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