Prenjak is a Javanese name for a species of birdinYogyakarta.[3] The shooting of the film took place for two days in Yogyakarta in February 2016. The film was directed by Wregas Bhanuteja. The other crews and casts were his friends.[4] The editing process was done for a week.[2] The budget of the film was 3 million rupiah that was from his friends in Studio Batu, his film community in Yogyakarta. Canon 5D Mark III was used as the camera.[1]
The story is based on a local cultural practice that was popular in 1980s and 90s in Yogyakarta when a woman, seller of wedang rondhe (local drink) let a man to see her genital by lighting matches in darker place in alun-alun for money.[3][1] In the film, the woman is a restaurant employee rather than a drink seller and the money was higher than the practice back then in accordance to a more modern context.[1]
Prenjak was registered to 2016 Cannes Film Festival three days before the closing. The film then won the Leica Cine Discovery Prize.[4] The film is the first Indonesian film to win at the festival in any category.[5] According to Femina, Charles Tesson praised Prenjak as "a film with a surprisingly deep poetry".[6] Tesson, quoted by Rappler, added that the film is "dark and ornery, about how earning a living is the same as a game of matches." Rappler also quoted Marie-Paulline Molaret, one of the jury, said that "Bhanuteja got rid of bad impression of peeking and made it as an entertaining, soft poetry."[7]
After winning the international festival, Prenjak was screened by Kinosaurus a micro-cinema in Jakarta.[3] The film was also screened at Institut Francais Indonesia Jakarta on 2 June 2016.[8]
Pangerang writing for Kompas identified Prenjak as black comedy, showing a sad story of a woman by simple jokes.[9] Ratnaning writing for Liputan6.com claimed that its simplicity of "the plot, setting, and shooting technique" makes the film as natural and close to viewers.[10]
