the Mo Brothers

{{Infobox person

| name = The Mo Brothers

| image =

| caption =

| occupation = {{hlist|Director|producer|writer}}

| years_active = 2007–present

}}The Mo Brothers is an Indonesian filmmaking duo consisting of directors, producers, and screenwriters Timo Tjahjanto and Kimo Stamboel. They have mostly worked on the action, thriller, and horror genres.{{cite web|date=5 December 2018|title=Gareth Evans, Timo Tjahjanto and the New Indonesian Extreme|url=https://www.headstuff.org/entertainment/film/gareth-evans-timo-tjahjanto-indonesian-extreme/|publisher=|access-date=27 January 2021|archive-date=3 June 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200603023000/https://www.headstuff.org/entertainment/film/gareth-evans-timo-tjahjanto-indonesian-extreme/|url-status=live}} They first became known for directing the short film Dara in 2007, which became the basis of their 2009 feature film debut Macabre (Rumah Dara).{{Citation|last1=Stamboel|first1=Kimo|title=Macabre|date=2009-10-08|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1447791/|type=Drama, Horror, Thriller|others=Shareefa Daanish, Julie Estelle, Ario Bayu, Sigi Wimala|publisher=Gorylah Pictures, Merah Production, Guerilla Visuals|access-date=2021-01-22|last2=Tjahjanto|first2=Timo|archive-date=2021-04-10|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210410231614/http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1447791/|url-status=live}} Together, they have received a Citra Award Best Director nomination in 2016 for directing the action film Headshot, after which Tjahjanto and Stamboel have gone on to make movies individually to further critical and commercial success.{{Citation|last1=Stamboel|first1=Kimo|title=Headshot|date=2016-12-08|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5147214/|type=Action, Drama, Thriller|others=Iko Uwais, Chelsea Islan, Sunny Pang, Very Tri Yulisman|publisher=Infinite Frameworks Studios, Screenplay Infinite Films|access-date=2021-01-22|last2=Tjahjanto|first2=Timo|archive-date=2020-11-12|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201112041629/https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5147214/|url-status=live}}

Career

Tjahjanto and Stamboel met while both were students in Australia.{{Cite web|last=Media|first=Kompas Cyber|title=Profil Timo Tjahjanto, Sutradara Film Sebelum Iblis Menjemput Halaman all|url=https://entertainment.kompas.com/read/2020/03/05/135138866/profil-timo-tjahjanto-sutradara-film-sebelum-iblis-menjemput|access-date=2021-01-22|website=KOMPAS.com|language=id}} Stamboel began directing his feature film debut Bunian in Sydney with the entire cast and crew consisting of people who had no experience in filmmaking, including Tjahjanto who was a freelance cameraman.{{Cite web|last=Media|first=Kompas Cyber|title=Cerita Kimo Stamboel Bikin Film Horor Berbekal Handycam Halaman all|url=https://www.kompas.com/hype/read/2020/04/21/221954366/cerita-kimo-stamboel-bikin-film-horor-berbekal-handycam|access-date=2021-01-23|website=KOMPAS.com|language=id|archive-date=2021-01-30|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210130185047/https://www.kompas.com/hype/read/2020/04/21/221954366/cerita-kimo-stamboel-bikin-film-horor-berbekal-handycam|url-status=live}}

