Next Step Studio Shorts by Indonesian Directors

The Cannes Critics’ Week, the sidebar that runs alongside the main Cannes Film Festival, has unveiled the four short films created for its Next Step Studio initiative from four young directors from Indonesia.

The first edition of Next Step Studio has given them a voice by enabling them to co-write and co-direct shorts. which will be screened during the 65th edition of the Critics’ Week. 

Its Next Step workshops aim to support young talent in world cinema and allow them to move from short to feature films. “Continuing the concept initiated by La Factory at the Directors’ Fortnight since 2013, the program supports the emergence of new voices in cinema around the world,” Critics’ Week organizers said. “Each year, it takes place in a different country and highlights local cinema, bringing together eight emerging directors – four local and four international – to co-write and co-direct four 15-minute short films.”

The first 10 editions explored film talent from Taiwan, Chile, Finland, Denmark, South Africa, Lebanon, Tunisia, five Balkan countries, northern Portugal, the Philippines, and the state of Ceará in northeastern Brazil. More than 80 filmmakers have participated in the program and nearly 50 first feature films have been made. 

This year’s edition, produced by Yulia Evina Bhara, Amerta Kusuma and Dominique Welinski, creator and curator of the program, is co-produced by Indra Sashi Kalanacitra, VMS Studio, Visinema Pictures, Navvaros, Entertainment, Poplicist Publicist, Salaya Yachts, Arungi Films, Prodigihouse, Titrafilm, A La Plage Studio, Jakarta Film Week, The Jakarta Provincial Government and the Ministry of Culture of Indonesia in partnership with the French Embassy in Indonesia, Timor-Leste, and ASEAN, and the French Institute Indonesia.

Here is a look at the four short films that will screen during the Critics’ Week in Cannes, which runs May 13-21.

Holy Crowd
Directors: Reza Fahriyansyah (Indonesia) and Ananth Subramaniam (Malaysia)
Indonesia, France – 2025 – 16′ – language: Indonesian

Synopsis: “After Ratna rises from the dead during her funeral, her silent body begins performing unexplained healings, turning her husband Arif into the reluctant center of a growing frenzy. As villagers, opportunists, and religious authorities descend, faith and exploitation collide, and the miracle spirals beyond control.”
Cast: Prilly Latuconsina, Yusuf Mahardika, Yudi Ahmad Tajudin, Arswendy Bening Swara
DOP: Vera Lestafa, Indonesian Cinematographers Society
Editor: Carlo Francisco Manatad

Original Wound
Directors: Shelby Kho (Indonesia) and  Sein Lyan Tun (Myanmar) 
Indonesia, France – 2026 – 14′ – language: Indonesian

Synopsis: “After their mother’s death, a brother and sister remain in the house shaped by her control, negotiating conflicting memories of abuse and care. As ritual, body, and memory intertwine, their grief exposes a deeper entrapment, one that persists beyond her absence.”
Cast: Agnes Naomi, Omara Esteghlal, Vivian Idris
DOP: Vera Lestafa, Indonesian Cinematographers Society
Editor: Carlo Francisco Manatad

Annisa
Directors: Reza Rahadian (Indonesia) and Sam Manacsa (Philippines)
Indonesia, France – 2025 – 14′ – language: Indonesian

Synopsis: “In a crowded housing complex, Anissa, a blind teenage girl navigates a world mainly shaped by sound. As a neighborhood national day celebration unfolds around her, she finds an unexpected way to be heard, reclaiming her place within the noise that surrounds her.”
Cast: Choirunnisa Fernanda, Nazira C. Noer, Shakeel Fauzi
DOP: Faozan Rizal, Indonesian Cinematographers Society
Editor: Carlo Francisco Manatad

Mothers Are Mothering
Directors: Khozy Rizal (Indonesia) and Lam Li Shuen (Singapore)
Indonesia, France – 2025 – 17′ – language: Indonesian

Synopsis: “Nia, 50, in an abusive marriage, navigates a fragmented inner world where desire, memory, and ritual intertwine. A reunion with a former lover reawakens intimacy but exposes the persistence of violence and entrapment. As reality dissolves into hallucination, she reaches for a final, elusive escape.”
Cast: Happy Salma, Asmara Abigail, Yudi Ahmad Tajudin
DOP: Deska Binarso, Indonesian Cinematographers Society
Editor: Carlo Francisco Manatad