After you win an Oscar you enter this crazy feedback loop in which all of a sudden everyone takes you really seriously and wants to work with you. Michelle Yeoh, action star turned character actor, won hers for Everything Everywhere All at Once, which cemented her icon status in Hollywood. Then, a few years later, the man known for his movies about America’s societal fringes, Anora’s Sean Baker, came bounding into the party too.
And now thanks to self-portrait, the fashion brand, the cinematic titans are working together. Han Chong, the London-based, Malaysia-born designer at its helm, brought the pair together under his Residency concept. Inspired by his time at Central Saint Martins, Residency sees Han open up the doors of self-portrait to other artists, offering them the brand’s resources and platform to do their own thing. In Han’s eyes, it exists “to nurture creativity and connection.”
The result is Sandiwara, a new short film starring Yeoh, shot in the Malaysian state of Penang by Baker. Baker calls the film “an extension of my pre-existing love for independent cinema,” adding: “With the support of Han Chong, Michelle Yeoh, and the many other individuals who helped bring this vision to life, we were able to celebrate Malaysian culture in a big way.”
In it, Yeoh wears many hats: She plays a restaurant critic, a nervous chef, a free-spirited server, a pink-wigged culinary influencer, and a glamorous stage performer. Set across one frenetic day, all of these characters converge on the Red Garden restaurant, their arrivals painting new flecks of color and energy into Baker’s brilliant frame. Like many of his movies, it’s building towards a big sense of jubilance and expression. It was produced by two of Baker’s previous collaborators: Samantha Quan and Alex Coco.
“Sean’s short film is a perfect reflection of [Residency’s] mission,” Han says. “It’s a challenge to traditional ways film and fashion have learned to work together.” Han says he was inspired by the way “Sean and his team immerse themselves in the heart of my hometown of Penang—absorbing the textures, rituals, and everyday moments of Malay culture.”
Fans of Baker, Yeoh, and self-portrait can check it out here.