About
Mahatma Putra
Documentary director and photographer, based in Bali & Jakarta, Indonesia. Drawn to people living at the edge of larger forces such as migration, politics, land and labour, and to a way of filming that invites the viewer to reflect instead of to be persuaded.
Mahatma Putra is a documentary director and photographer based in Bali & Jakarta, Indonesia.
Putra spent his formative years as a student photojournalist while studying at Universitas Indonesia. He was then selected to continue his training at Galeri Foto Jurnalistik Antara (GFJA), which pioneered formal photojournalism education in Indonesia. After a PPIA–Voice of America fellowship in Washington, DC (2011–2012), where he worked as a video journalist, he took a certificate course in Buddhist Studies at the Sri Lanka International Buddhist Academy in Kandy. He then began making independent documentaries on Indonesian environmental, social and cultural life. In 2013 he co-founded Anatman Pictures in Jakarta; the company now works from Jakarta and Bali, and became one of the first production houses in Southeast Asia certified as a B Corporation.
His feature documentaries, Batak, Perjalanan ke Tanah Leluhur (2012), Sintas (2018), Diam & Dengarkan (2020), Love Birth Life (2021), Atas Nama Daun (2022) and Terpejam untuk Melihat (2024), have earned four Piala Citra nominations and one official selection at the Festival Film Indonesia. His most recent film, A Tale of the Stolen River (2026), follows a family in Sepaku, East Kalimantan, as the construction of Indonesia's new capital reaches their land.
Putra's practice is shaped by the Buddhist idea that gives his company its name: anātman, no-self. He is drawn to people living at the edge of larger forces such as migration, politics, land and labour, and to a way of filming that invites the viewer to reflect instead of to be persuaded. He was one of the first to bring a cinematic documentary approach to commissioned work in Indonesia, and never uses AI-generated imagery in his productions.
He has photographed since 2006, exhibiting unbreakable (GFJA, 2007), The Kawah Ijen Warriors (GFJA, 2010) and anātman (Yogyakarta, 2024), and is completing his first photography book, anātman. He divides his time between Bali and Jakarta.
Short biography
Mahatma Putra is a documentary director and photographer based in Bali & Jakarta, Indonesia. He studied at Universitas Indonesia and Galeri Foto Jurnalistik Antara (GFJA). A former Voice of America fellow, he co-founded Anatman Pictures in 2013. His feature documentaries, including Atas Nama Daun and Terpejam untuk Melihat, have earned four Piala Citra nominations. His most recent film is A Tale of the Stolen River. He has photographed since 2006 and exhibited anātman in 2024.
Awards, selections & grants
Films only, from the Anatman Films list. Films he did not direct are marked (Executive Producer).
- 2026
- Hapus — Festival Film Horor 2026, Pacitan · Winner
Hapus — Jakarta World Cinema (KlikFilm) · Short Movie Competition · Official Selection
A Tale of the Stolen River — Jakarta Film Week 2026 · Official Selection
A Tale of the Stolen River — Djourno Fest 2026 · Award
Cry Me a River — Docs by the Sea 2026 · Tokyo Docs Award · Winner
Cry Me a River — Docs by the Sea 2026 · Cineric Creative Award · Winner
Cry Me a River — Docs by the Sea Storytelling Lab 2026 · Selected
Pilot Ondel-Ondel (Executive Producer) — Jakarta Culture Cinema Fund 2026 · Production fund · Winner
Cry Me a River — DocEdge Kolkata 2026 · Workshop & pitching · Participant - 2025
- Cry Me a River — Docs by the Sea 2025 · DocEdge Award · Winner
