Regular civilians caught in the middle of armed conflict drive the tension in Emil Heradi's upcoming Indonesian thriller Night Bus.
A group of civilians share a bus ride to Sampar, a town full of natural resources. It is heavily guard by the state army who is fighting against the rebel militias, who want freedom over their homeland.
Each person in the bus has their own task ; seeking better jobs, fulfilling family needs, settling personal matters, or simply wanting to come back home. They think this would be another usual trip to the conflict area, but they do not realise theres a stowaway with a very important message to end the conflict.
His presence endangers all the passengers, as he is wanted by both forces, dead or alive. The situation get so tense, the people inside the bus have to survive the night literally dodging bullets.
They also have to face a darker, more sinister force, who don't want to the conflict to end. No one knows who will live and who will die.
One of the more prolific film producing nations in South East Asia, Indonesia has currently seeing a dramatic uptick in production quality of their local cinema driven both by the international success of filmmakers such as Joko Anwar, Edwin and the Mo Brothers along with the rapid expansion of screen space and the resulting rise in local audience numbers.
Very definitely part of that wave, Night Bus boasts production values very much on the high end of the local norm along with a strong cast - the keen eyed will spot The Raid's Donny Alamsyah in there - and a willingness to engage in challenging subject matter. On the whole it's all very promising. Check out the English subtitled trailer below.