16 Film Festival Bali
A powerful grassroots film festival amplifying the voices of survivors and sparking dialogue on gender-based violence through cinema, art, and community in Bali.
What is 16 Film Festival Bali?
16 Film Festival Bali is a community-driven film festival held in 2017 and 2018 as part of the global campaign 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence. Organised by GSHR, YLBHI-LBH Bali, and KISARA Bali, and supported by dozens of volunteers and the Aliansi Satu Visi, the festival brought together filmmakers, artists, activists, and the wider public to raise awareness about gender-based and sexual violence through the powerful medium of film.
With the global theme #HearMeToo, the festival invited audiences to listen to, acknowledge, and stand with survivors of violence. Across two editions, the festival screened a rich selection of films, both features and shorts, that told untold and unseen stories from marginalised voices. These included local and international titles such as Posesif, Turah, Siti, Berbagi Suami, What They Don’t Talk About When They Talk About Love, and The Mirror Never Lies.
The screenings were hosted across various venues in Bali, including CushCush Gallery, Uma Seminyak, Warung Men Brayut, Kulidan Kitchen & Space, Taman Baca Kesiman, and KE{M}BALI, accompanied by talks, performances, talent sessions, and community discussions.
The Challenge
Gender-based and sexual violence remains a deeply entrenched problem in Indonesia, often surrounded by stigma, silence, and institutional inaction. High-profile cases, such as the expulsion of Baiq Nuril, a school teacher in NTB who was punished after reporting sexual harassment, have underscored the structural barriers survivors face in seeking justice.
According to Komnas Perempuan, over 348,000 cases of gender-based violence were reported in 2017 alone, a staggering figure that likely underrepresents the true scope of the problem. Despite growing public concern, many communities still lack accessible, empathetic platforms to discuss these issues openly and constructively.
Film has the power to not only inform but move people emotionally. Yet many stories of survivors, especially those from marginalised communities, remain absent from mainstream media and public discourse. The 16 Film Festival was created to help close this gap.
Our Approach
Volunteers were central to the festival’s success. Roles ranged from technical support and design to outreach, documentation, and logistics, providing young people and local organisers an opportunity to engage with social justice through creative action. The festival’s design reflects a commitment to inclusivity, accessibility, and community empowerment. Each edition featured:
Curated screenings
of powerful films addressing gender, sexuality, and human rights, both fictional narratives and documentaries.
Talk shows, Q&A sessions, and performances
that allowed audiences to engage directly with filmmakers, activists, and survivors.
Community-led programming
with local volunteers handling everything from venue coordination to documentation and content writing.
Art and advocacy collaborations,
including social campaigns in public spaces like Renon’s Car Free Day, where the festival launched with a participatory pre-event involving handprint banners and social experiments.
Multi-venue screenings
across different cultural and community spaces to reach wider and more diverse audiences.
Our Impact
The 16 Film Festival Bali successfully created a meaningful and safe space for open conversations around gender-based violence, bringing visibility to survivors’ voices and amplifying the call for justice and solidarity. Over the course of its two editions:
Hundreds of attendees across 8 screening events participated in discussions, performances, and community activities.
Public awareness was raised not only through the films but through live discussions, social campaigns, and coverage in local and national media.
New partnerships were formed between grassroots organisations, artists, and communities working at the intersection of art and activism.
Narratives from the margins were centred, allowing lesser-heard stories, from queer identities to women’s resilience, to be heard and honoured.