UK Asian Film Festival 2023 movie line-up revealed
April 10, 2023
UK Asian Film Festival has unveiled its programme for its 25th anniversary edition. Running at venues across London, Leicester and Glasgow from May 4th-14th , the festival is presented by Tongues on Fire and is supported by the BFI and Arts Council England.
The ‘Celebrating Our Stories’ theme of the festival’s silver jubilee year will present a curation of film stories centering on the British Asian experience – redefining and reimagining one’s roots and dreams in a foreign land – and will celebrate the individuality and uniqueness of trans generational, South Asian migrant stories. UK Asian Film Festival is powered by broadcast partners, Sony TV and Lyca Radio; and TV Partner for UKAFF Short Film Competition is Shorts TV.
The Opening Gala will present the UK Premiere of ‘Sanaa’ (India, 2022; Dir: Sudhanshu Saria; Language: Hindi with English subtitles) on Thursday 4th May, BFI Southbank. The biggest weekend of her professional life only gets more complicated when Sanaa, a 28-year-old financial advisor working in Mumbai, finds out she is pregnant. Clear on her decision to terminate her pregnancy, the actual process of getting the abortion forces Sanaa to re-evaluate her life and if the choices she has been making have really been her own. The film is an observation of the choices and dilemmas facing women in the corporate workplace, highlighting gender disparities. Lead actor, Radhika Madan (Pataakha) and director, Sudhanshu Saria (Loev), will be in attendance.
The London Premiere of ‘Kamli’ (Pakistan, 2022; Dir: Sarmad Khoosat; Language: Urdu with English subtitles) takes place on Saturday 6th March, Rich Mix, Shoreditch. The much-hyped, latest offering from Sarmad Khoosat, one of Pakistan’s most provocative auteurs, and starring award-winning actor, Saba Qamar, ‘Kamli’ revolves around the story of a young woman whose husband has been missing for eight years as she lives with her blind sister-in-law. The film portrays the woman’s struggle between her sense of loyalty to her husband and her carnal desires that urge her to move on.
As part of the festival’s LGBTQ strand, the UK Premiere of ‘Trans Kashmir’ (India, 2022; Dirs: S.A. Hanan, Surbhi Dewan; Language: English and Kashmiri Urdu with English subtitles) takes place on May 7th, Rich Mix, Shoreditch. Once entertainers and employees of the royal court, transgender women in Kashmir were believed to have mystical powers and were revered members of society. Today, they fight for dignity and basic human rights. For generations, they have worked as matchmakers and performers but their gender, economic and socio-political realities render them among the most vulnerable people in the world today. Offering an intimate glimpse into their unique culture, resilience and beauty, this documentary chronicles their growing movement to secure basic human rights.
The World Premiere of ‘Whispers Of A Storm’ (India, 2023; Dir: Amartya Bhattacharyya; Language: Odia with English subtitles) takes place on May 9th, Stratford East Picturehouse. The film is set in the cyclone-devastated coastal villages of Odisha. An ambitious photographer captures the devastation of the coastal villages after cyclone ‘Fani’ in 2019 – one of South Asia’s strongest cyclones ever. The photographer is indifferent to the suffering of the villagers and is focused only on the benefits he can extract from the calamity. A villager who returns from the rescue camp after the cyclone finds his home shattered. He picks up his memories from the ruins and sets off in hope of reaching a safer land; while a grieving mother who has lost her son to the cyclone leaves her village to find solace in nature. These characters, independent of each other, find relevance and relation through a fragmented narrative of their losses.
The World Premiere of ‘Footprints On Water’ (India/ UK, 2022; Dir: Nathalia Syam; Language: English, Tamil, Malayalam, Polish with English subtitles) takes place on May 13th, Kiln Theatre, London. The film is a gritty account of an illegal immigrant community based in Birmingham, UK, always in hiding and leaving no proof of their existence. At the heart of the story is Raghu, an illegal immigrant father searching for his missing daughter while trying to avoid the police and authorities’ radar. Actor, Adil Hussain (Life of Pi); director, Nathalia Syam; and producer, Mohaan Nadaar, will be attending.
The closing film on May 13th, Kiln Theatre, London is the World Premiere of ‘Bhagwan Bharose’ (India, 2023; Dir: Shiladitya Bora; Language: Hindi with English subtitles). The film tells the story of Bhola and Shambhu, two village boys whose ideas about faith are constantly questioned as their little world expands and takes into its fold their country’s fast-changing socio-political landscape. Against the backdrop of a rising Hindu nationalist movement in late 1980’s India, the two impressionable kids struggle with their understanding of God and religion. While experiencing the everyday challenges of childhood, a conservative upbringing and communal surroundings, their idyllic world is blown apart by events that they themselves can no longer fathom. In attendance will be actors Vinay Pathak (Bheja Fry), Masumeh Makhija and Satendra Soni; and director, Shiladitya Bora (Song of Scorpions)..