Feb 08, 2026   News & Announcements

Sean Baker and Michelle Yeoh‘s “Sandiwara,” a film made in collaboration with the London-based fashion house Self-Portrait, is set to world premiere at the Berlin Film Festival later this month.

As Variety first reported back in December, in “Sandiwara” the “Anora” director returns to his iPhone-shooting roots for what is described in a press release as an “immersive cinematic experience.” It marks the first film from Self-Portrait’s Residency program, which launched last year with the aim of inviting creatives “from all disciplines into the brand to design using their own distinctive style,” the release states. The initiative provides Self-Portrait’s “infrastructure, platforms, resources, teams and distribution network to spotlight and promote external creatives, offering them the freedom to dream and create.”

Starring Yeoh as five different characters, “Sandiwara” is set in Malaysia and “moves beyond fashion and into the world of cinema and storytelling to capture the heart of Malaysian culture,” according to its synopsis. The film gets its title from the Malay word for “drama, theatrical performance or play” and was shot in Penang with filming culminating in Hawker Center.

The Berlin Film Festival will host a special screening of “Sandiwara” on Feb. 13, followed by a conversation between the director and actor. Baker will also be on hand at the Berlinale’s opening ceremony on Feb. 12 to present Yeoh with this year’s Honorary Golden Bear for Lifetime Achievement.

The Berlin Film Festival runs from Feb. 12 to 22.