Merantau

Merantau
Directed by	Gareth Huw Evans
Written by	Gareth Huw Evans
Produced by	Ario Sagantoro
Starring	Iko Uwais Sisca Jessica Christine Hakim Mads Koudal Laurent Buson Alex Abbad Donny Alamsyah Yayan Ruhian
Cinematography	Matt Flannery Dimas Imam Subhono
Edited by	Gareth Huw Evans
Music by	Fajar Yuskemal Aria Prayogi
Production company	PT. Merantau Films
Distributed by	SinemArt
Release date	6 August 2009 (2009-08-06) (Indonesia)
Running time	134 minutes (Indonesian version) 112 minutes (International version)
Country	Indonesia
Languages	Indonesian English

Merantau, released in some countries as Merantau Warrior, is a 2009 Indonesian martial arts action film written, directed and edited by Gareth Huw Evans, and starring Iko Uwais. The film, which marks Uwais' debut as an actor, is the first collaboration between director Evans and star Uwais. It also marks the acting debut of Yayan Ruhian, both of whom Evans met while shooting for a documentary in Indonesia which became his introduction to the Pencak Silat martial art.

The film showcases the Minangkabau tradition of "Merantau", a rite of passage where a man leaves his home to pursue a career or gain experience outside of the village, a culture where inheritance is largely matriarchal. It showcases Yuda who leaves his village in hopes of teaching Silat in Jakarta, only to be sidetracked as he attempts to save a girl from being kidnapped. The film showcases a style of Silat known as "Silek Harimau" (Tiger Silat).^[1][2] It also features actors Donny Alamsyah and Alex Abbad who, along with Uwais and Ruhiyan, would later appear in Evans' subsequent films in The Raid (2011) and The Raid 2 (2014).

Evans' first major feature film, Merantau premiered at the Puchon International Fantastic Film Festival in South Korea on 23 July 2009, before being released theatrically on 6 August in Indonesia. It won the Jury Award for Best Film at the inaugural 2010 ActionFest in North Carolina.^[3]