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A poster for Madani International Film Festival (MIFF) 2021. (ANTARA/Madani International Film Festival/FR) - 

The Education, Culture, Research, and Technology Ministry has affirmed the government's commitment to supporting film festivals held by the film community and figures, such as the Madani International Film Festival (MIFF) 2021.

MIFF 2021 is being supported by the ministry along with the Jakarta Art Board (DKJ) and is ready to be held in a hybrid format from November 27 until December 4.

"This Madani Film Festival has a unique characteristic that differentiates it from other film festivals," the ministry's film, music, and new media director, Ahmad Mahendra, noted at an online press conference on Friday.

"In addition, the theme that it presents aligns with the tolerance campaign conducted by the ministry," he elaborated.

Meanwhile, chairman of DKJ, Danton Sihombing, said he feels that it is important to hold MIFF to celebrate diversity and make film the medium to do so.

"This is the second year that DKJ fully supports Madani Film Festival," he added.

"We hope that, in the coming years, we can continue to support it so that we can spread humanitarian values displayed in the Madani International Film Festival," he affirmed.

The theme of Madani Film Festival this year is 'Light: Sufism and Humor'.

"The theme this time concerns Sufism and humor, two terms that provide a huge space to happily express and contemplate the religious journey," filmmaker and member of MIFF's Festival Board, Garin Nugroho, noted.

The film festival will showcase movies from Indonesia and abroad to reflect the diversity of Muslims in the world, he said.

"Celebrating Muslim diversity has become the tagline that Madani Film Festival brings up every year. From these films, we want to learn and enjoy Muslims' diverse cultures," MIFF festival director Sugar Nadia expounded.

The opening ceremony for MIFF 2021 will be held on Saturday in an online format at XXI Epicentrum, Jakarta, he said.

Pesantren (2019) a film by Shalahuddin Siregar has been chosen to open the festival, he added.

The film premiered during the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA) in 2019, he said.

This year's MIFF will showcase 13 films and seven discussions that will feature international speakers such as Hassan Abdul Muthalib (Malaysia), Amir Masoud Soheili (Iran), dan Dag Yngvesson (Malaysia) as well as Indonesian speakers, he informed.

MIFF will also collaborate with a number of institutions to liven up the film festival such as East Cinema, Binus University, GusDurian network, and Kineforum, Nadia said.

Kineform has prepared an online viewing space for the films on kineforum.eventive.org, he said.

The film chosen to close the festival is set in Casablanca, Morocco, and features rap music titled "Casablanca Beats".

This film was a primary nominee for Cannes Film Festival 2021 and will be shown online on December 4 at XXI Epicentrum, Jakarta//ANT