Indonesia’s Makbul Mubarak is making quite a splash with his debut feature “Autobiography,” which is world premiering at Venice’s Horizons strand and then playing at Toronto’s Contemporary World Cinema section.

The film, which examines the effects of Indonesia’s military dictatorship on the country’s youth, follows a young man torn between loyalty and justice who confronts the truth of his father figure — a retired general — that may destroy them both.

Mubarak, film critic-turned-filmmaker and a Berlinale Talents and Asian Film Academy alumni, previously directed acclaimed short films “The Dog’s Lullaby” (2016), “Malediction” (2017) and “A Plastic Cup of Tea Before Her” (2018).

The cast includes Kevin Ardilova, Arswendy Bening Swara, Yusuf Mahardika, Lukman Sardi and Haru Sandra.

” ‘Autobiography’ is a story very specific to Indonesia because it addresses the legacy of our history, but at the same time, it also addresses the world we are co-existing in now: the heavy price of ignorance,...