Jakarta. "Kembalilah Dengan Tenang," or "Rest in Peace," a short film directed by Yogyakarta-based director Reza Fahriyansyah, is set make its international premiere at the 41st Clermont-Ferrand International Short Festival in France on Feb. 1-9.

The 25-minute film is the only one from Indonesia to be selected for the annual competition this year, initiated by the Clermont-Ferrand University Film Society in 1979. Only 76 films from a total of 9,238 have so far been selected to feature at the festival.

"Kembalilah Dengan Tenang" received funding in a pitching forum supported by the Yogyakarta Department of Culture in March last year.

"It came as a surprise to us when the film was selected for the festival. My friends and I did plan to enter the film in an international festival, but we never thought it would be accepted by the Clermont-Ferrand," Reza said.

The short film tells the story of a married couple, Santoso and Wati, whose son, Agung, unexpectedly passes away. This lands Santoso in unfavorable circumstances while making funeral preparations.

"The sense of loss of the closest person is something I really wanted to highlight in the film," said Reza, who was born in Jakarta in 1993.

The Yogyakarta Art Institute alumnus is known for highlighting social and family issues.

Like his other films "Oleh-Oleh" ("Souvenirs") and "Sedeng Sang," his latest short film does not only focus on family issues, but also on the conflict over the death of a family member.

"I noticed that there are a few things that make me uneasy about the process of taking care of someone who passed away. Particularly when the family is about to decide the location of the grave," he said.

Reza said the story is based on personal experience following the loss of his father a few years ago.

"Personally, I have experienced such situations several times. There are things to consider, including the deceased's specific wish to be buried in an accessible cemetery that will allow family members to visit," he added.

With Yogyakarta as the setting of the film, Reza said he also wanted to highlight his concerns over the city's lack of burial spaces.

"Yogyakarta has been running out of burial spaces since 2014. As someone who has lived in the city for quite some time, this has become one of my concerns," he said. "In some parts of the city, I also heard that people have started to stack up on someone else's grave. Some groups have even claimed it as private property."

Reza added that "it's hard to fulfill people's wishes to be buried in their desired places when space becomes limited."

The film was screened during the 13th Jogja-Netpac Asian Film Festival (JAFF) in Yogyakarta under the Light of Asia program.