ukraine signals progress on US security guarantees after call with Trump envoys

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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Wednesday touted new momentum toward ending the country’s war with Russia after a high-level call with President Donald Trump’s envoys, pointing to progress on a U.S.-backed security deal.

Zelenskyy announced in an X post that he and his officials had a “positive” conversation with Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, along with Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte with talks centered around forging a “dignified peace.”

“We agreed to strengthen security guarantees, and I have already instructed our team to promptly update the documents so that the security guarantees for Ukraine are strong, the prospects for post-war reconstruction are real, and everything is doable,” Zelenskyy wrote.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at a meeting Wednesday, April 1, 2026. (@ZelenskyyUa via X)

WITKOFF AND KUSHNER SCHEDULED TO MEET PUTIN IN MOSCOW

He emphasized Ukraine needs clear agreements so that its citizens understand exactly how international partners will respond to deter any renewed Russian aggression.

“We need strong, shared positions, and Ukraine’s contribution to this strength is unquestionable,” Zelenskyy wrote. “… I expect that the teams will work substantively in the coming days so that we can all feel progress. A trilateral format — a leaders’ format — all of this is necessary.”

Ukranian leaders at a meeting discussing the Ukraine-Russia war Wednesday, April 1, 2026. (@ZelenskyyUa via X)

TRUMP CONFIRMS HE INVITED PUTIN TO JOIN HIS BOARD OF PEACE: ‘HE’S BEEN INVITED’

In a subsequent video, Zelenskyy reported Russia launched a massive wave of more than 700 drones Wednesday, including “shaheds,” targeting Ukraine’s energy sites, food warehouses and residential buildings across multiple regions.

Although Ukrainian forces intercepted roughly 90% of the incoming drones, Zelenskyy condemned the bombardment as Russia’s direct response to Ukraine’s proposal for an Easter ceasefire.

Leaders meet to discuss the Ukraine-Russia war Wednesday, April 1, 2026. (@ZelenskyyUa via X)

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He noted that a halt in fighting during the holidays was intended to be a signal that diplomacy could be successful.

Beyond the U.S. and Europe, Zelenskyy said Defense Minister Rustem Umerov is working to secure long-term defense contracts with several Middle Eastern nations, including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Jordan, Kuwait, Iraq, Bahrain and Turkey.

Alexandra Koch is a Fox News Digital journalist who covers breaking news, with a focus on high-impact events that shape national conversation.

She has covered major national crises, including the L.A. wildfires, Potomac and Hudson River aviation disasters, Boulder terror attack, and Texas Hill Country floods.