[2] He grew up in a small village and enjoyed soccer in his youth; first playing with a Muhammadiyah-sponsored team, he was a reserve in junior high school.

[3] After high school, where he dabbled in basketball and playing the bass, he enrolled at the Indonesian Institute of the Arts.

[2][3] On 10 November 2011, Ifa released his second feature-length film, Sang Penari (The Dancer), which had spent three years in production.

[2] The film was selected as the Indonesian entry for the Best Foreign Language Oscar at the 85th Academy Awards, but it did not make the final shortlist.

[1] As of 2018[update], Ifa has been involved in 21 film productions (both theatrical and short) as director, producer, and/or screenwriter.