Southeast Asia seeks soft power to outlast US$300 billion buzz

his Week in Asia cover image.

Southeast Asia creative economy, April 5-11 2026.

Illustration: Mario Rivera Later this month, Indonesian cinema-goers will finally get to see what audiences in Berlin saw in February: Jokor Anwar’s Ghost in the Cell.

The horror-comedy, which had its world premiere at the prestigious Berlin International Film Festival, has been celebrated by influential trade magazine Variety for rising above mere “escapist entertainment” to channel societal anxieties about corruption and environmental destruction.

Yet it is only the latest example of Southeast Asia’s creative moment arriving.

The question now is whether the systems exist to convert that interest into lasting economic value and genuine global influence.

Anwar himself hardly needed the validation.

As one of the region’s leading auteurs, with a proven knack for elevating folkloric horror into globally acclaimed cinema, he has spent the better part of two decades telling stories that resonate far beyond Indonesia’s borders.

His seven-part sci-fi anthology series Nightmares and Daydreams made it onto Netflix’s “most watched” lists across multiple countries in 2024, adding to a growing global profile that has helped crack open doors for other Southeast Asian filmmakers chasing international platforms and cross-border audiences. “Indonesian cinema is in a much stronger position than a decade ago in terms of visibility and there are more quality films today to showcase,” Anwar told This Week in Asia. “The biggest homework is how to reach a sustainable global reach and to expand it.” Ghost in the Cell, in which inmates are hunted down by a vengeful supernatural entity inside a prison, is – like much of Anwar’s work – ambitious, bizarre and unmistakably Indonesian.

On April 16, it is coming home.

Joko Anwar’s seven-part sci-fi anthology series “Nightmares & Daydreams”.

Photo: Netflix Southeast Asia’s creative economy is projected to contribute more than US$300 billion to the region’s gross domestic product by the end of the decade.

It encompasses far more than just film and television, however.

Any value generated through human creativity based on “heritage, culture, the arts, design, science, technology and innovation” is part of the creative economy, according to Asean – spanning everything from fashion and artisanal crafts to intangible assets such as intellectual property.

In August last year, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations adopted its Creative Economy Sus

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