Sewon Screening Shows Its Colors at Layar Tandang Surabaya

Surabaya, 2025 — Sewon Screening returns with a new statement: to bring films to more audiences. In its official statement, this film festival is intended for all groups. But in reality, many new viewers still don’t really understand what a film festival is, how to enjoy it, and why the experience of watching at a festival is different.

Film festivals sometimes still feel exclusive, whether in terms of presentation, language, or even promotion style. Therefore, to reach a wider audience, Sewon Screening needs to be packaged in a more familiar and understandable way. Starting from how information is conveyed, the choice of films screened, how to dialogue with the audience, to how to build branding that feels close. This festival needs a bridge, this can be in the form of a short guide, engaging social media content, or even a more friendly and inclusive screening atmosphere.

If we look at Layar Tandang Surabaya, which is a pre-event screening program from Sewon Screening 11, the target has actually been achieved. The audience that came was quite large, and most of them were new viewers. They went home with happy faces. Some even said it was their first time watching a film festival. And interestingly, they felt entertained. The films shown on the screen felt fresh, because this type of content is rare—or even never encountered, on social media or other platforms.

For me, this is one of the important achievements. Because up until now, student-organized film festivals always face the same challenge: struggling to reach audiences outside their own community. The viewers are always the same people. The filmmakers themselves, who come to learn, support friends, or network. But the general public, who actually also enjoy stories and visuals, rarely enter that circle.

To be honest, many people love films. Or rather, they love stories. They enjoy being brought into a new world, getting to know unfamiliar characters, or relating to the stories in the films. So I feel that it’s only a matter of figuring out how information about Sewon Screening can reach new audiences.

Already Headed in the Right Direction

Seeing the enthusiasm of new viewers at Layar Tandang Surabaya, I feel this festival is already heading in the right direction. There have been improvements, efforts to reach out more broadly. Independent Film Surabaya and Wisma Jerman have been great collaborators. We support each other so that films can be watched and appreciated by more people.

But still, even though the event ran fairly smoothly, I feel that something still doesn’t quite fit. There’s something that feels off, things that haven’t been maximized. And that’s understandable, because film festivals, especially one that has run for over a decade like Sewon Screening, naturally have higher expectations from year to year.

In its official press release, Sewon Screening 11 affirms that they want to be a festival open to all audiences. This is an important, yet challenging statement. Because opening the doors that wide means being ready for all kinds of audiences—those who understand film, those just starting to learn, those casually curious to watch, even those who don’t know anything about film festivals.

To really get to that point, Sewon Screening needs to do a few things differently than before. At last year’s decade celebration, the festival successfully attracted audiences who were also filmmakers. Some of them came because their communities were involved and wanted to expand their networks. This type of audience is still important. But if we want to add a new layer, such as new viewers who simply want to enjoy the films, a different approach is needed.

And this year, we’re heading in that direction.

Through Layar Tandang, I can see that there is an intention to improve. From lighter program concepts, trend-sensitive campaigns, to how they position content for broader target audiences. In fact, some of the content already feels more familiar, less technical, and more understandable to the general public.

Maybe it’s not perfect yet. But this process is ongoing. We just need to maintain consistency, while continuing to evaluate what can be improved. Because as we know, building an audience takes time. But as long as the direction and intention are clear, I believe this festival can get there.

And if it continues like this, it’s not impossible that in the near future, new audiences will come, feeling that this is a space they deserve to enjoy. That’s how it should be.

The writer hopes, wherever the target goes, the minimum threshold is that Sewon Screening is able to please all the parties who have supported it. Like the collaborators: Independent Film Surabaya and Wisma Jerman.

Thank you!