NEWS
ContentAsia Summit: Netflix unveils first “Cigarette Girl”/“Gadis Kretek” teaser
23 August 2023
The first teaser for the upcoming Netflix series “Cigarette Girl” (“Gadis Kretek”) from Indonesia was unveiled at the ContentAsia Summit in Bangkok today by series director, Kamila Andini.
The Indonesian series premieres on 2 November.
Based on a novel by Ratih Kumala, “Cigarette Girl” is a family drama and romance, set across two time periods.
The film unfolds against the backdrop of the Indonesian clove industry, which is closely entwined with the country’s history.
During the 'Shared Goals: Netflix in Southeast Asia' session, Andini said she had been trying to make this story since 2012.
She appeared alongside Netflix content director for Southeast Asia, Malobika Banerji, and “Hunger” filmmaker, Sitisiri (Dome) Mongkolsiri.
“Cigarette Girl” is produced by Base Entertainment with showrunners Shanty Harmayn and Tanya Yuson.
Ratih Kumala and Tanya Yuson were screenwriters along with Kanya K. Priyanti and Ambaridzki Ramadhantyo.
“Cigarette Girl” is Andini’s first foray into episodic content, after a successful decade as an independent filmmaker.
She previously wrote and directed “Yuni” (2021), which won the Platform Prize at the Toronto International Film Festival. Last year, her film, “Before, Now & Then”, picked up a Silver Bear for Best Supporting Performance for actress Laura Basuki at the Berlinale.
Banerji said recent successes, such as Thailand's “Hunger” and Indonesia’s “The Big 4”, had encouraged the streamer to reconsider what kind of Southeast Asian content could become successful.
“If ‘Hunger’ had not launched, I would have just said horror [had the most chance of success], because the genre is language-agnostic. Action is another one,” she said.
“Hunger changed the perception by showing that a strong character drama set in Thailand can travel,” she added.
Banerji acknowledged the risk of bringing in Indonesian director Timo Tjahjanto, best known for his action and horror, to make comedy film, “The Big 4”.
“Internally, we knew that this woul...
The first teaser for the upcoming Netflix series “Cigarette Girl” (“Gadis Kretek”) from Indonesia was unveiled at the ContentAsia Summit in Bangkok today by series director, Kamila Andini.
The Indonesian series premieres on 2 November.
Based on a novel by Ratih Kumala, “Cigarette Girl” is a family drama and romance, set across two time periods.
The film unfolds against the backdrop of the Indonesian clove industry, which is closely entwined with the country’s history.
During the 'Shared Goals: Netflix in Southeast Asia' session, Andini said she had been trying to make this story since 2012.
She appeared alongside Netflix content director for Southeast Asia, Malobika Banerji, and “Hunger” filmmaker, Sitisiri (Dome) Mongkolsiri.
“Cigarette Girl” is produced by Base Entertainment with showrunners Shanty Harmayn and Tanya Yuson.
Ratih Kumala and Tanya Yuson were screenwriters along with Kanya K. Priyanti and Ambaridzki Ramadhantyo.
“Cigarette Girl” is Andini’s first foray into episodic content, after a successful decade as an independent filmmaker.
She previously wrote and directed “Yuni” (2021), which won the Platform Prize at the Toronto International Film Festival. Last year, her film, “Before, Now & Then”, picked up a Silver Bear for Best Supporting Performance for actress Laura Basuki at the Berlinale.
Banerji said recent successes, such as Thailand's “Hunger” and Indonesia’s “The Big 4”, had encouraged the streamer to reconsider what kind of Southeast Asian content could become successful.
“If ‘Hunger’ had not launched, I would have just said horror [had the most chance of success], because the genre is language-agnostic. Action is another one,” she said.
“Hunger changed the perception by showing that a strong character drama set in Thailand can travel,” she added.
Banerji acknowledged the risk of bringing in Indonesian director Timo Tjahjanto, best known for his action and horror, to make comedy film, “The Big 4”.
“Internally, we knew that this would be 50-50,” Banerji said.
“It was a risk but when we looked at the material overall and we saw Timo’s passion towards the project, it was clear that it was a bet worth trying out,” she added.
“The Big 4” ranked on the streamer’s top 10 charts in more than 60 countries, including Indonesia.
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