Behind the Scenes

JIS Alumni Patrick Tashadian (Class of 1999) and Rico Bradley (Class of 1994) are making their mark on the Indonesian film industry — one spooky movie at a time — while living out a lifelong passion that was nurtured by the diverse learning experiences and supportive teachers of Jakarta International School.

While they never had the chance to interact on campus, their paths would cross many years later at an alumni gathering. ​They would even meet up as guest speakers at last year’s IASAS Film event held at JIS, invited by JIS Alum Yuichiro Hara (and current High School English Teacher), sharing their insights and experiences with a new generation of aspiring filmmakers. 

Now fast friends connected by their shared love of all things film and the foundations laid by JIS, Patrick and Rico are shining examples of how being JIS Dragons forges lasting bonds beyond the classroom. 

Their effortless camaraderie is immediately evident as they joke and banter, alternating between complimenting each other’s work and exchanging playful, lighthearted barbs. When asked who should go first in telling their story of life after graduation, they both burst into laughter while pointing their fingers at one another.

“Patrick first! Start with Pat because he’s younger,” Rico insists.

Patrick concedes, replying with an easygoing grin, “OK, OK, I can go first.”

And so he does.

Patrick’s journey toward filmmaking took a detour in Melbourne, Australia, where he hunkered down to study business and communications at the firm behest of his father.

“I wanted to do film, but my father was old-school,” he says with a laugh. “He told me, ‘You need a degree; you need something to fall back on in case film never works out,’ so I did that. I was almost finished, [but] I told my father I was over it! I told him I wanted to go to New York; I wanted to study film.”

This bold decision set in motion the first tangible steps of Patrick’s filmmaking journey, taking him to the New York Film Academy and landing him a string of jobs that challenged him to work “from the ground up”. It was there that he learned the intricacies of the industry while working as a camera operator for various TV shows and short films.

In 2008, he returned to Indonesia intent on contributing to the local film scene with the skills he cultivated during his four years abroad, particularly in cinematography and producing. 

“When I moved back here, I thought, ‘Where can I test myself? Where can I challenge myself?’ And that was the horror movies of Indonesia. They gave me the biggest opportunities to challenge myself, to explore and be experimental,” he recalls. “I get offered to do other genres, but nothing has been appealing to me yet — except for these horror films that allow me to explore different themes.”

Rico jumps in to sing his friend praises, adding that as a cinematographer, “Patrick’s is actually very adventurous.”

“Horror takes you to a lot of places [creatively]. When you’re doing Indonesian horror movies, there’s a little bit of drama mixed up in them as well. And Patrick likes dynamic angles; he likes [to offer] something different.”

They start reflecting on how lucky they were to have started their careers during a boom in Indonesian filmmaking in the early to mid-2000s, with homegrown horror flicks — which enjoyed a peak in the 1980s — especially making a meteoric resurgence after a decade-long halt in production in the 1990s due to censorship laws. 

“Rico was there right at the beginning of the boom. Rico, you were there when the new wave started, and then I came in somewhere in the middle,” Patrick clarifies. 

Upon diving headfirst into that rising wave, Patrick quickly made a name for himself as a cinematographer and gradually, as a producer. He would lend his talents to a string of successful horror films, including the spine-chilling Ivanna, The Queen of Black Magic (2019), and Sewu Dino (1,000 Nights), to name just a few. To date, his portfolio totals a whopping 20 titles, with another one in the works — Indonesia’s first-ever zombie flick — for the streaming giant Netflix. He also has eight producing credits to his name, including the limited action/drama series Patriot and the upcoming thriller Perception.

Patrick’s latest effort as director of photography, the creepy Dancing Village: The Curse Begins, made its debut in a handful of cities in the United States in April. He hopes that one of his next projects will be a promising, as yet “top secret” movie developed by his friend and fellow JIS alum, Rico Bradley.

