Jakarta, March 20, 2025 – “Pabrik Gula,” the latest horror film produced by MD Pictures, is the first Indonesian film to have been featured in official IMAX exclusive content and aired on the official IMAX account.
IMAX’s collaboration with MD Pictures began in 2022 with the success of “Curse of The Dancing Village” which broke the record for the highest-grossing Indonesian film of all time. Recognizing the huge potential of the local language content market, they collaborated again to launch the first Southeast Asian film filmed for IMAX, “Dancing Village: The Curse Begins.”
This time, on their official YouTube channel, IMAX released the Exclusive Behind-the-Scenes of “Pabrik Gula” with producer and CEO of MD Entertainment Manoj Punjabi and director Awi Suryadi on Tuesday, March 18, 2025.
The exclusive IMAX content features several clips of the “Pabrik Gula” trailer as well as interviews with Manoj and Awi about the production of the “Pabrik Gula” film.
“The first time I heard about “Pabrik Gula,” I was shown a lot of documentation and I read several articles. That made me curious and I felt this film had international appeal,” said Manoj in the Exclusive Behind-the-Scenes of “Pabrik Gula.”
“Aside from the technical aspects, I don’t feel like I’m watching a movie. I’m seeing a real-life portrait. It feels so close. I can understand the emotions in it. I want to watch it in IMAX, with all the sound and visuals. Everything is elevated to a higher level for this movie, “Pabrik Gula,”” he continued.
Manoj admitted that there is no better way to watch “Pabrik Gula” than on the big IMAX screen with its distinctive sound. “This is definitely a movie for IMAX and a must-watch in IMAX,” he said.
Meanwhile, director Awi Suryadi explained the challenges of working on “Pabrik Gula” and the shooting techniques to capture the emotions in their entirety.
“The challenge is of course to provide the best image, the sharpest possible image that can be produced. We often use wide lenses and I take a lot of long takes with so many actors in one frame. Only with that format can I capture everything, every expression,” he said.
Awi said that “Pabrik Gula” was shot in a real sugar factory to make it as realistic as possible. One of them is even still operating. They also waited until the harvest season so that the actors could harvest four hectares of sugar cane.
“We have an epic scene involving the entire cast with 100 extras in a chaotic situation, where everyone is possessed. I want to bring the audience into that chaos and make them feel the terror of the “Pabrik Gula,”” said Awi.
“Pabrik Gula” will be shown simultaneously in Indonesian cinemas on March 31, 2025, coinciding with the Eid holiday. In addition, in the same week, “Pabrik Gula” will be shown in Malaysia, Singapore, and Brunei Darussalam. Producer Manoj Punjabi and his team will also fly to the United States to hold the Gala Premiere of “Pabrik Gula” in Los Angeles on March 26, 2025.
About MD Pictures
MD Pictures, an MD Entertainment Company, is a leading film studio based in Jakarta, Indonesia. As the first publicly listed film company on the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX), MD Pictures has been at the forefront of the entertainment industry for over two decades. Since its establishment in 2002, MD Entertainment has evolved into Indonesia’s most prolific media powerhouse, backed by a fully integrated production system and state-of-the-art facilities that cover the entire content creation pipeline. MD produces films, television and OTT programming, music, and animation — repeatedly setting industry benchmarks. With a vast library of over 200 feature films and 14,000 hours of content, MD has built a legacy of groundbreaking, award-winning productions. Notably, all intellectual property (IP) rights for MD content are wholly owned by the company.
In 2022, MD Pictures released “KKN: Curse of the Dancing Village”, which became the highest-grossing Indonesian film of all time, surpassing 10 million viewers. This monumental success has further propelled MD onto the global stage, forging international partnerships and bringing Indonesian cinema to Hollywood premieres.
Continuing its expansion, MD acquired and launched MDTV in early 2025. With this acquisition and the ownership of its own distribution platform, MD has reinforced its dominance in television, drama, and digital content, bringing high-quality storytelling to even broader audiences. For more information please visit https://linktr.ee/mdentertainmentofficial
Media Contact:
Astrid Suryatenggara (astrid@mdentertainment.com)