Soft Power Index: who owned October 2026

The last index was July. This one is October.

A prize has already been handed over. A ballot is out. A museum has hired a singer for November. A documentary is in theaters without the songs its director asked for.

1. Michelle Yeoh

Michelle Yeoh accepted Asian Filmmaker of the Year on October 6, opening night of the Busan International Film Festival. She had not been on that carpet since 2011, when she presented The Lady. Opening tickets sold out in 94 seconds.

Berlin gave her the Honorary Golden Bear earlier this year. Busan put the same career on its opening night. Recent holders of this prize include Jafar Panahi, Kiyoshi Kurosawa, Chow Yun-fat, and Tony Leung.

The next morning she talked about It's My Time, in which she plays a woman of 70. She named Lee Chang-dong, the director of Burning, as the Korean filmmaker she wants to work with.

2. Indonesia, in two rooms

Ghost in the Cell, a prison horror-comedy from Joko Anwar, director of Satan's Slaves, leads the Citra nominations with 12 categories. The list came out October 12 in Jakarta. The film already has 3,376,865 admissions. Winners are read November 20.

Para Perasuk, from Wregas Bhanuteja, who won best film in 2021 for Photocopier, has nine categories. Sundance premiered it as Levitating. Wregas has said he is too easily frightened to make a horror film, and that this one is about obsession. Na Willa matches it on the count. Ghost in the Cell is a horror-comedy on purpose. Para Perasuk has the festival premiere, and its director has said he did not set out to make one.

Christine Hakim is on a Busan competition screen the same month, in Ibuku. Yogyakarta director Eddie Cahyono's film follows a Javanese widow trying to reach a daughter on death row in Saudi Arabia. Hakim's Citra nomination is for a different movie, Baim Wong's family drama, not for Ibuku.

3. Rosé

LACMA booked Rosé to perform at the Art+Film Gala on November 7. The night honors artist Vija Celmins and Dune director Denis Villeneuve.

She sat this dinner as a guest in 2022 and 2023. In 2022 the film honoree was Park Chan-wook, and Elton John sang. On November 7 she is the performer. A gold seat is $10,000.

4. Lisa

Always Lalisa opened in IMAX and theaters on October 12. Sue Kim followed Lalisa Manobal, the Thai singer in BLACKPINK, through the year she stepped away from the group. Kim asked YG Entertainment for the group's music, the videos, and trainee-era footage. YG did not license them. Kim said that request was the film's only contact with the company.

YG still manages BLACKPINK as a group. Lisa's solo work runs through her own company, LLOUD, and RCA. Her next solo EP, Press Play, is out October 23. The film of that year off is in theaters. The group recordings are not in it.

5. Ramayana, dated but not here yet

Sony's international campaign for Ramayana: Part One starts October 15, with a trailer the same day. Nitesh Tiwari, who directed Dangal, is directing. Ranbir Kapoor plays Rama, Sai Pallavi plays Sita, Yash plays Ravana, and Sunny Deol plays Hanuman.

Producer Namit Malhotra announced the campaign with Tiwari and Yash. Sony distributes the film outside India. Part One is set for November 5 on the international plan announced this week. Diwali is November 8. If your city lists another day, trust that listing. Part Two is aimed at Diwali 2027. The films to watch before it are already up.

Our read

Yeoh has the prize. Indonesia has a ballot with a real audience behind one film, and a Busan premiere for another. Rosé's night is still three weeks away. Lisa's movie is already open, and the BLACKPINK songs stay with YG. Ramayana is a November opening. The campaign starts October 15. What has already happened this month is the prize, the nominations, and a documentary that cannot play the group songs.