Top20 South Asian, diaspora films 2023

Illustration/Uday Mohite

Here's my #Top20 South Asian and South Asian Diaspora Films of 2023. Films 11-20 are here; Films 1-10 appeared last week. Full list includes fiction, documentaries and shorts from Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Afghanistan, Myanmar and South Asian Diaspora. This list honours 24 women directors, producers and co-producers, each on merit - amazing, isn't it? About time, in 2024.

11. WHISPERING MOUNTAINS by Jagath Manuwarna, Sinhala, Sri Lanka: Absolutely stunning, politically daring, debut on how the government is trying to contain a ‘virus that causes widespread suicide.' Political allegory for what's all too familiar in South Asia, how the government has brutally suppressed people's revolts over decades, and used misinformation, fake, repurposed history and tradition to control or eliminate any opposition. NETPAC Award, IFF Rotterdam.

12. BOLI THE WRESTLER by Iqbal Chowdhury, Chittagonian, Bangladesh-Canada: Moju, a middle-aged man in a fishing village, challenges Dofor, the local champion in boli, traditional wrestling, but nothing is what it seems. Debut feature; distinctive voice, mysterious, elemental. Won New Currents Award, Busan FF.

13. TENTIGO (Neelum Kuluna) by Ilango Ram, Sinhala, Sri Lanka-India: Debut feature about a family that discovers their dad has passed away - but with an erect penis - is a biting satire and daring political allegory, on the disgraced Sri Lankan regime that built the enormously tall Neelum Kuluna (Lotus Tower) in Colombo as a symbol of its power, using massive loans from the Chinese government. Special Jury Prize, Tallinn Black Nights FF. Woman producer Hiranya Perera.

14. AGANTUK, THE STRANGER by Biplob Sarkar, Bengali, Bangladesh: Kajal, a young boy living with his single mother in a village, grapples with gender identity, but a ‘lipstick moment' with his randomly visiting dad is a revelation. Well-made debut directorial feature. Busan FF.\

15. WAKHRI, ONE OF A KIND by Iram P Bilal, Urdu, Punjabi, Pakistan-USA: A widowed schoolteacher, who becomes an outspoken social media sensation to raise funds for the school, becomes vulnerable in a patriarchal society. Inspired by Qandeel Baloch, whose brother strangled her in an honour killing. Red Sea IFF. Woman director Bilal, women producers Apoorva Bakshi and Bilal.

16. NONA PANI, BARREN WATERS by Syeda Neegar Banu, Bengali, Bangladesh: Debut feature on how climate change can also make women vulnerable to multiple sexual predators; deeply felt, if occasionally heavy handed. Woman director.

17. YELLOW BUS by Wendy Bednarz, Hindi, English, UAE: Following a real-life Indian diaspora school bus incident, an Indian woman in the UAE demands accountability ' Tannishtha Chatterjee. Debut feature; TIFF. Woman director, woman producer Nadia Eliewat.

18. MUNNEL, SAND, by Visakesa Chandrasekaram, Tamil, Sri Lanka: An ex-Tamil Tiger militant, out on bail, seeks out his childhood love Vaani, in this melancholic tale. Special Jury Award, IFF Rotterdam.

19. The Last Birthday by Navid Mahmoudi, Persian, Afghanistan: About Soraya, a woman journalist in Afghanistan, who boldly reports on the horrific realities of Afghan women, and finds the Taliban at her door. Tasveer IFF USA.

20. Sultana's Dream, El Sueño de la Sultana by Isabel Herguera; Spanish, Hindi, Bengali, English, Basque; Spain, Germany: Extraordinary animation feature. The Spanish director's debut, inspired by a feminist science-fiction story written by Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain in 1905 Bengal (now Bangladesh). The protagonist Inés travels through India, looking for traces of Ladyland, the utopian country for women described in the book (women rule Ladyland; men are put in ‘mardana!'). Included in this list as an exception, as the film is set almost entirely in India. San Sebastian, Dharamshala FFs. Woman director.

Shorts I loved, that were at top festivals, include Shambhavi Kaul's Slow Shift (India-US, woman director); Niranjan Raj Bhetwal's Witness Tree, Nepal; Nuhash Humayun's Foreigners Only; Sunil Gurung's Windhorse (Nepal-US); and Everybody's Gotta Love Sometimes by Sein Lyan Tun, Myanmar; France-Myanmar-Indonesia.

Meenakshi Shedde is India and South Asia Delegate to the Berlin International Film Festival, National Award-winning critic, curator to festivals worldwide and journalist.
Reach her at meenakshi.shedde@mid-day.com