UK Asian Film Festival announces Full Programme
World’s longest running South Asian film festival outside India presents curation inspired by ‘Uprooted’ Theme in 2020
Festival Programme to run at venues across London, Manchester, Leicester, Coventry, Glasgow and Stockton From 25th March – 5thApril 2020
The world’s longest running South Asian film festival outside India, UK Asian Film Festival, announces its 22nd edition festival programme, this year themed Uprooted. The curation will explore themes of migration, displacement and the reinvention of identity in a new environment through a curation of premieres; screenings and events that continue to celebrate the work of women in cinema. In today’s desperate times, in which communities are being uprooted over nationality, ethnicity and religion globally, the festival programme will celebrate the commonalities of humankind, which are currently being forgotten.
UK Asian Film Festival, presented by Tongues on Fire, historically showcases South Asian feminist films and the work of pioneering female artists and auteurs. The festival will run from 25th March – 5thApril 2020 in venues across London, Manchester, Leicester, Coventry, Glasgow and Stockton. UKAFF is supported by a BFI Audience Award, using funding from the National Lottery.
The Opening Gala Presentation will be critically lauded female filmmaker Alankrita Shrivastava’s Dolly Kitty And Those Twinkling Stars (India, 2019) on Wednesday 25th March, Vue West End, Leicester Square with director Alankrita Shrivastava; actress Konkana Sen Sharma; and producer Ekta Kapoor in attendance. Additional screenings will take place at Everyman Manchester, Thursday 26th March; and Phoenix Cinema Leicester, Thursday 2nd April.
Set in a newly developing industrial area on the outskirts of New Delhi, Dolly Kitty And Those Twinkling Stars chronicles the quiet transgression of two female cousins who, through their complicated love-hate equation, enable each other to find freedom. The film integrates key issues within its narrative, from female empowerment, defying the patriarchy and interfaith relationships to challenging gender conformity and the trappings of capitalist society, where human beings are commodified and evaluated by app star-ratings.
Dolly Kitty And Those Twinkling Stars features two of India’s most prolific actresses, Bhumi Pednekar and Konkana Sen Sharma, in the titular roles. The film is produced by Shobha Kapoor, Ekta Kapoor’s Balaji Telefilms and distributed by Zee Studios International.
Alankrita Shrivastava is an award-winning feature film director and screenwriter from Mumbai with a penchant for telling women’s stories, exploring the interior world of women through her films. Dolly Kitty And Those Twinkling Stars is Alankrita’s third feature film as writer-director. Most recently, she has co-written and co-directed the critically acclaimed and hugely popular Amazon Prime Original series Made In Heaven (2019).
Alankrita’s second feature film as writer-director, Lipstick Under My Burkha, premiered at the Tokyo International Film Festival in 2016. It was banned in India for being too honest a portrayal of women and Alankrita had to fight a long battle to release it in India. It finally released theatrically in India in July 2017 to critical plaudit and commercial success.
The Closing Gala on Sunday 5th April, The Mayfair Hotel will present an In Conversation with Boney Kapoor. Acclaimed producer Boney Kapoor joins the festival to share an insight into his cinematic career and to launch the biography of his late wife, silver screen icon Sridevi, written by Satyarth Nayak.
Kapoor is highly regarded for producing commercial and critically acclaimed films. His cult classic, Mr India, is one of the 100 Greatest Indian Films of All Time at the Centenary of Indian Cinema. He has produced over 30 films including Mom starring his late wife, the legendary actress Sridevi, in her 300th film over a 50-year career span in the Indian film industry. The talk will be followed by the UK Asian Film Festival Awards presentation.
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