Fox Intl. Prods., the local-language moviemaking arm of 20th Century Fox, is to co-produce its first feature film in Indonesia.

It will produce “212 Warrior,” based on a best-selling martial arts book series, with Indonesian producer Lifelike Pictures.

The two companies will develop, produce, and distribute the film throughout Indonesia and possibility to other countries. The film, which goes into production this year, is to be produced by Sheila Timothy, and executive produced by Michael J Werner, the former chairman of Fortissimo Films who is a consultant to FIP.

Angga D Sasongko, a young acclaimed filmmaker, has been set as director, while “The Raid” action choreographer Yayan Ruhiyan will be also part of the team.

The 185 novels in the series feature iconic character Wiro Sableng, who has become a hero in Indonesia, and retains a huge fan base. Vino G. Bastian, the son of the writer of the original “212 Warrior” series, Bastian Tito, will play as Wiro Sableng. Other cast includes Marsha Timothy and Sherina Munaf.

The screenplay adaptation was written by Timothy, Tumpal Tampubolon, and Seno Gumira Ajidarma.

“Combining our understanding of the Indonesian market and audience preferences with FIP’s expertise, ‘212 Warrior’ will satisfy the demand of Indonesian audiences for a good quality film. [FIP president] Tomas Jegeus, Michael Werner and I agreed to make the ‘212 Warrior’ as a great commercial movie. We look forward to expand the collaboration to the series,” Timothy said in a prepared statement.

The move to produce in Indonesia follows other local production initiatives by FIP around the world. In Asia, FIP was involved in Korean films “The Yellow Sea” and 2016 Cannes festival film “The Wailing.”

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First published on Variety US Edition:
http://variety.com/2017/film/asia/fox-international-first-movie-production-in-indonesia-1201982157/