Sean Baker and Michelle Yeoh’s ‘Sandiwara,’ From Self-Portrait Residency Program, to Premiere at Berlin Film Festival

Ellise Shafer

Thu, February 5, 2026 at 11:00 AM UTC

2 min read

"Sandiwara," a film by Sean Baker and Michelle Yeoh in collaboration with Self-Portrait, is set to premiere at the Berlin Film Festival, showcasing Malaysian culture through storytelling and cinema.
The film, shot in Penang and featuring Yeoh in five different roles, marks the first project from Self-Portrait's Residency program, which aims to promote external creatives by providing resources and a platform for artistic expression.
Director Sean Baker will present Yeoh with the Honorary Golden Bear for Lifetime Achievement at the Berlinale's opening ceremony, with a special screening of "Sandiwara" scheduled for Feb. 13 at the Berlin Film Festival.

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."

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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.

See a first look of Yeoh in "Sandiwara" below.

<span class= — Michelle Yeoh in Sean Baker's "Sandiwara."

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