Projects in genres: Asian

Synopsis

Anwar has a guilty secret; Rubi wants to die. Rubi chose Anwar to help her die, but can he find the strength to do so?

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Shopkeeping is about an Indian shopkeeper who discovers an illicit love affair which threatens his shop. He does something about the love affair, but then regrets his desperate actions, and tries to make amends.

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After the British left India, Anglo-Indians fell from grace. And Morris Jelly dropped like a stone. He hit the filthy streets of Calcutta in all their hallucinogenic splendour and life became a dream. Even in death his mercurial spirit runs rings around his friends.

Synopsis

Blue Funnel, a contemporary drama set in the Chinese community in Liverpool, follows Daniel as he tries to send his father's ashes back to his ancestral village. Daniel's father left Hong Kong aged 14 and spent his life as a seaman coming in and out of the Liverpool docks where he married an English girl. The ashes need to return 'home' for his spirit to rest... but Daniel realises he's not sure where 'home' is.

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Dance of the Lion is a film about a Lion Dance Troupe in Bristol. Several overseas students, from ex-British colonies, have decided to share a part of their culture with the people in the UK. We see how colours, festivals and rituals are introduced to the people of Bristol and the dance that captivates its audience.

Synopsis

In a small Tehran courtroom, the stories of three strong-willed women unfold as they use reason, charm, pleas for sympathy, anger, even a disarming wit to win what they each need - a divorce. Divorce Iranian Style is a unique window into the impassioned but very practical business of divorce - and marriage - in three Iranian women's lives. Jamileh, whose son saved her from the hand of her abusive husband; Ziba, an outspoken 16-year-old who proudly stands up to her 38 year-old husband and his family; and Maryam, remarried and desperate to regain custody of her two daughters. Stirring and poignant, this fly-on-the-wall look into the real circumstances of Iranian women's lives shatters the stereotype of women as passive victims in the Muslim world. (Edinburgh Film Festival Review)

Synopsis

Sanjay and Neetu are not too sure what to make of their two grandfathers. Their father's father - Grandpa Leicester - is a bit of a tyrant and completely westernised. He's always telling them off about their manners and the way they dress. So when they hear their other grandfather is coming from India to spend a month with the family, they fear the worst.

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Peaches inhabits an imaginary dystopian city. She dreams of no longer being a creature entangled by the desire of others. Gradually, her dreams become fused with her waking moments. But will Peaches' desire for transformation be tolerated by the society in which she lives?

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A vivid and enthralling account of one man's journey to love, sex and independence. Recounted with wry humour and poignancy, the story follows Brit, a young boy with brittle bones which restrict his growth, among his colourful Parsee family in Bombay. Eccentric anglophile Sera is undaunted by her son's condition, whereas Sam, his dashing father, struggles to come to terms with imperfection. Along with his unconventional sister Dolly, a true ally, Brit is at the centre of a host of vibrant characters. Based on his acclaimed autobiographical novel, Firdaus Kanga makes his acting debut as Brit.

Synopsis

Such a Long Journey is an intricately layered, wryly humorous novel set in Bombay in 1971, the year India went to war over the fate of what was to become Bangladesh. A hard working bank clerk, Gustad Noble, is a devoted family man who gradually sees his modest life unravelling. His young daughter, Roshan, falls ill in spite of his and his wife's ministrations; his promising son defies reasonable voice amid the ongoing dramas of his habitually quarrelsome neighbours. One day Gustad receives a letter from an old friend, now working for a CIA-like branch of Indira Gandhi's government asking him to help in what seems like a heroic mission. In his innocence, and with feelings of loyalty to his friend, Gustad uneasily agrees. He soon finds himself over his head and alone in his unwitting complicity as he is drawn deeper into a dangerous network of deception. Gustad's quiet dignity, his sense of moral order, have luminous presence in the sometimes antique world of his friends and acquaintances including the medicine lady, Miss Kutpitia, who suggests elaborate medical spells; the lame and child-like Tehmul; Dinshawji, Gustad's bumptious co-worker and friend, whose flirtation with the new typist goes too far. Compassionate, broad in its vision, and rich in details of character and place, this is a mature and rewarding saga that charts the journey of a moral heart in a turbulent world of change.

Synopsis

The young street kid Tashan is branded for a theft and left for dead. He awakes and embarks on his journey through rural India, during which he discovers he has a gift.