Michelle Yeoh is turning her focus to her home country, Malaysia. The Oscar-winning Malaysian actor stars in Sandiwara, a new short film directed by Sean Baker that will world premiere at the Berlin Film Festival later this month. Set and filmed in Malaysia, the project places Yeoh at the centre of an intimate, cinematic exploration of Malaysian identity, performance, and everyday life.
In Sandiwara, Yeoh takes on five different roles, embodying multiple facets of Malaysian womanhood across generations and social spaces. The title itself comes from the Malay word meaning “drama” or “theatrical performance,” a fitting nod to the country’s long tradition of storytelling — from stage to screen, from ritual to daily life.
Shot entirely on an iPhone, Baker’s stripped-back approach allows the focus to remain firmly on place and presence. Filming took place in Penang, with scenes unfolding in streets, homes, and a hawker centre — grounding the film in the rhythms of Malaysian life rather than exoticising it. According to the film’s synopsis, Sandiwara “moves beyond fashion and into the world of cinema and storytelling to capture the heart of Malaysian culture.”
For Yeoh, the film marks a rare and meaningful return to Malaysian narratives on a global stage. While she has spent decades redefining Asian representation in Hollywood — from Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon to Everything Everywhere All At Once — Sandiwara places her back in Southeast Asia, telling a story rooted in local language, gestures, and cultural memory.
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The project is the first film to emerge from Self-Portrait’s Residency programme, though Sandiwara is less a brand collaboration than a creative platform — one that gives Yeoh and Baker the freedom to foreground culture over spectacle.
The Berlin Film Festival will host a special screening of Sandiwara on February 13, followed by a conversation between Baker and Yeoh. The night before, Yeoh will also be honoured at the Berlinale’s opening ceremony, where she will receive the Honorary Golden Bear for Lifetime Achievement — a symbolic moment for a Malaysian artist whose career has reshaped global cinema.
Running from February 12 to 22, this year’s Berlinale will see Sandiwara stand out not just as a film premiere, but as a rare international spotlight on Malaysian culture — told through the face of one of its most iconic figures.
