"If a single word could sum up the world première of Satan Jawa, it would be ‘bewitching’… Satan Jawa drew much applause from its enraptured audience; it is a shame that it showed for just one night only."

Australian Book Review

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What would you sacrifice to save your lover?

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A young man is kept distant from his lover by a strict and unforgiving society. He'd go through hell to be with her, but when a deal with the devil goes sour, hell comes to him instead.

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This collaboration across cultures brings together a 20-piece Indonesian gamelan ensemble and members of a western orchestra to conjure the bewitching live score for the new film, Setan Jawa. A lavish black-and-white work of suspenseful cinema directed by revered Indonesian filmmaker, Garin Nugroho, Setan Jawa's soundtrack has been jointly written by award-winning Australian composer/conductor Iain Grandage and renowned Indonesian composer Rahayu Supanggah.

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Inspired by the classic horror film Nosferatu and the rich imagery of Javanese mythology, Setan Jawa is a silent film of lavish and arresting imagery directed by Indonesia's most internationally praised director. The stunning score has been created during an extensive and insightful period of exchange between Australian and Indonesian musicians, with theatrical heavy-hitter Grandage joining forces with Supanggah, best known in Melbourne for scoring Robert Wilson's majestic I La Galigo.

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The result is a work rich with mysticism and theatrical sensuality, and an event worth selling your soul to catch.

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Commissioned by Arts Centre Melbourne, Melbourne Symphony Orchestra and Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay.