Jakarta, ThedailyID — Indonesian short film Anak Macan (My Plastic Mother) is entering the race for the 99th Academy Awards, or the 2027 Oscars.
The film, directed by Amar Haikal, will seek consideration in the Best Live Action Short Film category. Its Oscar eligibility follows a major win at Australia’s Flickerfest International Short Film Festival.
Anak Macan won the Flickerfest Award for Best International Short Film at the festival’s 35th edition in Sydney in early 2026.
Flickerfest is among the film festivals recognized by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Winning an eligible award at a qualifying festival can make a film eligible to submit for Oscar consideration.
“Anak Macan aims to show the consequences of our consumer culture through a giant mountain of waste that buries a cemetery,” Amar said in a statement received by CNN Indonesia on Thursday, October 8.
“More than that, this film is a story about longing, desire, and self-discovery. It is told through a child’s pure desire to have and know his mother,” he added.
Amar said being eligible for consideration at the 2027 Oscars is a major honor. He also highlighted the opportunity to reach audiences through the film’s international festival journey.
Before its Oscar submission, Anak Macan had screened at several Academy-recognized international festivals. These included Flickerfest in Australia, Leeds International Film Festival in the United Kingdom, and Beirut Shorts in Lebanon.
The film also appeared at HollyShorts Film Festival and Atlanta Film Festival in the United States. It was also selected for the Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival Market in France and the Singapore International Film Festival.
Anak Macan would become the second Indonesian film competing in the 2027 Oscars. Earlier, Indonesia selected Empat Musim Pertiwi (Four Seasons in Java) as its entry for the Best International Feature Film category.
Anak Macan follows Eki, a child who lives at the Bantargebang landfill. He faces a difficult situation when his school asks him to bring his mother’s favorite item for a Mother’s Day celebration.
Eki has not had his mother in his life for a long time. The story draws heavily from Amar’s own childhood experiences.
Amar developed the screenplay as his final project with fellow students at the Jakarta Institute of the Arts, or IKJ. Filmmaker Riri Riza supervised the project.
Amar said he drew on memories from his childhood and school years when writing the story. He also grew up separated from his mother.
The choice of Bantargebang also came from Amar’s personal experience. He first became familiar with the area in 2021 while working on a documentary project.
The production team later decided to tell a story about children living around the landfill. Their earlier documentary work helped them gather stories and understand life in the area.
