Ernest Hariyanto is an award-winning documentary filmmaker and editor.

Ernest is known for the award-winning documentary feature ‘Streetside’ (2013), the internationally acclaimed film ‘Laya Project’ (2007) and most recently, the avant-garde Australian documentary ‘You Should Have Been Here Yesterday’ (2023).

  • 100min, Feature Documentary (2023)
    Producer/Director. Jolyon Hoff (Australia)
    Produced by ELEMENTS POST PRODUCTION , LIGHT SOUND ART FILM and THE SURF FILM ARCHIVE

    Supported by SCREEN NSW, Adelaide Film Festival Fund and South Australia Film Corporation

* World Premiere - 2023 Adelaide Film Festival
* Official Selection - 2023 Brisbane International Film Festival
* Official Selection - 2024 CinefestOZ Film Festival

A poetic avant-garde documentary of Australia’s early surf culture with unearthed footage of digitally scanned and restored 16mm surf films of the ‘60s, ‘70s and ‘80s. Inspired by ‘Moonage Daydream’, this cinematic journey tells the story of a community that took off up the coast and discovered a new way to live.

Credited as: Editor / Writer

  • 73min, Feature Documentary (2022)
    Producer. Nick Calpakdjian (Australia)
    Produced by TWO ISLANDS DIGITAL

    Supported by IN-DOCS, Tokyo Docs & DMZ Docs Industry

* Best Feature Documentary - 2022 Film Festival Indonesia
* World Premiere - 2023 EBS International Documentary Festival
* Official Selection - 2023 Verzió International Film Festival
* Official Selection - 2023 CinefestOZ Film Festival.

Ininnawa: An Island Calling is an observational documentary that tells a story of obligation and sacrifice, told through a family dedicating their lives to provide health care in the remote islands of Indonesia’s Flores Sea.

Credited as: Editor

  • 102min, Feature Documentary (2021)
    Producer. Ewa Wojkowska (Australia)
    Produced by Visinema Pictures, Kopernik and NETFLIX

    Streaming Platform | NETFLIX

* Best Documentary Nominee - 2021 Warsaw International Film Festival
* Official Selection - 2022 SXSW EDU Festival Austin, Texas USA.

An in-depth exploration of the extent of plastic pollution and how it has entered our food chain and is impacting our health, is shown through the eyes of three individuals fighting this environmental crisis. The documentary is available on the NETFLIX streaming service globally.

Credited as: Editor

  • 107min, Feature Documentary (2013)
    Producer/Director. Daniel Ziv (Canada)

    Supported by ITVS International, BIFF Asian Cinema Fund/Asian Network of Documentary Fund

* Best Documentary - 2013 Busan International Film Festival
* Best Documentary - 2014 Melbourne International Film Festival
* Best International Documentary – 2014 Edmonton International Film Festival
* Best First Feature – 2014 Biografilm Festival
* Official Selection - 2014 DOK Leipzig Film Festival

Streetside (Jalanan) follows three marginalised street musicians in Jakarta, Indonesia who struggle to lead meaningful lives, in a city rapidly overrun by the effects of globalisation and corruption.

Credited as:
Editor / Writer / Co-Producer

DOCUMENTARY PROJECTS.

Ernest co-produced, wrote and edited the award-winning documentary feature ‘Streetside’ (2013), which screened at 65 international film festivals in 31 countries and won 12 awards, including Best Documentary at the prestigious Busan International Film Festival and the Melbourne International Film Festival.

He produced, wrote and edited ‘Let Elephants be Elephants’ (2014), a wildlife documentary highlighting the conservation of the last of Africa's elephants in East Africa. He also produced a six-part documentary as the series editor for ‘Talking Language’ (2013), exploring the revival, maintenance, and creation of indigenous languages in Australia.

In 2005, Ernest led the research, recording, and production of the feature documentary ‘Laya Project’ (2007), shot on location in India, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Indonesia, Thailand, and the Maldives. The internationally acclaimed documentary captures the resilience of the human spirit through the music of the coastal communities affected by the 2004 Tsunami.

Good storytelling is at the heart of successful documentaries.

Ernest offers storytelling consultation and mentorship to share his creative approach and experience in crafting narrative structure and creating engaging emotional journeys to help support other writers and filmmakers to tell their stories.