Sandiwara and the Radical Power of Going Small Again

Short films are often treated as the training ground of cinema. The place where emerging directors prove themselves before moving on to features. But every so often, something interesting happens: filmmakers who have already conquered the feature world return to the short format. And when they do, it reminds us that short films are not a stepping stone. They are a vital form of cinema in their own right.

Sandiwara | Directed by Sean Baker and starring Michelle Yeoh

That is exactly what makes Sandiwara so exciting. Directed by Sean Baker and starring Michelle Yeoh, the film brings together a major contemporary filmmaker and one of the most celebrated actors working today, both recent Oscar winners, in a compact cinematic form. Baker has built his reputation through distinctive features focused on the margins of society, and his return to a shorter format suggests something refreshing: that powerful storytelling does not always need two hours.

Sandiwara bursts with the textures, sounds, and vivid colors of Malaysia. Set amid the electric buzz of a Penang night market, the film unfolds through five distinct characters, all played by Michelle Yeoh, each revealing a different story and a different facet of Malaysian life. Together, their voices form a vibrant mosaic of a culture rarely explored on screen.The premiered at the 76th Berlin International Film Festival in February 2026 and marked the first directorial film by Baker after his Oscar win, and also the first on screen protagonist by Yeoh after her Oscar win.

Baker, however, is far from alone in rediscovering the creative freedom of short films.

In recent years, several acclaimed directors have revisited the format after establishing themselves in feature filmmaking. Spanish veteran Pedro Almodóvar returned with the striking chamber pieces The Human Voice and Strange Way of Life. Greek auteur Yorgos Lanthimos delivered the eerie subway-set short Nimic. And Wes Anderson embraced literary storytelling in The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar, which gave Anderson his first Oscar win, proving that a richly imagined world can exist in under forty minutes.

The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar, | Directed by Wes Anderson

Other acclaimed filmmakers have done the same. Martin Scorsese directed the playful short The Audition starring Robert De Niro and Leonardo DiCaprio. David Lynch returned repeatedly to short works like What Did Jack Do?, while Jane Campion, after establishing herself as one of the most respected directors in world cinema with the 1993 The Piano, returned to the short format with The Water Diary in 2006.

Strange Way of Life | Directed by Pedro Almodóvar

What these projects show is simple: the short film is not a lesser format. It is a different one. It allows directors to experiment, concentrate their ideas, and tell stories that might not need the scale or structure of a feature. When established filmmakers return to short films, they help dismantle the old hierarchy that treats shorts as merely preparatory work. Instead, they highlight the format’s creative possibilities and remind audiences that some of the most daring cinematic experiences happen in under half an hour.

Sandiwara joins that lineage. It reminds us that the short film is not a training ground. It is a laboratory. A playground. A provocation. For Baker, returning to short form after major feature success suggests artistic restlessness. It suggests that storytelling urgency cannot always wait for two hours. Some ideas demand compression. Some performances demand stillness. Some stories demand immediacy. And casting Michelle Yeoh signals something else: short films are not beneath prestige. They are not “smaller.” They are sharper.

And it offers one more compelling reason to pay attention to short films: if some of the world’s greatest directors still believe in them, perhaps we should too.

DIOGO BRÜGGEMANN

Film & TV Critic | CenterFrame Team

Check his profile on CenterFrame