Kızıl Baharat: Turkish-Indonesian Film on Ottoman-Aceh Ties

A Turkish production company and an Indonesian film body have signed a memorandum of understanding to co-produce Kızıl Baharat – Denizin Yetimleri, a historical feature film about Ottoman-Southeast Asian ties. The agreement was signed at the Jakarta Film Summit 2026, held on 20 and 21 October. The film is set in the 17th century and draws on relations between the Ottoman Empire and the Sultanate of Aceh.

The signatories are the Jakarta Film Commission and Türkiye’s Kutay Film, so this is a company-level agreement rather than a state treaty. A memorandum of understanding is a preliminary cooperation deal, and it does not mean filming has started.

What the Kızıl Baharat agreement covers

According to Türkiye Today, the agreement covers filming logistics, local production resources, coordination of technical crews and the choice of shooting locations. About 70% of the shoot is planned for Indonesia and 30% for Türkiye.

The film will carry the Indonesian title Rempah Merah. Its expected international title is “Bloody Spicy”. Turkish work is being handled by Kutay Film and Tamga Film, working with industry partners in Indonesia.

Director and screenwriter İskender Bingöl developed the project. He says it will explore love, sacrifice, brotherhood, justice and liberty, alongside spice trade routes, colonial-era struggles and the quest for freedom. Historic ports and naval battles are to be shown through live action combined with visual effects.

Cast and producers announced so far

The Turkish cast includes Elif Tayhan, Ekrem Emir Kaltar, Ziya Çakır, Burak Arı, Enes Bingöl, İsmet Çatalkaya, Onurhan Demir, Vefa Taylan and Emir Soylu. Producers say they hope to add Indonesian actors. They also plan talks with well-known Hollywood figures, but no such names are confirmed.

The producers listed are Bingöl, Savaş Uğurlu, Mustafa Basusta, Ali Korkmaz, Tri Ratnaningsih and Tayfun Evren. Milliyet reported in August that pre-production was expected to start in the last quarter of 2026. No release date has been announced.

The Ottoman-Aceh history behind the film

Historians trace Ottoman contacts with Aceh mainly to the 16th century. Aceh’s ruler, Sultan Alauddin al-Kahhar, sent an envoy to Suleiman the Magnificent around 1564, seeking help against Portuguese power in the Indian Ocean. After Suleiman’s death in 1566, his successor Selim II sent aid under the admiral Kurtoğlu Hızır Reis.

Scholars disagree on several details, including the size of the fleet and how far Aceh was ever an Ottoman dependency. This article cannot say how closely the film will follow the record, since the production has released no script details. As with any historical drama, viewers should treat the final film as a dramatization, not as evidence.

For viewers of Ottoman naval dramas such as Barbaroslar, the project points to a less familiar corner of that world: the Ottoman Empire’s reach across the Indian Ocean. The producers’ next confirmed step is pre-production, with casting and financing talks still under way.

Source: Türkiye Today, Milliyet
Featured image: Si Gam Acèh / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0