New Film Partnerships Announced: Mandela Pictures and Desert Bloom

Indonesias Mandela Pictures and Korea-L.A.-based Desert Bloom Pictures have forged a significant four-film development partnership, unveiled at the JAFF Market in Yogyakarta. This collaboration aims to create a pipeline of projects bridging Indonesia, Korea, and Hollywood, leveraging Desert Bloom's expertise in Korean blockbusters alongside Mandela's intellectual property and market position in Southeast Asia.

The executive team at Desert Bloom includes Jennice Lee, Hugh Cha, and Park Hyoungjin, who collectively boast credits on successful films like Exhuma and Along With the Gods, as well as experience with major companies like Studio Dragon, Dexter Studios, and Lotte Cultureworks.

The partnership will focus on developing cross-cultural content tailored for both Asian and American audiences. Mandela Pictures, led by the Samtani brothers—Manoj, Deepak, and Lavesh—operates from Jakarta and is looking to expand its library of genre and commercial titles, enhancing its presence in both theatrical and streaming sectors in Indonesia.

The initial slate of projects includes Ugly Duckling, a working title described as a dramedy that explores themes of image, identity, and reinvention in the social media age, specifically targeting Indonesian audiences.

Additionally, two more Indonesia-set features are planned, which will adapt existing U.S. or Korean intellectual properties for local viewers, reimagining these stories within Indonesian cultural contexts.

An untitled Korean horror feature, sourced from Mandela's newly launched genre label BN13, is also in development, primarily for the Korean theatrical market and international genre distributors. Lavesh Samtani, COO of Mandela Pictures, emphasized that they did not want a one-off co-production but aimed to establish a robust slate.

The partnership also includes a talent exchange initiative, which plans to bring Korean writers, directors, and creative executives to collaborate with Indonesian teams, creating opportunities for Indonesian talent on Korean and hybrid productions.

As the partnership progresses, details regarding creative attachments, casting, and production schedules will be disclosed. Jennice Lee, CEO of Desert Bloom, highlighted Indonesia as a rapidly growing market, expressing optimism about the combination of Mandelas local insights and the broader appeal of Korean and Hollywood IPs.

Hugh Cha, co-CEO of Desert Bloom, reiterated the ambition to cultivate a long-term, cross-border studio ecosystem, leveraging both parties' strengths.