Six weeks after taking the Grand Jury Prize at Dances With Films LA, Bandit has won again. Two American festival wins in under two months is not something an Indonesian film has done before.
Viking Sunset Studios is proud to announce that Bandit, the crime thriller directed by Brian L. Tan, has won Best Foreign Film at the Burbank International Film Festival (BIFF) 2026. The award was presented at the festival’s closing night ceremony on August 8th, following the film’s Official Selection screening on August 5th at AMC Burbank 16 in Burbank, California.
The win comes roughly six weeks after Bandit took the Grand Jury Prize for Best Narrative Feature at Dances With Films LA, one of the largest and most respected independent film festivals in the United States, held at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood in late June 2026. Two wins at two major American festivals inside two months is a genuinely rare thing for any independent film to pull off, and as far as we can tell, no Indonesian production has done it before.
The Story Behind Bandit
Bandit is written by Husein M. Atmodjo and shot entirely on location in Bali, with cinematography by Austin Ahlberg. The film follows Gatra, played by Wafda Saifan, a soon-to-be father who has just lost his job and is scrambling to cover medical costs for his pregnant wife Maya, played by Claresta Taufan, who is facing serious complications. Desperate, Gatra and his old friend Tiar, played by Roy Sungkono, steal what looks like an abandoned Mercedes G-Wagon to sell for quick cash.
What they do not know is that the car belongs to Beni, a corrupt police investigator played by Teuku Rifnu Wikana, and that the trunk holds a body and a set of financial documents that were never meant to surface. Over one night, Gatra and Tiar are hunted by Beni through a side of Bali that international audiences rarely see, a chase that tests their friendship, their desperation, and their instinct to survive, and eventually puts them face to face with crime boss Suroto, played by Kiki Narendra.
Where much of Indonesia’s recent crime cinema, the work of directors like Timo Tjahjanto, Kimo Stamboel, and Joko Anwar, has built its reputation on intense, high-impact action, Bandit takes a different route. It is a slow-burn thriller that leans into character and human emotion without giving up the tension the genre demands. It is also Brian L. Tan’s feature directorial debut, following his television film Murder Below Deck in 2024, which was also shot in Bali.
The film has already caught the attention of international critics. Hollywood Times called it a crime thriller with real human heart, praising the way it balances genre tension with genuine emotional stakes. You can follow the film’s journey directly on its official Instagram, @bandit.film.
The Journey So Far
Bandit has been building momentum since before either festival win. A special screening at the Bali International Film Festival, known locally as Balinale, sold out so completely that people sat on the floor rather than miss it. From there the film went to its World Premiere at Dances With Films LA, where it won the Grand Jury Prize ahead of dozens of narrative features from around the world. The Best Foreign Film win at Burbank is the third major milestone in a run that has taken the film from a packed room in Bali to two of the most closely watched independent festival stages in America.
About Burbank International Film Festival
Burbank International Film Festival is one of the most respected independent film festivals in the United States, ranking in the top 1 percent of more than 14,000 film festivals and creative competitions worldwide according to FilmFreeway. BIFF 2026 ran for six days, from August 2nd through August 8th, in Burbank, California, a city known as the Media Capital of the World for being home to more than a thousand entertainment and media companies, including Warner Bros., The Walt Disney Company, and Nickelodeon.
The festival featured more than 120 screenings across every genre, Q&A sessions with actors and industry professionals, a red carpet, and a closing night awards ceremony at the Burbank Marriott Convention Center honouring the best work of the festival across categories including Best Feature Film and Best Foreign Film. Being selected as an Official Selection and then winning Best Foreign Film places Bandit among the strongest international cinema of the year, and opens the door a little wider for Indonesian film to be seen and taken seriously by the Hollywood industry.
You can view Bandit‘s official listing on the Burbank International Film Festival website.
Two Wins, One Story Worth Telling
Bandit‘s path from a sold out crowd in Bali, to the Grand Jury Prize at Dances With Films LA, to Best Foreign Film at Burbank, is one of the standout stories in Indonesian cinema this year. It is a genuine achievement for director Brian L. Tan and everyone who worked on the film, and it does something bigger too. It puts Indonesia and Bali forward as a place that can produce work capable of competing, and winning, on American festival stages.
“We are genuinely proud of what Bandit has achieved. In under two months this film won the Grand Jury Prize at Dances With Films LA and has now brought home Best Foreign Film from the Burbank International Film Festival. It proves that stories, talent, and cinema born in Bali can compete and shine on the world stage. This is a win for the whole production team, and for Indonesian film as a whole.”
Bo H. Holmgreen, Founder and CEO, Viking Sunset Studios
Bring Your Next Production to Bali
Located in Tabanan, Bali, Viking Sunset Studios is an international creative production hub offering world-class facilities for film, commercial, and content production. From our soundproof green screen studio and professional equipment to stunning natural backdrops including beach, rice terraces, jungle, cave and temple, everything you need is in one place.
Whether you are scouting for a film studio in Bali, looking for a production partner in Southeast Asia, or searching for locations for movies filmed in Bali, we would love to hear about your project.
Get in touch: info@vikingsunsetstudios.com
Follow us: @vikingsunsetstudios on Instagram and TikTok
Follow Bandit: @bandit.film on Instagram
Visit: vikingsunsetstudios.com
