This year we’re going deeper. Unspoken is expanding beyond mental wellbeing to explore mental illness in South Asian communities — the stuff that often stays unspoken. We Will Speak!
At least one of the five featured films will tackle mental illness head-on, creating space for real understanding, awareness, and honest conversation about experiences that rarely get the spotlight.We’ll also host a special symposium with speakers who work in mental health within the South Asian diaspora. It’s a chance to share knowledge, swap ideas, and talk openly about the unique challenges and opportunities around getting support in our communities.
Calorie is a raw, female-driven drama that follows stressed single mother Monika as she sends her calorie-obsessed daughter Alia and rebellious sister Simi to stay with their great aunt and uncle in Punjab. What she hopes will be a simple grounding in family roots quickly becomes a journey of seismic discovery. Culture shock, fierce family clashes, and unexpected new bonds give way to the unearthing of a devastating family tragedy Monika has long buried—one whose wounds now threaten to tear the family apart.
Join the Tongues on Fire Filmwallahs Screening, powerful story of hidden truths, generational healing, and the unbreakable ties between mothers, daughters, and the past they can no longer outrun.
Directed and written by: Eisha Marjara
Producer: Joe Ballas
Cast: Ellora Patnaik, Shanaya Dhillon-Birmhan, Anupam Kher, Ashley Ganger, Dolly Ahluwalia
Time: 2:45 pm
Venue: BFI Southbank, NFT 2
How was your experience of our festival? Your views are central to the way in which we develop our future programmes.
