Theo Rumansara (Indonesia)

Theo Rumansara was born in Biak, Papua, the easternmost province of Indonesia, a region where most of its people are predominantly Melanesian. He transitioned from IT programmer to a rapper-filmmaker, and never looked back. In 2020, Theo won Jendela Papua, a talent scouting and filmmaking lab program which finally brought him closer to his chance to direct his first film, Orpa. As the first fiction feature-length film ever directed by a native Papuan, Orpa won the Award for Best Performance in the Indonesian Screen Awards of Jogja-NETPAC Asian Film Festival in 2022 and screened in CinemAsia Film Festival in 2023. Now, Theo hopes to develop thought-provoking films that tell meaningful stories, especially to represent Papua.

O Intruso (The Intruder) [co-written with Henricus Pria] After working on a mission to live as a plantation worker of a prominent family suspected as East Timor rebel movement supporters, 26-year-old Moses, a Papuan soldier turned into a spy, is forbidden to return home under the regime’s manipulation, which leaves him conflicted between continue living with his pretend family or fight for his rights as a civilian.