Lucky Kuswandi is one of Indonesia’s most exciting directors. His films have been screened in International festivals worldwide, from Cannes to Tokyo to Berlin, receiving accolades, awards and distribution.
A graduate from the Art Center College of Design, California, he participated in the Berlinale Talent Campus in Berlin, Germany in 2006. It is a forum for young, promising filmmakers. In 2008 he directed a documentary short MISS OR MRS? as part of the anthology AT STAKE. The documentary was screened in the prestigious Berlin Film Festival 2009 at the Panorama Section.
In 2010 he directed his first full-length film MADAME X. The film was nominated for 2 Asian Film Awards in Hong Kong at 2011, and won the Best Film Award at the Copenhagen LGBT Film Festival.
In 2014, Kuswandi released his second feature film, a love letter to Jakarta titled SELAMAT PAGI MALAM / IN THE ABSENCE OF THE SUN. The film was the closing film for the Singapore International Film Festival, and competed at the Tokyo International Film Festival. The Straits Times praised the film, calling it “dripping with social commentary, the feature illustrates the contradictions that make up the rich mosaic that is one of Asia’s most populous cities.”
In 2015, Kuswandi’s latest short film, THE FOX EXPLOITS THE TIGER'S MIGHT, competed at the Cannes Film Festival in the Semaine de la Critique (Critic’s Week) Section. The film became the second Indonesian film ever screened in the section, and the first in 26 years. The film won Best Short Film & Best Director at the Silver Screen Awards in Singapore 2015. I
In 2017, Lucky released his third feature film, GALIH & RATNA, a remake of the infamous Indonesian film GITA CINTA DARI SMA.
His fourth feature film is a NETFLIX Original Film, ALI & RATU RATU QUEENS, released worldwide in 2021. His latest film, a Netflix Original DEAR DAVID, was released in 2023.
He is currently writing his script for his next film 108 DAYS, which was presented at Cinemart as part of the Rotterdam International Film Festival 2023. He is also in pre-production of his new film, a psychological thriller, under his own company SODA MACHINE FILMS.
Lucky also works as a film lecturer in Universitas Multimedia Nusantara, teaching film directing.
Contact
E: lucky.kuswandi@gmail.com