Indonesia’s BASE Entertainment has added Ho Wi Ding’s family drama Mothernet to its slate, an Indonesia-Singapore co-production that brings together top talents from the Southeast Asian region.
The feature, now in production, is also backed by Indonesia’s Beacon Film, Singapore-based Refinery Media and Hong Kong’s JEM Productions. The cast is headed by celebrated Indonesian actors Dian Sastrowardoyo of hit Netflix series Cigarette Girl, who is also producing through Beacon Film, Ringgo Agus Rahman (Falling In Love Like In Movies) and rising star Ali Fikri (24 Hours with Gaspar).
Set in the near future, the story follows a 16-year-old boy who is trying to cope after a tragic accident that leaves his mother in a coma. With the help of an artificial intelligence (AI) programme, he embarks on a journey of reconnection and healing along with his father.
While mainly filmed on location in Indonesia, a number of virtual scenes will be shot in Singapore at Refinery Media’s newly launched X3D Studio, which is reportedly the largest virtual production studio in Southeast Asia and the world’s first ARRI-accredited virtual production studio. The collaboration represents a new era in Southeast Asian filmmaking, according to Refinery Media founder Karen Seah.
Mothernet marks the debut project of Jakarta-based Beacon Film, which was founded by actress Dian in 2023. Also on board is JEM Productions, a new banner from Vietnam-based producer Winnie Lau. Her recent credits include Netflix drama series Thai Cave Rescue and Joko Anwar’s horror film Impetigore.
BASE Entertainment’s founder and co-CEO Shanty Harmayn said the film will focus on themes of love, life and human connection in an age of ever-growing digital relations between people. The company is behind box office hit Impetigore as well as Netflix series’ Cigarette Girl and Trese.
BASE, which is the lead producer, hired Malaysia-born Taiwanese director Ho for Mothernet. His works include Pinoy Sunday, which earned him best new director at the 2010 Golden Horse Awards, and Cities Of Last Things, which won the Platform prize at Toronto in 2018.
Ho said he admired the script “because not only is it an exceptional cautionary tale about humans’ attachment to technology, but it also touches on a family dynamic that [I am] already ‘well-experienced’ with”.
“People grieve differently. There are different ways of grieving. No right or wrong. The only wrong approach is to be stuck in the past,” he said of the film’s message.
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