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“Jamojaya” Premieres at Sundance

Rich Brian and Yayu A.W. Unru appear in Jamojaya by Justin Chon, an official selection of the Premieres program at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival. Courtesy of Sundance Institute | Photo by Ante Cheng. All photos are copyrighted and may be used by the press only for the purpose of news or editorial coverage of Sundance Institute programs. Photos must be accompanied by a credit to the photographer and/or ‘Courtesy of Sundance Institute.’ Unauthorized use, alteration, reproduction or sale of logos and/or photos is strictly prohibited.

ACM Alumni Reynolds Barney was the editor for Sundance’s Jamojaya, a film featuring Rich Brian. Jamojaya premiered January 22nd at the Sundance film festival. ACM Director Chris Lee acted as an executive producer for this film and appeared at Sundance for the screening of this film. Many of the Hawai’i based crew had appeared for the world premiere. The theater itself was sold out for this screening.

“James (Brian Imanuel), an aspiring Indonesian rapper, is at a resort in Hawai‘i to cut his debut album for a major U.S. record label. Accompanying him is his father and former manager (Yayu A.W. Unru), who is still mourning the death of James’ brother and unwilling to surrender control of his career. While James sinks deeper in debt to the label, his father insists on acting as a de facto personal assistant. Caught between the music industry’s commercial demands and a power struggle with his suffocating stage dad, James is forced to find his voice.

Courtesy of Sundance Institute | Photo by Ante Cheng

Writer-director Justin Chon (Gook, 2017 NEXT Audience Award winner and Ms. Purple, 2019) returns to Sundance with this introspective family drama set against the infernal neon backdrop of the showbiz machine. Jamojaya juxtaposes anxious handheld shots that follow James through cramped corridors and busy backstage areas with quiet, lyrical passages depicting the growing gulf between father and son. In his feature film debut, acclaimed rapper Imanuel brings sensitivity to the would-be star, while Unru delivers a heart-wrenching performance as his doting but demanding father.” – Sundance Film Festival

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