Timo Tjahjanto (Indonesian:[tʃahˈjanto]; born Timothy Tjahjanto; 4 September 1980) is an Indonesianfilm director,producer, andscreenwriter known for his film works mostly on the horror and action genres.^[1] Tjahjanto owns the film production company Merah Production.^[2]

Apart from directing, producing, and writing story for his own films, Tjahjanto is also known as one half ofThe Mo Brothers with friend and fellow filmmakerKimo Stamboel. The duo received aCitra Award nomination forBest Director in 2016 forHeadshot while Tjahjanto himself won theMaya Award forBest Director in 2019 forMay the Devil Take You.

Timo received education at the School of Visual Arts in Australia, where he met future collaborator Kimo Stamboel.^[3] He began his career in the film industry as a freelance story board artist and photographer. He has citedAlfred Hitchcock'sPsycho andTommy Lee Wallace's 1990 adaptation ofStephen King'sIt as his major influences.^[3]

Tjahjanto and Stamboel rose to fame for directing and writing their feature directorial debutMacabre (known asRumah Dara in local market) in 2009. The film is based on their 2007 short filmDara, which was included in the 2008 anthology filmTakut: Faces of Fear. It starsJulie Estelle, Shareefa Daanish,Ario Bayu,Aming, andSigi Wimala.^[4]Macabre received rave reviews and won several awards from international and local film festivals, with Daanish receiving praise for her performance as the titular character.^[4] Tjahjanto and Stamboel appeared among the patrons of Herosase inJoko Anwar'sThe Forbidden Door.^[5]

In 2012, he directed a segment in the anthology filmThe ABCs of Death alongside other filmmakers which includedNacho Vigalondo,Banjong Pisanthanakun,Ben Wheatley,Noboru Iguchi,Ti West, andYoshihiro Nishimura.^[6] The following year, he worked on 'Safe Haven', a segment included in the horror anthology filmV/H/S/2 which premiered at the2013 Sundance Film Festival.^[7] Tjahjanto co-directed and co-wrote the segment withGareth Evans, director of the 2011 action hitThe Raid.^[7]

In 2014, Tjahjanto reunited with Stamboel as The Mo Brothers to direct, produce, and writeKillers, aJapanese-Indonesianhorror-thriller.^[8] The film stars actors from both Japan and Indonesia, includingKazuki Kitamura,Oka Antara,Rin Takanashi,Luna Maya, Ray Sahetapy, Epy Kusnandar, andTara Basro.^[8] It premiered at the2014 Sundance Film Festival^[9] and received positive reviews upon release with a 73% fresh score onRotten Tomatoes.^[10] The duo teamed up again in 2016 to release the action filmHeadshot withThe Raid starIko Uwais andMaya Award winning actressChelsea Islan in leading roles with Sunny Pang,Julie Estelle,Zack Lee,Bront Palarae, andArio Bayu in supporting roles.^[11]

Taking a break from his works with Stamboel as The Mo Brothers, Tjahjanto explored thesupernatural horror genre withMay the Devil Take You in 2018.^[12] This marks his first feature film as a solo director. Released to positive reviews,^[13] the film saw him reunite with Chelsea Islan, Ray Sahetapy, and Shareefa Daanish. Later in the year, he releasedThe Night Comes for Us based on a screenplay he wrote as an homage toHong Kong 1980s cinema.^[14] The film is the firstNetflixoriginal production from Indonesia^[15] and received acclaim from critics with a 91% score on Rotten Tomatoes.^[16] The film stars top action starsJoe Taslim (Fast & Furious 6,Star Trek Beyond) and Iko Uwais whom he worked with previously inHeadshot. In supporting roles, he cast actors that have become frequent collaborators, such as Julie Estelle, Zack Lee, Sunny Pang,Abimana Aryasatya,Hannah Al Rashid, Shareefa Daanish, and Epy Kusnandar.^[16]Citra Award winning actressDian Sastrowardoyo also co-starred as an assassin tasked with hunting down the main character played by Taslim, marking her first venture in the action genre.

In February 2020, Tjahjanto released the sequel toMay the Devil Take You, titledMay the Devil Take You Too with Islan reprising her role as the main character.^[17] The film was released in theatres and later onDisney+ Hotstar in Indonesia withShudder taking on the American distribution rights. It received mixed reviews from critics.^[18] The film earned TjahjantoBest Director and Best Adapted Screenplay nominations at the 2020Maya Awards.^[19][20][21]

In September 2018, Tjahjanto hinted onTwitter that he is working on adapting the action-thriller comic bookJITU: Joint Tactical Intelligence Unit into a feature film.^[22] The project has not been officially confirmed despite Tjahjanto posting anotherteaser onInstagram in April 2019.^[23]

Tjahjanto has also confirmed that he has co-written a screenplay for a spin-off film focusing on Julie Estelle's character fromThe Night Comes for Us, titledNight of the Operator, with friend and collaborator Aaron Stewart-Ahn.^[24] While no official confirmation has been made, Tjahjanto and Stewart-Ahn teased a poster with Estelle's character in a red background on social media in January 2020.^[25]

In February 2020, Tjahjanto posted on his Twitter account hinting at a sequel to the Mo Brothers' 2009 hitMacabre.^[26] In a podcast with fellow Indonesian filmmaker Joko Anwar in April 2020, Tjahjanto shared that while the movie was a hit on the festival circuit, it was not as successful financially and that he and Stamboel will only do a sequel if they have a story that fits their ideals.^[27]

Following the release ofMay the Devil Take You Too, Tjahjanto announced in October 2020 that a follow-up, titledMay the Devil Take You: Dajjal, is in pre-production with Islan and Daanish hinting that they will be reprising their respective roles in response to the announcement.^[28]

Tjahjanto was announced as director of a live-action adaptation of theBumilangit Cinematic Universe film adaptation ofcomic book character Si Buta dari Gua Hantu inThe Blind of the Phantom Cave: Angel's Eyes in 2018.^[29] Production was set to begin in early 2020, but was delayed due to theCOVID-19 pandemic.^[30] Iko Uwais is rumored to star in the lead role as the titular character.^[31] It is part of theBumilangit Cinematic Universe film for its Volume 1.^[32]

In February 2021, Tjahjanto was announced to helm a remake ofSouth Korean blockbuster hitTrain to Busan withJames Wan producing forNew Line Cinema.^[33] In November 2021, he was hired to direct the reboot ofUnder Siege forHBO Max.^[34]

In July 2023, Tjahjanto was announced as the director forNetflix action filmThe Shadow Strays.^[35] In June 2024, he was announced to be directingNobody 2, the sequel toNobody (2021).^[36]

Tjahjanto was married to Citra Award nominated actressSigi Wimala (who played a supporting role in his filmMacabre) in an East Jakartan church in November 2009.^[37] They have two daughters.^[38] They quietly divorced in 2021.

• Timo Tjahjanto atIMDb
• Timo Tjahjanto atRotten Tomatoes

• Living people
• 1980 births
• Indonesian film directors
• Indonesian screenwriters
• Indonesian film producers
• Indonesian horror film directors
• Indonesian fantasy film directors
• Action film directors
• Maya Award winners

• CS1 Indonesian-language sources (id)
• CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list
• CS1: unfit URL
• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Articles with hCards
• No local image but image on Wikidata
• Pages with Indonesian IPA