JAKARTA –— Dompet Dhuafa officially kicked off the Compassion Film and Photo Festival series of events by holding an inspiring collaborative workshop. The event took place at Sasana Budaya, Philanthropy Building, South Jakarta on Saturday (November 8, 2025). This event serves as a space for visual artists to understand the power of film and photography as mediums that drive empathy and social change. The workshop also marks the beginning of the humanitarian film and photography competition.
The workshop, themed “Humanitarian Concern with a Positive Impact on the Social Environment,” featured a lineup of prominent speakers. Among them were Dennis Adhiswara (Actor & Director), Dandhy Laksono (Founder of Watchdoc), Edy Purnomo (International Documentary Photographer), and Dedi Fadlil (Marketing Manager of Dompet Dhuafa). Through sharing and discussion sessions, the speakers encouraged participants to understand that photos and films are not merely works of art, but also mediums capable of moving public empathy and driving social change.
The chair of the Compassion Film and Photo Festival, Haryo Mojopahit, explained that this workshop is part of capacity building to spread the values of compassion or philanthropy.
“We believe that there are many people in society who do not want to be called heroes, but they can be an inspiration as compassionate human beings. We hope that this film and photo festival can raise their profile and draw inspiration from their initiatives,” said Haryo.
Participants from various backgrounds—ranging from school students and university students to community activists—not only gained technical knowledge, but were also challenged to cultivate social sensitivity in their visual works.
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Dandhy Laksono, known for his critical documentaries, emphasizes the importance of taking a stand in one’s work. He says that the courage to record and tell stories about humanitarian issues is a tangible form of a creator’s social responsibility.
“Anyone who wants to create content should not be satisfied with just getting a lot of ‘likes’. The most important thing is that we all learn how to create something that brings about change,” said Dandhy, while inviting the public to participate in this competition.
In line with this, Dennis Adhiswara shared his views on film as an effective bridge of communication.
“Today, I also learned from other speakers about how to create works that are more honest, can capture reality better, and have a positive impact. Hopefully, with this workshop and festival, more works that contain love and positive spirit will emerge,” said Dennis.
Meanwhile, Edy Purnomo highlighted the high enthusiasm of the participants, which was demonstrated by their qualitative questions. He emphasized that powerful photography must be able to evoke feelings or emotions.
“Photography for advocacy is very important, because by seeing what is presented and felt through photos, people will eventually be able to see what needs to be fought for. Advocacy and photography are closely related and serve as important tools. Photos must at least contain elements related to humans, because that is what distinguishes humans from other beings. So, powerful photography is photography that is able to evoke our feelings or emotions towards something we see through photos,” explained Edy.
Dedi Fadlil, Marketing Communications Manager at Dompet Dhuafa, added that through this festival, his party hopes that more creative people will be willing to get involved in narratives of kindness.
“Hopefully, today’s enthusiasm will spread to other friends, and stay tuned because we will also have a roadshow in Yogyakarta on November 28, 2025,” added Dedi.
With the spirit of #ClarityCameraCare, Dompet Dhuafa strives to use photos and films as a means to build empathy, voice humanity, and bring about real impact.
Friends, you are all invited to submit your work to the Compassion Film and Photo Festival until the deadline on December 15, 2025.
● Registration & Submission: 2025 Humanitarian Photo and Video Contest – Dompet Dhuafa Humanitarian Photo & Video Festival
● Requirements & Further Information: Follow Instagram @ddtvofficial
Text and photos: Elfi Handayani
Editor: Dhika