Ariani Darmawan

Ariani Darmawan creates short films, documentaries, video installations, and multimedia theatre. She also runs Kineruku, a bookshop and library she founded in Bandung in 2003. Ariani holds a degree in architectural engineering from Parahyangan Catholic University and a Master of Fine Arts from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

Her practice draws from both the structured thinking of architecture and the intuitive, expressive approach of visual art—leading her into the world of writing and moving images. Her early works explore themes of power and identity.

Her documentary Anak Naga Beranak Naga (2006) focuses on the cultural acculturation of Chinese-Betawi identity through gambang kromong music. Her short film Sugiharti Halim (2008) won both Best Short Fiction and Audience Favourite at the 2008 Konfiden Film Festival, and was later selected for competition at the 2009 Clermont-Ferrand Film Festival in France.After an 11-year hiatus, she returned to filmmaking with the short film Jus Nanas Kue Lapis (2022), and is currently developing her first feature-length film.