Indonesian producer, programmer and publicist John Badalu has died at his house in Bali, Indonesia, on the age of 53.
A number one determine in Southeast Asian cinema, Badalu was famend for his work supporting illustration of LGBTQ+ and different minority teams in Southeast Asia. His movies have premiered at festivals together with Cannes, Berlin, Sundance, Locarno, Rotterdam, IDFA and Busan, amongst others.
Born in Makassar on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi, Badalu’s experiences as a member of a number of minority teams, together with ethnic Chinese language, Buddhist and homosexual, formed his work as an advocate for inclusivity and illustration.
His work as a producer contains Thai filmmaker Anucha Boonyawatana’s Malila: The Farewell Flower (2017), a narrative about former homosexual lovers reconciling the previous that gained the Kim Jiseok Award at Busan Worldwide Movie Competition; and Indonesian director Razka Robby Ertanto’s Ave Maryam (2018), centered on the Christian neighborhood in Indonesia.
Badalu additionally collaborated with different internationally identified Indonesian filmmakers comparable to Mouly Surya on What They Don’t Speak About When They Speak About Love (2013) and Putrama Tuta on movies together with On a regular basis Is A Lullaby (2020).
In recent times, Badalu had been specializing in producing brief movies from new skills together with Khozy Rizal’s Basri & Salma in a By no means-Ending Comedy, which was the primary Indonesian movie to compete for the Brief Movie Palme d’Or at Cannes movie pageant in 2023. Different latest shorts embrace Rizal’s Makassar Is A Metropolis For Soccer Followers and Nirartha Bas Diwangkara’s The place The Wild Frangipanis Grow.
He additionally labored as a programmer and delegate for festivals together with Berlinale, Sheffield Doc Fest, Shanghai, Tallinn Black Nights and Busan. In 2022, he spearheaded programming on the Bali Makarya Movie Competition, an occasion that launched Southeast Asian cinema to native audiences and worldwide company.
In 2002, Badalu based the Q! Movie Competition, Indonesia’s first ever LGBTQ+ movie pageant, which happened yearly till 2017. Launched in Jakarta, the pageant expanded to a number of cities and have become a necessary platform for queer cinema in Indonesia the place such themes are sometimes marginalized.
Ashoka, a global group supporting social entrepreneurs, identifies Q! Movie Competition as a number one power for social change and provides: “Additional, John has made good use of the publicity he has garnered with the Competition to achieve affect in coverage circles. He and a gaggle of Q-munity volunteers efficiently lobbied the Indonesian Nationwide Fee on Human Rights to incorporate sexual minorities among the many teams they assist.”
His pals in Bali shared this message:
With heavy hearts, we share the passing of our beloved son, brother, and good friend, John Badalu, on Wednesday, Could 21, 2025.
He’s at the moment resting at: RSUP Sanglah Funeral House, Denpasar, Visitation is welcome till Thursday, Could 22. Cremation will happen on: Friday, Could 23, 10:00 AM (WITA) at Mumbul Crematorium, Jimbaran.
Your love, prayers, and presence imply the world to us.
Thanks for being a part of John’s life.
