We almost didn’t make this film.

Not because of budget. Not because of logistics. But because a lot of people around us thought the concept was wrong.

“Festive campaigns should feel festive,” they said. “Show the decorations. Show the celebration. Show the ceremony.”

We disagreed. And that disagreement became one of the most meaningful projects Film Roxx has ever produced… and the film that took us all the way to Japan.

This is the story of how “The Soul of Uluwatu” came to life.

The Brief: A Festive Campaign Like No Other

When Six Senses Uluwatu approached us, the ask was straightforward on the surface: create an end-of-year festive campaign video for the resort.

So we asked ourselves a question that changed everything.

What does “festive” actually mean?

 

Rethinking What Festive Really Is

Most hotel festive campaigns look the same. Decorations. Champagne. Smiling guests in white linen. A countdown. Fireworks over the pool.

Beautiful. Safe. Forgettable.

We wanted to go deeper. Because the end of the year isn’t just about celebration… it’s about something more human than that. It’s about leaving. Leaving the things that weighed you down. The year that tested you. The version of yourself you no longer want to carry forward.

Festive, at its core, is about renewal.

New memory. New perspective. New soul.

That insight became the creative foundation of everything we built.

61% of travelers have booked a hotel after seeing it on Instagram but only when the content makes them feel something first. We knew a festive campaign that tapped into genuine human emotion would travel further than one that simply showed a pretty resort at Christmas.

 

The Concept Nobody Agreed With (At First)

The pushback was immediate.

“Where are the festive decorations?”
“Where’s the celebration?”
“This doesn’t feel like an end-of-year campaign.”

We understood the concern. Festive hotel campaigns follow a very established visual language. Guests expect to see it. Brands feel safe publishing it.

But safe rarely wins awards. And more importantly, safe rarely wins attention especially in a world where websites with videos are 53 times more likely to appear on the first page of Google search results, but only when the content is distinctive enough to stop someone mid-scroll.

We believed the message would land across platforms and demographics because renewal isn’t a niche feeling. Whether you’re a 28-year-old digital nomad or a 55-year-old executive — the idea of ending a year and stepping into something new… that resonates universally.

So we went ahead and made it.

The Making of “The Soul of Uluwatu”

Production took us deep into the real textures of Uluwatu. Not the polished ones.

The light on the cliffs at 5:30am before the tourists arrive. The sound of the ocean filling the silence. The stillness of a guest sitting alone at the edge of an infinity pool, looking at nothing and everything at the same time.

Every frame asked the same question: does this show what this place does to a person?

The edit followed the same philosophy. No overly-dramatic music swell. Just visual and narrative that let the viewer feel what the film was trying to say.

The result was a festive campaign that didn’t look like any festive campaign before it. No decorations. No countdown. Just Uluwatu. Just renewal. Just truth.

 

Submitting to JWTFF: An Idea That Started Quietly

At the end of 2025, Aditya Ryandana, our Creative Director, made a call.

“We were going to submit ‘The Soul of Uluwatu’ to the Japan World’s Tourism Film Festival (JWTFF) 2026.”

JWTFF is an official member of CIFFT — the International Committee of Tourism Film Festivals — affiliated with UN Tourism since 2021. Past recognized campaigns include Switzerland Tourism, Singapore Tourism Board, and Tourism Australia.

We had never entered an international festival before. We didn’t know what to expect. We just knew the film was honest. And honesty was worth putting in front of an international jury.

 

The Call We Didn’t Expect

Then the news came.

“The Soul of Uluwatu” had been selected as a Finalist in the Asian Category at JWTFF 2026.

Official Information from JWTFF 2026
Official Email from JWTFF 2026

We flew to Koka, Shiga Prefecture, Japan on March 18, 2026. Two days of screenings, masterclasses, and conversations with filmmakers from Portugal, Spain, Catalunya, Malaysia, Thailand, China, and Switzerland. Every one of them had made something they believed in.

On March 20, 2026, at the award ceremony…

“The Soul of Uluwatu” won the Gold Award in the Asian Category.

The only Indonesian film to win at JWTFF 2026.

Aditya Ryandana receiving the award at JWTFF 2026Award ceremony: Moment of receiving the Gold Award

 

What This Means Beyond the Trophy

We’re proud of the award. But what it confirmed matters more than the certificate.

The concept that nobody agreed with… worked.

A festive campaign that didn’t show decorations. A hotel film that barely showed the hotel. A story about renewal that trusted the audience to feel what it was saying.

It worked because it was honest. And honesty, it turns out, translates across languages, cultures, and geographies.

Hotels that invest in strategic visual content see real ROI  not just in awareness, but in bookings. Because guests don’t just book a room. They book a feeling. A memory they haven’t made yet. “The Soul of Uluwatu” gave potential guests a preview of that feeling. And now that preview has been validated by one of the world’s most respected tourism film juries.

 

The Campaign Everyone Is Now Looking Forward To

Here’s the part that still makes us smile.

The same people who questioned the concept? After the Gold Award… the conversation shifted completely.

What started as a campaign that raised eyebrows is now the campaign that people point to when they talk about what hotel content can be.

That’s the power of believing in an idea long enough to see it through.

 

A Note to Every Hotel Brand Reading This

Your guests don’t just want to see your resort. They want to understand what your resort will do for them. What it will give them that they can’t find anywhere else.

The most powerful hotel content doesn’t show the destination. It shows the transformation.

And sometimes… the concept that makes everyone nervous is exactly the one worth making.

 

Watch “The Soul of Uluwatu” here:

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