Oscar winners Sean Baker and Michelle Yeoh have secretly teamed up for a new project, which will world premiere at the Berlin Film Festival later this month.
In collaboration with the London-based fashion house Self-Portrait, the “Anora” director returns to his iPhone-shooting roots for “Sandiwara,” described in a press release as an “immersive cinematic experience.” It’s 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 a Malaysian night market and “moves beyond fashion and into the world of cinema and storytelling to capture the heart of Malaysian culture,” according to its synopsis. “Each character tells their own unique story and represents a facet of Malaysian culture rarely explored.” The film gets its title from the Malay word for “drama, theatrical performance or play” and was shot in Penang.
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.
See a first look of Yeoh in “Sandiwara” below.
Michelle Yeoh in Sean Baker’s “Sandiwara.”
