"Next Step Studio Indonesia" Anthology Unveils Trailer Ahead of Cannes Critics' Week Premiere

Jakarta-based production company KawanKawan Media has unveiled the official trailer for "Next Step Studio Indonesia 2026," a four-film anthology set to world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival's Critics' Week on May 14, Variety reported on May 5.

The Details

Variety reported the trailer reveal exclusively on May 5. The anthology comprises four short films: "Holy Crowd," "Original Wound," "Annisa," and "Mothers Are Mothering." Each short runs approximately 15 minutes, according to Variety and Screen Daily.

Each of the four shorts pairs an Indonesian director with a Southeast Asian co-director, creating a collaborative structure that brings together filmmakers from across the region. All four entries were shot on location in Jakarta. The official announcement from La Semaine de la Critique, which organizes the Critics' Week sidebar at the Cannes Film Festival, states that the 2026 program will present the four short films co-written and co-directed by four Indonesian filmmakers and four international filmmakers. The program marks the first edition of Next Step Studio, according to the official announcement from La Semaine de la Critique.

The collaborative structure brings together a total of eight directors across the four shorts. The films were produced with financing sourced entirely from Indonesian institutions, Screen Daily reported, making the anthology a fully domestically financed production.

The project is produced by Yulia Evina Bhara and Amerta Kusuma of KawanKawan Media, alongside producer Dominique Welinski. The anthology receives institutional backing from Indonesian public bodies, specifically the Jakarta government and the Indonesian Ministry of Culture, according to information from Variety and La Semaine de la Critique. The trailer release was reported by Variety as an exclusive.

Chinese sales and distribution company Rediance has acquired sales rights to the anthology ahead of its world premiere, Screen Daily reported. Rediance CEO Xie Meng said in a statement that the project draws attention to emerging creative voices in the region. "This anthology spotlights the region's fresh and emerging talents to look out for," Xie said.

Yulia Evina Bhara, the KawanKawan Media producer who spearheaded the project, told Variety that securing Indonesia as the focus country for the initiative required sustained advocacy over multiple years. "It took me more than two years to convince them that Indonesia deserves to be the country of focus, and I am delighted that we can finally present four short films by these eight directors at Critics' Week," Bhara said.

Reza Rahadian, an actor-director who serves as co-director on one of the anthology's shorts, told Variety that the initiative provides a platform for regional stories to reach an international festival audience. "Next Step Studio gives stories from Indonesia and Southeast Asia the chance to be heard and discussed more widely," Rahadian said.

Context

Next Step Studio continues a collaborative filmmaking model originally launched as La Factory at the Directors' Fortnight in 2013, according to La Semaine de la Critique and Variety. The initiative rotates through different host countries, with each edition highlighting a different national cinema while pairing local emerging filmmakers with international counterparts for joint short film projects. The model is designed to foster cross-border creative collaboration between directors from the host nation and filmmakers from other regions, giving emerging voices a platform at major festival sidebars.

Variety first reported in October 2025 that Cannes Critics' Week and KawanKawan Media were partnering to launch the inaugural Next Step Studio Indonesia program for the 2026 Cannes Film Festival. That earlier report established Indonesia as the first country to host the program under the Next Step Studio banner, building on the legacy of the La Factory model that previously operated at Directors' Fortnight.

The May 5 trailer reveal, which Variety reported as an exclusive, comes roughly one week before the scheduled Cannes premiere. The exclusive report marks the first public release of preview footage from the four collaborative shorts ahead of their formal presentation in the Critics' Week program.

What's Next

The four shorts are scheduled to screen on May 14, 2026, as part of a "Next Step Presents" screening during Cannes Critics' Week. The world premiere will mark the first public presentation of the anthology's four collaborative short films. The "Next Step Presents" designation identifies the upcoming May 14 screening as part of the program's branded showcase within the Critics' Week lineup.