They worked together as co-directors for the first time in the 2007 short film Dara, which was later included in the 2008 anthology film Takut: Faces of Fear.{{Cite web|title=FILM - Rumah Dara (2009)|url=https://www.tribunnewswiki.com/2020/06/11/film-rumah-dara-2009|access-date=2021-01-23|website=Tribunnewswiki.com|language=id-ID}} The short film's success led to the duo working on their 2009 breakout hit Macabre in 2009,{{Citation|last1=Stamboel|first1=Kimo|title=Macabre|date=2009-10-08|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1447791/|type=Drama, Horror, Thriller|others=Shareefa Daanish, Julie Estelle, Ario Bayu, Sigi Wimala|publisher=Gorylah Pictures, Merah Production, Guerilla Visuals|access-date=2021-01-23|last2=Tjahjanto|first2=Timo|archive-date=2021-04-10|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210410231614/http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1447791/|url-status=live}} receiving praise during its run at several film festivals and launched The Mo Brothers' name into mainstream recognition. They then directed, produced, and wrote the horror-thriller Killers which premiered at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival to positive reviews.{{Citation|title=Killers (2014)|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/killers_2015|language=en|access-date=2021-02-05|archive-date=2020-11-10|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201110041710/http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/killers_2015|url-status=live}} They followed up with the 2016 action film Headshot which stars Iko Uwais and Chelsea Islan. For their work on Headshot, The Mo Brothers were nominated for Best Director at the 2016 Citra Award but lost to Riri Riza (Athirah).

After Headshot, Tjahjanto and Stamboel have since released feature films individually while still collaborating in different capacities, such as Stamboel who co-produced Tjahjanto's 2018 Netflix original film The Night Comes for Us.{{Citation|last=Tjahjanto|first=Timo|title=The Night Comes for Us|date=2018-10-19|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6116856/|type=Action, Thriller|others=Joe Taslim, Iko Uwais, Hannah Al Rashid, Julie Estelle|publisher=Infinite Frameworks Studios, Screenplay Infinite Films, XYZ Films|access-date=2021-02-05|archive-date=2021-02-09|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210209233730/https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6116856/|url-status=live}}

Filmography

class="wikitable" ! rowspan="2" style="width:33px;" \|Year ! rowspan="2" \|Film
width="65" \|Director ! width="65" \|Writer ! width="65" \|Producer ! width="65" \|Editor ! scope="col" \|Notes
2007 \|Dara \| {{yes}} \| {{yes}} \| {{yes}} \| {{yes}} \|Short film
2008 \|Takut: Faces of Fear \| {{yes}} \| {{yes}} \| {{yes}} \| {{yes}} \|Segment: 'Dara'
2009 \|Macabre \| {{yes}} \| {{yes}} \| {{yes}} \| {{no}} \|
2014 \|Killers \| {{yes}} \| {{yes}} \| {{yes}} \| {{no}} \|
2016 \|Headshot \| {{yes}} \| {{yes}} \| {{no}} \| {{no}} \|

class="wikitable"

! rowspan="2" style="width:33px;" |Year

! rowspan="2" |Film

width="65" |Director

! width="65" |Writer

! width="65" |Producer

! width="65" |Editor

! scope="col" |Notes

2007

|Dara

| {{yes}}

|Short film

2008

|Takut: Faces of Fear

| {{yes}}

|Segment: 'Dara'

2009

|Macabre

| {{yes}}

| {{no}}

2014

|Killers

| {{yes}}

| {{no}}

2016

|Headshot

| {{yes}}

| {{no}}

Awards and nominations

class="wikitable sortable" !Year !Award !Category !Work !Result !Notes
rowspan="2" \|2007 \|Freak Show Horror Film Festival \|Audience Choice Award \| rowspan="2" \|Dara \|{{won}} \|
New York City Horror Film Festival \|Audience Award \|{{won}} \|
2009 \|Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival \|Best of Bucheon \| rowspan="3" \|Macabre \|{{nom}} \|
2010 \|Jakarta International Film Festival \|Best Indonesian Film \|{{won}} \|
2011 \|KasKus untuk Film Indonesia \|Best Film \|{{won}} \|
rowspan="3" \|2016 \|Fantaspoa International Fantastic Film Festival \|Best Bloodbath Honorable Mention \|Killers \|{{won}} \|International Film Competition
L'Étrange Festival \|International Feature Film \| rowspan="2" \|Headshot \|{{won}} \|Shared with They Call Me Jeeg
36th Citra Award \|Best Director \|{{nom}} \|

class="wikitable sortable"

!Year

!Award

!Category

!Work

!Result

!Notes

rowspan="2" |2007

|Freak Show Horror Film Festival

|Audience Choice Award

| rowspan="2" |Dara

|{{won}}