Autobiography (film)

Autobiography is a 2022 thriller drama film written and directed by Makbul Mubarak in his directorial debut. It stars Kevin Ardilova and Arswendy Bening Swara. The film had its world premiere at the 79th Venice International Film Festival during the Horizons program on September 2, 2022, where it won the FIPRESCI Award for Best Film in sections other than the main competition. Autobiography won the sole award in Best Original Screenplay category among other seven nominations at the 2022 Indonesian Film Festival. The film was selected as the Indonesian entry for Best International Feature Film at the 96th Academy Awards.

Plot
The film follows Rakib (Kevin Ardilova), who serves as a housekeeper and assistant to a retired general, Purnawinata (Arswendy Bening Swara), who runs an election campaign to be a regent.

Production
Mubarak proposed the first draft of the script of Autobiography to Bhara in 2017. The project was selected as a part of the TorinoFilmLab in 2017 and 2018 Ties That Bind.

The principal photography took place in Bojonegoro, East Java, Indonesia.

Release
Alpha Violet acquired worldwide sales rights to the film in July 2022.

Autobiography had its world premiere during the Horizons program at the 79th Venice International Film Festival on 2 September 2022. Its North American premiere was at the Contemporary World Cinema at the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival in September 2022,. The film had its Asian premiere during the A Window on Asian Cinema at the 27th Busan International Film Festival on 7 October 2022. Autobiography was also screened at the Adelaide Film Festival on 22 October 2022. It was theatrically released in Indonesia on 19 January 2023 and garnered 33,407 admissions during its run.

Autobiography was distributed by Amazon Prime Video in the Southeast Asia region on 13 April 2023.

Critical response
On the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes website, the film has an approval rating of 91% based on 11 reviews, with an average rating of 7.5/10.