The 8th Jakarta International Film Festival Opens with Babel as its Premier Film

Jakarta, Indonesia – International film buffs will have something to look forward to this month. Starting December 8, over 250 films from 35 countries will be shown at the 8th Jakarta International Film Festival in Jakarta. This year’s film festival will have Brad Pitt’s latest movie Babel as its opening film.

Running until December 17, the film lineup of the festival includes critically acclaimed international films such as The Queen (UK), Little Miss Sunshine (US), Volver (Spain), and The Lives of Others (Germany). These big films as well as a hundred of other films will be screened at the newly renovated Djakarta XXI Theatre and Studio XXI at EX. The JiFFest this year also marks the first ever Indonesian Feature Films Competition wherein Indonesian films that were released from November of last year up to October of this year will compete for a top prize.

This year’s film lineup is organized in categories consisting of World Cinema, Panorama, House of Docs, S-Express, Variety, and EU Film Festival. Film buffs can choose from the festival’s wide selection of feature films, documentaries that include the eco-documentary, An Inconvenient Truth from the US, and short films from countries such as Malaysia, Singapore, China, Thailand, and the Philippines. Most of these films will be shown to the public for free. The audience will just have to register at several registration outlets stated in the program guide then they can get their membership cards to attend the film screenings.

Meanwhile, organizers of the International Film Festival Bali (IFFB) 2007, which will happen from December 14 to 17 in Bali, promise to bring international film stars and directors to the island for the annual event. The IFFB will be an extension of the 8th Jakarta International Film Festival.

Visitors to Indonesia who want to see films of international class as well as catch a glimpse of international movie stars can check out hotel accommodations at the Planet Holiday Hotel in Batam, Indonesia. Batam is just a short ferry ride away from Singapore. From Jakarta, it is over an hour by plane.

Interested tourists can visit their website at: http://www.planetholidayhotel.com.