Arjun & Alison

Director: Sidharth Sharma
Starring: Monique Squeri, Shiv Jhala, Oliver Squires, Kulvinder Ghir
Run time: 95 mins | Recommended Certificate: 18
Language: English | Year: | Country: UK/India

Set between Birmingham and London, Sidharth Sharma’s outstanding directorial debut is an unflinching look at a racially motivated murder and its aftermath. Arjun (Jhala), from India, and Alison (Squeri), from the United States, are students at a university in Birmingham whose lives are transformed forever when their black friend dies after a racist attack. The prime suspect is Gordon (Squires), the leader of the university’s controversial ‘English Society’. Besides dealing with the trauma of their friend’s death, Arjun and Alison also have to confront the ghosts of their own pasts. The film successfully pulls off the feats of taking a balanced look at race relations in contemporary Britain, the dorm lives of overseas students and the country’s thriving drug and gun subculture. Featuring an all-British cast and crew and an Indo-British director and finance, the film is a shining example of co-production between two countries linked forever by history and culture.