“My family was always into theater. My uncle, Barry Prima, was an action movie star and he used to take me to his shoots. That’s how I fell in love with [movies],” Rico recalls, revealing that after starring in several commercials, he made his big-screen acting debut in the 1986 children’s movie Don Aufar, a spoof of Bugsy Malone. “At JIS, I spent most of my time in the Fine Arts Theater or reading plays at the library. I remember reading through an entire volume of Shakespeare’s plays.”

To this day, he cherishes these moments, crediting them as some of the key experiences that steered him toward the magic of storytelling through visual mediums, such as television and movies. Rico still refers to acting as his “first love”, which was further nurtured by his teachers and the multifarious performing arts opportunities at JIS. 

He would spend several years after JIS High School starring in a string of sinetron (soap operas) while studying psychology at Atma Jaya University. Deciding that what he truly wanted to do was to “focus and hone my skills” in filmmaking, he set his sights on the University of Southern California, securing a scholarship to pursue his master’s degree in visual and performing arts. 

“I actually wanted to focus on acting, but I really fell in love with television and motion pictures,” Rico says. “So, I made the switch and started learning about what happens behind the camera, storywise.” 

He returned to Indonesia after a brief tenure at MGM/UA in Los Angeles and a film directing course at the New York Film Academy, discovering a nascent creative industry inspired to keep up with a new influx of Western and East Asian cinematic influences. 

Rico eagerly rolled up his sleeves and went to work writing, producing, and directing commercials, music videos, and TV series, and in 2008, his first feature film titled Ikhsan: Mama I Love You. A slew of projects followed in the years to come, delving into genres ranging from thrillers to horror and comedy. 

Two years ago, up for another challenge in his variegated journey as a storyteller, he pivoted once again to become the Creative Director of a multinational food brand. The role still allows him to flex his filmmaking skills while overseeing the creative direction of the company’s digital and promotional content.

Even after directing about 120 commercials, Rico strives to constantly evolve, learn, and “find my ‘colors’ as a director”.

“I’m doing a lot of editing, I’m honing my skills. I also get a lot of free cookies!” he jokes. 

Ultimately, Rico aims to one day lead his own production company, bringing to life the stories he’s passionate about by projecting them onto the big screen for everyone to enjoy. 

“Of course, Patrick and I, we’re hoping to work together soon,” Rico reveals before turning to his friend. “Patrick, it’s 90% there! I changed the whole script; I’ll tell you about it when you’re free, after your zombie movie.”

With his now-familiar jovial laugh, he apologizes for not elaborating any further, revealing only that “it’s going to be an action movie.”

The two go on to talk shop for a minute or two — as if they are the only ones in the room — before they’re reined in by the question of how their JIS experience helped them navigate the ups and downs of their careers.

Without needing a moment to think, Patrick is the first to answer: “What JIS really instilled in me was a strong sense of self-belief and confidence. My teachers taught me that if you put in the work, if you keep working on your craft, you shouldn’t be afraid to fail, you shouldn’t be afraid of rejection.”

He recalls dealing with nay-sayers at the start of his career, constantly being told “you can’t”, and people telling him that he would never be making movies in Indonesia. But the resilience impressed on him at JIS pushed him to persevere.

“And I just kept trying, kept shooting commercials, kept doing all the things [I needed to do].”

Rico nods in agreement throughout Patrick’s story, adding that for him, the support and encouragement he received from JIS teachers were invaluable.

“It still blows my mind how amazing my teachers were. Mr. Schuster, Mr. Chesterton, Mr. Latham, Mrs. Smart, Mrs. Bali — I still remember their names because they really had an impact on my life. They pushed me a little but also allowed me to be [myself] because I was always bouncing off the walls!” 

As our chat continues, the two shift from topic to topic with the ease of longtime collaborators bouncing ideas off each other while piecing together a movie script — Patrick’s first impression of Rico, their mutual friends (also JIS alumni), Rico pondering the idea of one day teaching at JIS, the two teaming up for an episode of The JIS Podcast together, Patrick’s new pizza parlor in Bali. 

Their easygoing back-and-forth is heartwarming — and entirely enjoyable — to witness, and if their upcoming big-screen collaboration ends up being even half as entertaining, they can rest assured that movie-goers will be lining up to watch.