Cry Me a River — Docs by the Sea 2025 · Al Jazeera Award · Winner
Cry Me a River — Docs by the Sea 2025 (In-Docs) · Lab & pitching · Selected
Alien in Law (Executive Producer) — Jakarta Film Week 2025 · Feature film pitching forum · Selected
A Tale of the Stolen River — Kalimantan International Indigenous Film Festival 2025 · Nominee - 2024
- Terpejam untuk Melihat — Festival Film Indonesia 2024 (Piala Citra) · Best Feature Documentary · Nominee
Mother of the Sea (Executive Producer) — 19th IAWRT Asian Women's Film Festival, New Delhi · Official Selection
Bocah Sampah — Layar Anak Indonesiana 2024 · Production grant · Grant recipient
Rekam Maestro — Lomba Rekam Maestro (GNFI) · Top 5
Kungkung, IKN (project) (Executive Producer) — FFD IDOC Lab 2024 · Passed first stage
Bonus Umur (project) (Executive Producer) — FFD IDOC Lab 2024 · Appreciation fund · Fund recipient - 2023
- Atas Nama Daun — Piala Maya 2023 · Documentary · Nominee
Atas Nama Daun — Flickers' Rhode Island International Film Festival 2023 · Semi-Finalist
Mother of the Sea (Executive Producer) — Festival Film Dokumenter 2023, Yogyakarta · Official Selection
Rumah Makang (Executive Producer) — Layar Cerita Perempuan Indonesiana 2023 · Production grant · Grant recipient - 2022
- Atas Nama Daun — Festival Film Indonesia 2022 (Piala Citra) · Best Feature Documentary · Nominee
Datang Bulan (Come Moon) (Executive Producer) — Jogja-NETPAC Asian Film Festival 2022 · Official Selection
Datang Bulan (Come Moon) (Executive Producer) — Jakarta Film Week 2022 · Official Selection
Jiwa yang Ingin Pulang (House of the Rising Sun) (Executive Producer) — Bass Coast Shorts 2022 · Highly Commended - 2021
- Love Birth Life — Festival Film Indonesia 2021 (Piala Citra) · Best Short Documentary · Nominee
Love Birth Life — New York International Film Awards 2021 · Winner
Love Birth Life — Changing Face International Film Festival 2021 · Bi-Annual Finalist
Tembang Lara (Sad Song) (Executive Producer) — Balinale Film Festival 2021 · Official Selection - 2020
- Diam & Dengarkan — Festival Film Indonesia 2020 · Feature Documentary · Official Selection
Tembang Lara (Sad Song) (Executive Producer) — International Independent Film Awards, New York 2020 · Documentary Short · Gold
Clouds (Rebecca Reijman) — Experimental Dance & Music Film Festival 2020 · Best Music Video · Winner - 2019
- Tembang Lara (Sad Song) (Executive Producer) — International Independent Film Awards · Award Winner
- 2016
- Arang & Asa — GO-VIDEO Competition 2016 (Gojek) · Best Video · First place
Arang & Asa — WebTVAsia Awards 2016, Seoul · Most Popular Online Microfilm (Indonesia) · Winner - 2015
- Batak, Perjalanan ke Tanah Leluhur — Melbourne Documentary Film Festival 2015 · Official Selection
Imam Komunis — Melbourne Documentary Film Festival 2015 · Official Selection - 2013
- Batak, Perjalanan ke Tanah Leluhur — Festival Film Indonesia 2013 (Piala Citra) · Best Feature Documentary · Nominee
Rafi. The Sound of Colour — Storyhunter · Storyhunter of the Month · Winner
Dewi Sampah (The Trash Goddess) — Storyhunter · Storyhunter of the Month · Winner
Sepak Bola Api — Storyhunter · Storyhunter of the Month · Winner
Exhibitions
- 2026
- Rooting The Divine in Tuwed — group · Bangkok Climate Action Week, Glass House, Lumpini Park, Bangkok
- 2024
- anātman — solo · Omah Lor Project, Pakem & ISI Yogyakarta
- 2012
- Batak: Perjalanan ke Tanah Leluhur — group · GFJA, Jakarta
- 2010
- The Kawah Ijen Warriors — group · GFJA, Jakarta & House of Sampoerna, Surabaya
- 2007
- unbreakable — group · GFJA, Jakarta
Press
Coverage of films he did not direct is marked (Executive Producer).
- 2026
- SuaraBaru.id — Film Berjudul Hapus Menjadi Karya Terbaik di FFH 2026
ANTARA News — Kemenekraf dorong sineas daerah tembus pasar nasional
ANTARA Jatim — Kemenekraf dorong sineas daerah tembus pasar nasional
ANTARA Megapolitan — Kemenekraf dorong sineas daerah perluas distribusi karya film agar tembus pasar nasional
Cakrawala8 — SDN 02 Belah Pacitan Raih Juara Kategori Video Bercerita di Festival Film Horor 2026
Kendariinfo — Bahas Politik hingga Lingkungan, Camping Literasi Kendari Hadirkan Cara Baru Menikmati Buku
Jakarta World Cinema — Hapus: Official Selection, Short Movie
Festival Film Horor — Festival Film Horor 2026: Official Selection, Umum Nasional
Radar Batu (Jawa Pos) — Kolaborasi dengan Vidio, Jakarta Film Week Luncurkan Exclusive Screening 24 Film Pendek
Djourno Fest (Instagram) — A Tale of the Stolen River at Djourno Fest 2026
Campaign Indonesia — Indo Indie Spotlight: Mahatma Putra dari Anatman Pictures, profile
Jakarta Culture Cinema (Instagram) — Jakarta Culture Cinema Fund 2026: Pilot Ondel-Ondel (Executive Producer)
Jakarta Culture Cinema — Jakarta Culture Cinema Fund 2026 (Executive Producer) - 2025
- Jurnal Pengabdian Masyarakat Bhinneka — Peningkatan Kapasitas Perempuan dengan Komunitas dan Film Dokumenter: Studi Kasus Film Mother of the Sea (2023) (Executive Producer)
Jurnalposmedia — Diskovie Gelar Nobar Film "Atas Nama Daun" Refleksi Atas Lima Babak
LPM Visi — Resensi Film Atas Nama Daun (Dokumenter Ganja, 2022), review - 2024
- HISTMA (Universitas Gadjah Mada) — Diam dan Dengaran: Hubungan Alam dan Manusia, review
RMIT University Research Repository — For Japan, Our Sister
ANTARA Jabar — Daftar nominasi Festival Film Indonesia 2024
identitas Unhas — Membuka Mata dengan “Terpejam Untuk Melihat”, review
Minikino — Mereka Yang Menempuh Jalan Ketidakpastian, review (Executive Producer)
ANTARA News — inDrive merilis film dokumenter "Inner Drive"
Republika — InDrive Produksi Film Dokumenter, Perjalanan Startup Lokal Bersaing di Kancah Global
Mubadalah.id — Yang Hilang dari Hidup Kita: Dokumenter Terpejam untuk Melihat (2024), review
Klikdinamika — Pada Dunia Modern Yang Rusak, Aku Memilih Terasingkan
tatkala.co — Terpejam untuk Melihat (2023): Suara-suara dari Tepi, review
Minikino Indonesia Raja — Arsip Indonesia Raja 2024 (Executive Producer)
Tempo · Teroka — Resensi Film Terpejam untuk Melihat, review
Tempo · Teroka — Bukan Menggantungkan Semua Hal ke Politik Praktis, interview - 2023
- Festival Film Dokumenter — Mother of the Sea (2023): Sexism and the High Seas (Executive Producer)
Bilik Sastra — 5 Rekomendasi Film Dokumenter Indonesia, Wajib Kamu Tonton!
EngageMedia · Cinemata — Cinemata Features: Anatman Pictures, profile
PWYP Indonesia — KHAS: 7 Film Dokumenter Indonesia Yang Seharusnya Ada di Layanan Streaming
Layar Cerita Perempuan Indonesiana — Pemenang Open Call Layar Cerita Perempuan Indonesiana 2023 (Executive Producer) - 2022
- LPM Institut — Polemik Ganja Medis di Indonesia, review
Suaka Online — Atas Nama Daun: Memandang Ganja dari Ragam Perspektif, review
Marhaen Press — Atas Nama Daun: Memahami Ganja dari Berbagai Perspektif, review
Konde.co — Film Atas Nama Daun: Ditangkap Gunakan Ganja Padahal untuk Pengobatan
Tempo · Teroka — Legalitas Ganja dalam Film Dokumenter Atas Nama Daun
Rumah Cemara — Atas Nama Daun: Nasib Murung Interaksi Ganja dan Manusia di Indonesia, review
Jakarta Film Week — Datang Bulan (Come Moon) (Executive Producer) - 2020
- Persma Canopy — Resensi Film Diam & Dengarkan, review
identitas Unhas — Diam dan Dengarkan: Menyadari Keterpautan Diri dengan Alam Semesta, review
Majalah Tempo — Mereka Bicara tentang Bumi
Majalah Tempo — Kita Selalu Menyalahkan Sistem, interview
Kompas TV — Review Film Diam dan Dengarkan: Jeda untuk Dunia dan Manusia Berhenti, review
SINDOnews — Diam & Dengarkan, Film Dokumenter yang Diisi Deretan Seleb Beken Indonesia
Tatler Asia — Exclusive Interview: 4 Narator Film Dokumenter Diam dan Dengarkan, interview
Greeners.co — Pandemi Menyingkap Keterkaitan Antarmakhluk Hidup
Kanal Bali ID — ‘Diam & Dengarkan’, Ajakan Merenungi Lingkungan Lewat Film
Kulturina.ID — 90 Menit untuk Diam dan Dengarkan Suara dari Ibu Bumi
Hard Rock FM — Mencoba Diam & Dengarkan - 2017
- New Mandala — Caring at a Distance
- 2016
- The Conversation — Be a Superhero
- 2013
- filmindonesia.or.id — Malam Penghargaan FFI 2013
- 2012
- ANTARA News — Pameran Batak: Perjalanan ke Tanah Leluhur di GFJA