After gracing the official launch of Visit Malaysia Year 2026, Malaysia icon and Oscar-winning actress Michelle Yeoh now stars in a short film that spotlights Penang.
Sandiwara, which means drama in Malay, was filmed in collaboration with London-based fashion house Self-Portrait, founded by Malaysian-born Han Chong.
The 11-minute drama stars Yeoh in five different characters: a critic, hawker, waitress, vlogger and singer.
Each takes viewers through Penang’s actual neighbourhoods in the island’s iconic centre, George Town, as Yeoh’s characters live out their daily lives.
The short film features neon-lit streets and pre-war shophouses, old-school open-air hawker stalls, heritage ‘mamak’ sundry shops, Nyonya food showcases, Penang’s photogenic Love Lane, the iconic Hainan Thean Hou Temple, and a kor tai (Chinese stage entertainment) performance by Yeoh, complete with accompanying Malay tunes and Yeoh’s use of uniquely Asian phrasings.
The drama premiered at the recent Berlin Film Festival and is now available for public watching on YouTube