Joko Anwar: ‘Satan’s Slaves: Communion’ is Indonesia’s first Imax film

“Satan’s Slaves: Communion,” by genre master Jojo Anwar, is set to be the first Indonesian film to be released in the big-screen Imax format.
Anwar himself took to Instagram to make the announcement and tout the film’s release on Saturday.
“Confirmed. Bigger. Louder! More fun! Satan’s Slaves: Communion is the first Indonesian film (and the first local film in Southeast Asia) with IMAX technology and will be available in all IMAX theaters nationwide. Indonesia!” he said on the messaging platform. He also teased the nine Imax screens nationwide that will show the film.
The film follows his 2017 “Satan’s Slaves” in which a woman and her family are terrorized in their home and learn that the woman’s deceased mother was involved in the occult. The new film sees Tara Bastro return as a woman who tries to break the curse on the house.
Other returning cast members include Bront Palarae, Endy Arfian, Nasar Anuz, Egi Fedly, and Ayu Laksmi. Newcomers in the second film are: Muzakki Ramdhan, Fatih Unru, Ratu Felisha, Jourdy Pranata, Kiki Narendra, Nafiza Fatia Rani and Iqbal Sulaiman.
Imax has a footprint in much of Asia, with China now the largest Imax territory in the world in terms of number of screens. For several years, the company has been trying to encourage Asian filmmakers to release their films in premium large format, either as conversions or as original works made with Imax-certified cameras.
There were many from China and a smaller number from other Asian territories. Japan has a long tradition, with recent examples like the animated films “Jujutsu Kaisen 0: The Movie” and “Belle”. Korean hits “Peninsula” and “Parasite” are recent examples. The wave of blockbuster action films from South India entering the mainstream and achieving domestic release has been accelerated by titles such as “KGF: Chapter 2” and “RRR” hitting Imax theaters.
Thai author Apichatpong Weerasethakul saw his European-funded Spanish-language play “Memoria” last year in limited Imax theaters, including at the Cannes Film Festival.
Anwar is a prolific writer-director-producer in both film and television. He enjoyed success with the films ‘Impetigore’, ‘A Copy of My Mind’ and ‘The Forbidden Door’ and as a writer-director on ‘Halfworlds’ and ‘Folklore’, both for HBO Asia. Among his upcoming projects is the horror adaptation “Fritzchen” for Village Roadshow.