Continuing the concept initiated by La Factory at the Directors’ Fortnight since 2013, Next Step Studio supports the emergence of new voices in cinema around the world. 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.
HOLY CROWD
Directors: M. Reza Fahriyansyah (Indonesia) and Ananth Subramaniam (Malaysia)
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.
ORIGINAL WOUND
Directors: Shelby Kho (Indonesia) and Sein Lyan Tun (Myanmar)
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.
ANNISA
Directors: Reza Rahadian (Indonesia) and Sam Manacsa (Philippines)
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.
MOTHERS ARE MOTHERING
Directors: Khozy Rizal (Indonesia) and Lam Li Shuen (Singapore)
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.
