Indonesian director Ariani Darmawan ends 15-year break with Jani Be Good
Fifteen years after stepping away from filmmaking, Indonesian director Ariani Darmawan is back with her debut feature.
Variety debuted the first trailer for Jani Be Good on Oct. 1, ahead of its world premiere in Asian Future, the competition for emerging filmmakers from the region, at the 39th Tokyo International Film Festival Variety. The festival is the 2026 edition of the Tokyo event.
The film carries the Indonesian title Desember Jani. It is produced by Jakarta outfit Palari Films. The story unfolds over four days in December and follows four women across three generations living under one roof.
Chempa Puteri plays 13-year-old Jani, the youngest in the household. Sigi Wimala plays Winnie, Hyori Mika plays Julia, and Tutie Kirana plays the grandmother, Oma Variety. Jani is a Chinese Indonesian girl caught between her controlling mother and a runaway, according to earlier festival materials Variety.
The screenplay is by Cyntha Hariadi. It is her first feature script. Darmawan first drew international attention with her 2008 short Sugiharti Halim, which was selected for competition at the Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival in France.
Jani Be Good reached Tokyo by the festival market route. It was presented at the Hong Kong Asia Film Financing Forum, known as HAF, in March, where unfinished projects are shown to buyers, sales agents and festival programmers. It was part of the Works in Progress lineup at HAF 2026. That stop came months before the Tokyo selection was confirmed.
The release plan keeps the festival first. After Tokyo, the film will open in Indonesian cinemas on Dec. 10 Variety.
Palari Films was founded in 2016 and is led by Meiske Taurisia and Muhammad Zaidy. Taurisia is credited as producer on Jani Be Good. The company previously produced Vengeance Is Mine, All Others Pay Cash, which won the Golden Leopard, the top prize, at the 74th Locarno Film Festival.
What makes this stand out is the gap. A 15-year absence is rare. A family story told across four days and three generations gives Darmawan a compact return: one house, four women, and a festival launch before a home audience sees it.
