Ananth Subramaniam (Tamil: ஆனந்த் சுப்பிரமணியம்) is a Malaysian filmmaker and screenwriter. He is best known for directing the short film Bleat! (2025), which became the first Malaysian short film selected for the Critics’ Week (La Semaine de la Critique) section at the Cannes Film Festival.
Early life and education Ananth Subramaniam was born in Malaysia and is of Tamil descent. He holds an MA in filmmaking from Kingston University London. The first short film he made in Malaysia, Colourless won the BMW Shorties Grand Prize Award 2018 along with Best Director, Best Actress, Best Cinematography, Best Editing and Best Sound Design.
Career In 2019 Ananth's short film Liar Land was screened at the Locarno Film Festival. His 2022 short film The House of Brick and Stone was screened at the Fantasia International Film Festival in Montreal and the Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival in South Korea.
Ananth directed the short film Bleat! in 2025. The film was selected for the Critics’ Week section at the Cannes Film Festival. The film was filmed entirely in Banting, Selangor, Subramaniam's hometown. The film was produced through a multinational collaboration involving Sixtymac Pictures (Malaysia), Epicmedia Productions (Philippines), and DW (France). After Cannes Film Festival, Bleat! got selected into Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival and won the Student Prize (Prix Étudiant) in 2026.
In 2026, he returned to the Cannes Film Festival with his short film Holy Crowd, which premiered at the 65th Semaine De La Critique programme alongside the 79th Cannes Film Festival. The 16-minute Indonesian-French co-production was co-directed with Indonesian filmmaker Reza Fahriyansyah and developed under the Next Step Studio initiative, a regional collaboration programme for emerging Southeast Asian filmmakers. The film follows a woman who mysteriously rises from the dead during her own funeral and becomes the centre of a growing religious following.
Filmography
Short films Year Title Role 2019 Liar Land Director, Writer 2022 The House of Brick and Stone Director, Writer 2025 Bleat! (Kattu!) Director, Writer 2026Holy CrowdDirector, Writer
Festival screenings and awards Films Year Festival Award / SectionCategory ResultBleat! (Kattu!) 2025 Cannes Film Festival Queer Palm Short FilmSemaine De La CritiqueShort FilmNominee Melbourne International Film Festival Official SelectionInternational Short Film Competition Nominee Vancouver International Film Festival Official SelectionInternational Short Film Competition Nominee Dharamshala International Film Festival Official SelectionInternational Short Film Competition Nominee Singapore International Film Festival Best DirectorSoutheast Asia Short Film Competition 2026 Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival Youth Jury AwardInternational Competition Hong Kong International Film Festival Official SelectionInternational Short Film Competition Nominee New Directors/New Films Festival Official SelectionInternational Short Film Nominee SXSW London Official SelectionInternational Short Film Competition NomineeFlickerfest International Short Film FestivalBest Rainbow ShortAzure Productions AwardBucheon International Fantastic Film FestivalBIFAN’s international short film competitionBucheon Choice WorldNomineeHoly Crowd2026Cannes Film FestivalWorld PremiereNext Step Studio Semaine de la CritiqueSelectedLiar Land2019Locarno Film FestivalOpen Door Special Mention Award Locarno Shorts Weeks
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