Join our pitch
&
Let’s meet
_
OLA: In the Shadow of Memory
_
LOGLINE
Sent to Taiwan to recover a stolen experimental serum, an elite Indonesian agent must stop a corporation from turning migrant workers into weapons, while confronting the truth about the father she believed abandoned her.
_
FILM INFORMATION
Action Thriller with Sci-Fi Elements
Taiwan, Indonesia · 4K · Color · 120 min
_
SYNOPSIS
OLA KUSUMA (33) leads Alpha 12, an Indonesian task force chemically enhanced for twelve-hour cycles by Nexa Prime. Guarded and disciplined, she has spent her life believing her father abandoned her after leaving for work in Taiwan. During a mission in Bali, Ola spares a young witness. When the boy returns with an armed mob and team member JAKA (33) is killed, Ola fears her compassion caused his death. 
Soon after, Alpha 12’s headquarters is destroyed, their mentor murdered, DR. HADI (56) abducted, and the Core Serum stolen. The trail leads directly to Taiwan—the center of Ola’s deepest childhood wound. Undercover as migrant laborers, Ola, AGUS (33), and their team discover TARAS, a syndicate run by JIANG-WEI (56) that transforms exploited Southeast Asian workers into biological weapons called Vanguard. 
Shockingly, Dr. Hadi is directing the program. Living among the laborers forces Ola to confront the brutal realities her father endured. Trapped in TARAS’s facility, Ola injects the modified serum. Linked to the Vanguard’s neural memories, she feels their exploitation, terror, and isolation. Seeing victims rather than enemies, she refuses to execute them, destroys the control matrix, and sets them free—realizing empathy is strength, not weakness. Agus apparently dies during the escape, but his body and the serum vanish. 
At the docks, Ola uncovers the truth: her father died defending fellow crewmen aboard a fishing vessel, never abandoning her. Resentment turns into resolve. With Hadi at large and Agus missing, Ola launches a new hunt.
_
CREATIVE INTENTION
I was born and raised in Indonesia and have lived in Taiwan for almost eighteen years.
Through my work, I have spent years listening to Indonesian migrant workers and learning about the lives they build far from home.  <OLA: In the Shadow of Memory> grew from these stories and from the death of Indonesian fisherman Supriyanto, who died after enduring abuse aboard a Taiwanese fishing vessel in 2015. At the same time, martial arts has deeply shaped my filmmaking. 
While directing  <The Road Less Traveled>, I spent three years training in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Muay Thai, boxing, and mixed martial arts. I want to bring these two parts of my life together. Through an accessible action thriller, I hope audiences will connect with the fear, resilience, and humanity behind migrant workers’ experiences. For me, action is not merely spectacle; it makes systemic, invisible violence physical and transforms Ola’s personal fight into a conscious choice to witness, remember, and resist.
_
DEVELOPMENT IDEA
<OLA: In the Shadow of Memory> is a grounded action thriller with science-fiction elements, structured across eight sequences. Fragments of violence aboard a fishing vessel and a childhood memory of Ola repairing a net with her father establish memory as the film’s emotional spine. 
The film combines migrant-worker realism with a visceral genre engine. Nexa Prime enhances physical abilities for twelve hours, while its modified form triggers Memory Assimilation. Through physical contact, Ola experiences visceral fragments of other people's lives. In the climactic confrontation, every block, strike, and touch reveals underlying fear, debt, family bonds, systemic abuse, or betrayal. Action and memory merge into one. 
The visual aesthetic is tactile and grounded. Indonesia is framed with lush tropical greens, expansive landscapes, and fluid, kinetic movement; Taiwan is rendered as humid, industrial, and visually compressed by crowded dormitories, factories, commercial ports, and TARAS’s sterile laboratory facility. The science-fiction elements remain intimate and bodily, externalized through serum vials, countdown timers, physical touch, and fractured subjective memories. 
The fight choreography blends MMA with traditional Indonesian martial arts, integrating indigenous weapons into Alpha 12’s modern tactical combat style.
_
SECURED CAST (LOIs)
Aghniny HAQUE (Indonesia) as Ola
Anthony WONG (Hong Kong) as Jiang-wei
Yayan RUHIAN (Indonesia) as Dr. Hadi
LU Hsiao-fen (Taiwan) as Ding-ning
Man Xi Ho (Taiwan) as Chen-yu.
_
CREW
Martin RUSTANDI (Taiwan-Indonesia), Writer & Director
Gwyneth RUSTANDI (Taiwan), Producer
Gene YAO (Taiwan), Executive Producer
Yunus PASOLANG (Indonesia), Director of Photography
MUHAMMAD Irfan (Indonesia), Action Director
_
PROJECT STATUS
In Development - second draft completed
Budget: US$3,125,000 · Financing secured: US$90,625
Expected Completion: Q4 2029
_
MEET US AT
TAIWAN PAVILION · BOOTH E1
ACFM Sales Booths
Hall 4A–F, Exhibition Center 2, BEXCO
_
JOIN US AT AFiS PROJECT PITCHING
OCTOBER 12, 2026
Session starts 10:00 KST · Project No. 6
ACFM Event Room A
1st Floor, Exhibition Center 2, BEXCO
_
LET’S MEET IN BUSAN
Our writer and director, Martin Rustandi, will be in Busan until October 30, 2026.
Get in touch to arrange a meeting and explore opportunities to collaborate on OLA.
Email: martin@therustandi.com
WhatsApp: +886 975 259 922
_
REQUEST THE PROJECT PROPOSAL
We welcome enquiries from potential co-production, financing, sales, and distribution partners.
Request the project proposal or contact us to arrange a meeting.
Our team will review your enquiry and follow up directly.
Submit
Thank you for your interest in OLA!Your request has been received. Our team will review your enquiry and follow up by email regarding the project proposal.We look forward to connecting with you.Team Rustandi
_
Your details will be used to respond to your enquiry about OLA.
Project materials are shared individually following review.