At Cannes 2026, Kamila Andini became the first Southeast Asian filmmaker honored at Women in Cinema. Here is the film she carried and why it matters.

Six women stood on the red carpet at Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc on the night of May 14, 2026. One came from Indonesia. And she did not come empty-handed.

Kamila Andini was selected as an honoree at the Red Sea Film Foundation's Women in Cinema Gala at Cannes Film Festival 2026, becoming the first filmmaker from Southeast Asia to receive this distinction. But the more important story is what she brought with her to the Croisette: her fifth feature film, Four Seasons in Java, and a body of work that has been building toward this moment for over a decade.

If you have been following what Indonesia has been building at Cannes this week, this night is the natural conclusion of it.

Six honorees. Six countries. One gala. Kamila Andini is the only filmmaker from Southeast Asia in the frame

What Cannes Actually Is and Why Being Here Matters

Cannes is not just a red carpet. It is the place where a film's conversation shifts from local to global overnight. A screening at Critics' Week opens international distribution doors. An award at a parallel program like Women in Cinema changes what a filmmaker gets offered next. A presence on the Croisette, even without a film in competition, signals to every buyer, programmer, and festival director watching that this is a filmmaker worth paying attention to.

The Red Sea Film Foundation's Women in Cinema initiative is an annual program held alongside the Cannes Film Festival, celebrating women creatives from the Arab world, Asia, and Africa who are reshaping the global entertainment industry. The gala brings together actors, filmmakers, and industry executives for one of the festival's most high-profile celebrations of female talent.

Kamila Andini on the Red Sea Film Foundation poster. Southeast Asia, named.

Each name represents a corner of the world global cinema has historically underrepresented. Kamila Andini represents the corner that had never been included before. Being placed alongside Genevieve Nnaji, who built Nollywood's global reputation from inside Nigeria, and Laïla Marrakchi, whose work crosses French and Moroccan cinema without apology, puts Kamila in a lineage of women who did not ask for permission before telling the stories that mattered to them.

Four Seasons in Java: The Film She Carried to the Croisette

Four Seasons in Java, or Empat Musim Pertiwi, follows Pertiwi, a sexual assault survivor released from prison after killing the man who tried to rape her. She returns to her village to face an unwanted homecoming, rejected by the community and even her own family, before finding a hidden power beneath the fog. Her journey is one of redefining what home, family, and peace mean entirely on her own terms.

Kamila began writing Pertiwi's story in 2017, drawing from heartbreaking real events. There were moments she doubted whether to continue. But as she encountered news about sexual violence cases involving powerful figures, and stories from families in Eastern Indonesia, she felt compelled to keep going. The film is dedicated to voices that have long been silenced.

In an interview with Variety, Kamila described the film as "a collision between modernity and personal trauma, repeating in daily life."

 A first look at Empat Musim Pertiwi. The fog is not atmosphere. It is what the story is made of

The film stars Putri Marino, Arya Saloka, and Christine Hakim. It is an international co-production between Indonesia, Singapore, Netherlands, Norway, Germany, France, Poland, and Thailand, produced by Ifa Isfansyah of Forka Films alongside Anthony Chen of Giraffe Pictures.

The four seasons of the title arrived as a visual metaphor when Kamila visited Bromo: "I discovered so many textures, temperatures, and visuals there that felt like four seasons, even though Java only has two." Each season becomes a chapter of Pertiwi's past that she must face on her return.

Color grading was completed at Storm Post Production Studio in Amsterdam by colorist Peter Bernaers, known for Raw, Annette, and Titane, the film that won the Palme d'Or at Cannes 2021. The production has passed through six international project markets including the Berlinale Co-Production Market, CineMart Rotterdam, and the Venice Gap-Financing Market, receiving funding from seven global sources including the Hubert Bals Fund, CNC Cinema du Monde, and the Indonesian Ministry of Culture.

This is the film Kamila Andini walked into Cannes 2026 carrying. The honor she received at Hotel du Cap was recognition for the work already done. Four Seasons in Java is the signal of where she is going next.

And where she is going next is back to Indonesia, with a film that belongs on every international festival shortlist that opens in 2026.

 
You Might Also Want to Read
Indonesia Is at Cannes Film Festival 2026. Here Is Why — rsvpclique.com

 
Watch For It
Four Seasons in Java opens in Indonesian cinemas in 2026. Follow @kamilandini for release updates. Follow Forka Filmsfor production news. And follow @redseafilm to track the Women in Cinema program as it continues through the year.

 
 
Sources of Photos
All photography from the Red Sea Film Foundation Women in Cinema Gala at Cannes 2026 and Four Seasons in Java first look was sourced from official documentation and media coverage.

Kamila Andini Official Instagram — @kamilandini

Red Sea Film Foundation Official Instagram — @forkafilms