Teddy Soeriaatmadja (born 7 February 1975) is an Indonesian film director. Born in Japan and educated in Britain, Soeriaatmadja made his film debut in 2000 with the short filmCulik (Kidnap); it was followed five years later byBanyu Biru (Blue Banyu), his feature film debut. Since then Soeriaatmadja has directed several films, including two which have garnered him a nomination forBest Director at theIndonesian Film Festival.

Soeriaatmadja was born in Japan on 7 February 1975 to Rhousdy Soeriaatmadja (father) and Siti Syarifah. As a child he enjoyed watching movies at home, such as theStar Wars andJames Bond franchises; in an interview with the Jakarta-based periodicalTabloid Nova, he recalled watching three to four films a day. By 1991 he had written his firstscreenplay, entitledDesember (December), and after viewingQuentin Tarantino's filmReservoir Dogs in 1992, decided that he wanted to work in film. He wrote several further screenplays while studying atNewport University in South Wales (now theUniversity of South Wales), two of which he later adapted for film.^[1]

In 1996, after finishing his master's degree in Britain, Soeriaatmadja returned to Indonesia, where he worked for a year at asoft drink company. With his savings, he began work on his first short film, entitledCulik (Kidnap), which followed an Indonesian employee who kidnapped his Australian boss after being fired; he received additional funding from theGothenburg Film Festival in Sweden.^[1] The film debuted at the 2000Jakarta International Film Festival.^[2] It was through the making ofCulik that Soeriaatmadja met directorsMira Lesmana andRiri Riza, who facilitated his entry into the industry.^[1] To gain more experience, he began work onmusic videos and TV advertisements.^[3]

Soeriatmadja released his feature film debut,Banyu Biru (Blue Banyu), in 2005. The film, which followed a sales clerk on a road trip of self-discovery, had a budget ofRp. 5 billion. ForBanyu Biru, Soeriaatmadja deliberately obscured the setting.^[2] A year end review of Indonesian films inThe Jakarta Post described the film as "possibly the bravest and most original release of [March], if not the year."^[4] The following year he releasedRuang (Room), a love story starring Winky Wiryawan,Luna Maya, andSlamet Rahardjo, which was moderately successful^[5][6] and garnered nine nominations at the 2006Indonesian Film Festival, includingBest Director.^[7]

Soeriaatmadja releasedBadai Pasti Berlalu, a remake ofTeguh Karya's 1977film of the same name, in 2007. The film, which starred Vino G. Bastian, Winky Wiryawan, and Raihaanun, followed a woman's struggle after being abandoned by her fiancé. For the film, Soeriaatmadja attempted to change several aspects of the original film andsource work to better suit it for the 2000s, such as the main character'sdiabetes, but was refused by the original author,Marga T.^[8] Shortly after the film's release he married its star, Raihaanun.^[9] As of May 2012^[update] the couple have a son, Millan Haruna Soeriaatmadja, with another due in June.^[10]

In 2009 Soeriaatmadja directedRuma Maida (Maida's House), with a screenplay byAyu Utami. The film, which detailed a woman's struggle to save a historic house from a developer while showing the life of the house's original owner,^[11] garnered a Best Director nomination for Soeriaatmadja at the 2009 Indonesian Film Festival.^[12] Two years later he releasedLovely Man, which followed a woman's search for her father and their interactions after she discovered he was atranssexual. He was quoted in theJakarta Globe as saying that he did not want to portray transsexuals as comedic fodder, an approach common in Indonesian films.^[13]

• Culik (Kidnap; short film; 2001)
• Banyu Biru (Blue Banyu; 2005)
• Ruang (Room; 2006)
• Badai Pasti Berlalu (The Storm Shall Surely Pass; 2007)
• Namaku Dick (My Name is Dick; 2008)
• Ruma Maida (Maida's House; 2009)
• Lovely Man (2011)
• Something in the Way (2013)
• About a Woman (2015)
• Ten Seconds before Sunrise (2018)
• Affliction (2021)
• Innocent Vengeance (2023)
• The Talent Agency (streaming television series; 2023)
• The Architecture of Love (2024)
• All We Need Is Time (2024)

• Official website
• Teddy Soeriaatmadja atIMDb

• 1975 births
• Living people
• Indonesian film directors
• Maya Award winners
• Alumni of the University of Wales, Newport

• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Use dmy dates from October 2020
• Use British English from June 2012
• Articles with hCards
• Articles containing potentially dated statements from May 2012
• All articles containing potentially dated statements
• CS1 Indonesian-language sources (id)