Founder Bo H. Holmgreen attends the Festival de Cannes Competition Immersive 2026, representing Bali and Indonesia alongside a Cannes-selected investment, a national pavilion, and a growing vision for Indonesian cinema on the global stage.
CANNES, FRANCE, May 2026
Viking Sunset Studios, Bali’s premier international film production hub, has made its most significant global statement to date at the 2026 Cannes Film Festival. Founder and CEO Bo H. Holmgreen attended the Festival de Cannes Competition Immersive 2026, walking the red carpet as an investor in one of the evening’s featured projects: The Pirate Queen: No Safe Waters, directed by Eloise Singer and narrated by Lucy Liu, selected as one of eight works in the Cannes Immersive Competition 2026.
The Cannes appearance capped a week of historic significance for Indonesian cinema. Viking Sunset Studios stood alongside the Jakarta Provincial Government, Jakarta Film Week, and the Indonesian Ministry of Culture under Minister Fadli Zon at the Indonesia Pavilion, Booth 22.02 at the Palais des Festivals for the Marche du Film, the world’s largest film market. It was, by any measure, Indonesia’s most assertive presence in the global film industry to date.
The Red Carpet and The Pirate Queen
Bo H. Holmgreen’s attendance at the Competition Immersive ceremony marked the culmination of Viking Sunset Studios’ investment in The Pirate Queen: No Safe Waters, a project Viking Sunset Studios committed to before the Cannes selection was announced. The decision to invest was driven by the quality of the creative vision and the extraordinary story at the heart of it: the true life of Cheng Shih, the woman who commanded the largest pirate fleet in recorded history and negotiated her own terms of peace with the Chinese imperial government before walking away entirely on her own conditions.
Built by London-based Singer Studios, the Pirate Queen story-world had already accumulated a remarkable record before Cannes: Winner of the Storyscapes Award at Tribeca Film Festival, Winner of the Raindance Discovery Award for Best Debut, and nominated for both the Emmy Award for Outstanding Emerging Media Program and the PGA Innovation Award. The Cannes selection, listed on the official Cannes Immersive Competition website and reported by Deadline Hollywood, placed the project among the most significant immersive works being produced anywhere in the world.
Holmgreen was also present at the Cannes venue when The Pirate Queen: No Safe Waters trailer played on the main lobby screen, a moment he described as one of the most meaningful of his career.
“Standing on that red carpet, watching the trailer of a film we believed in before the world knew its name, knowing that it was now in competition at Cannes, that is not something you forget. It is the reason we invest in bold, original work. That moment made everything clear.”
Bo H. Holmgreen, Founder and CEO, Viking Sunset Studios
Indonesia at Marche du Film: A National Statement
The week leading up to the red carpet was equally significant. The Viking Sunset Studios delegation, comprising Holmgreen alongside Head of Finance Vivian Ikdayah and Head of Business Development Tianna Roberts, represented the studio at the Indonesia Pavilion throughout the Marche du Film.
The pavilion, a joint initiative of the Jakarta Provincial Government, Jakarta Film Week, and the Indonesian Ministry of Culture, anchored the Filming in Jakarta campaign championed by Jakarta Deputy Governor Rano Karno. The initiative represents a formal, government-backed commitment to positioning Indonesia as a genuine co-production partner for the global film industry, not merely a filming location but a creative equal with the infrastructure, talent, and stories to prove it.
The pavilion also hosted the International Co-production and Distribution Opportunity in Indonesia forum, bringing Indonesian film professionals directly into conversation with international acquisition executives, sales agents, and potential co-production partners. The conversations that began there are the foundation of the relationships that will define the next decade of Indonesian cinema’s international standing.
“What Indonesia is doing at Cannes 2026 is historic. For years, the world has come to Bali and Indonesia to film. Now Indonesia is going to the world to say: come work with us, not just in our locations, but with our people, our stories, our creativity. Viking Sunset Studios is proud to be part of that conversation.”
Bo H. Holmgreen, Founder and CEO, Viking Sunset Studios
A Reunion on the Croisette
Cannes week also brought a personal milestone for the Viking Sunset Studios team: an unexpected reunion with the production team behind The Ghost and the Gun, one of the defining productions in the studio’s creative history. The encounter, at a gathering on the Croisette, was a reminder of the lasting nature of the relationships that film productions forge and the ongoing creative possibilities those relationships carry.
What Comes Next
Viking Sunset Studios returns from Cannes 2026 with expanded international relationships, a Cannes red carpet appearance, and a clear sense of momentum. The studio’s current slate includes multiple feature film projects across various stages of development and production, continuing international co-production relationships across North America, Europe, and Asia, and plans to bring The Pirate Queen: No Safe Waters experience to its Tabanan, Bali campus following its Cannes run.
Indonesia’s domestic box office surpassed 400 million US dollars in 2025. Local productions hold 67 percent of domestic market share. The global industry is paying attention. Viking Sunset Studios intends to ensure that Bali remains at the centre of that story.
About Viking Sunset Studios
Viking Sunset Studios is Bali’s premier full-service film production partner, headquartered at Beraban Beach, Tabanan, Bali, with offices in Sanur, Denpasar, and North Carolina, USA. The studio operates Southeast Asia’s largest indoor green screen soundstage, Studio L, a 26m x 25m, 12m-high fully soundproofed facility, alongside a one-hectare beachfront backlot encompassing black sand beach, rice terraces, jungle, river, and sea cave locations. Viking Sunset Studios provides end-to-end production services from pre-production through post and distribution. For more information, visit www.vikingsunsetstudios.com.
About Singer Studios
Singer Studios is a London-based creative studio founded by Eloise Singer, specialising in immersive storytelling at the intersection of film, technology, and interactivity. For more information, visit www.singerstudios.co.uk.
Media Contact
Viking Sunset Studios
Tabanan Campus: Beraban Beach, Selemadeg Timur, Tabanan, Bali 82162
Sanur Office: Jl. Danau Tamblingan No. 53, Sanur, Denpasar, Bali 80228
Phone / WhatsApp: +62 819 9111 4445
Email: info@vikingsunsetstudios.com
