Jakarta-based production company Margate House is making its AFM debut to launch sales on Indonesia’s biggest ever production – $6m trilogy Merah Putih, about Indonesia’s fight for independence.

Set in 1947, the film follows a fictional band of revolutionaries of different religions and backgrounds as they battle against the Dutch army. 

The first part of the trilogy, directed by acclaimed Indonesian cinematographer Yadi Sugandi, opened in Indonesia in August and racked up around one million admissions. The second installment is set for release in Sep 2010 and the third in Jan 2011. The cast features Indonesian stars including Lukman Sardi and Darius Sinarthrya.

While the film mostly uses Indonesian cast and crew, the production brought in special effects artists including SFX coordinator Adam Howarth (Eat Pray Love), stunt coordinator Rocky McDonald (Mission Impossible II) and make-up artist Rob Trenton (The Dark Knight).

“Indonesian film artists are second to none but they don’t have a history of making war films, so we needed to bring in some technical expertise,” says executive producer Rob Allyn.

Margate House, founded by US media executives Allyn and Jeremy Stewart, co-produced the film with Media Desa Indonesia.

Indonesia has experienced a production boom in recent years and is hosting an increasing number of international shoots. The country’s first 3D production, Amphibious, recently wrapped and was picked up by the UK’s Celsius and Plan B Entertainment’s Eat Pray Love, starring Julia Roberts, is currently shooting on the island of Bali.  

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