Indonesian to make film on Obama's Jakarta childhood

An Indonesian director said Tuesday he plans to make a film about President Barack Obama's childhood in Jakarta in time for the US head of state's scheduled visit to Indonesia in June.

Damien Dematra said the film would be based on his book, "Obama Anak Menteng" or "Obama the Menteng Kid", but would be released internationally with the title "Little Obama".

It would be shot in just two weeks in and around the capital Jakarta, where Obama lived with his mother and Indonesian step-father from 1967 to 1971.

"The film is based on real events. I hope youths in Indonesia and all over the world can be inspired by Obama and not be afraid of their differences," Dematra told AFP.

The US president was broadly popular in Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim-majority country, after his election victory in 2008.

"Obama is an icon of pluralism and he represents a triumph for minorities," Dematra said.