Film: Polite Society
Cast: Priya Kansara, Ritu Arya, Shobu Kapoor, Ella Bruccoleri, Seraphina Beh, Shona Babayemi, Nimra Bucha, Jeff Mirza
Director: Nida Manzoor
Rating: 3.5/5

This debut feature from writer/director Nida Manzoor is a wildly audacious work that takes on South Asian tradition and patriarchy while admitting that behind every great man, there’s a very tired mother who’s sacrificed everything… And she gets to decide who her son will marry and why?

The film is about 16-year-old Ria Khan (Priya Kansara), a British-Pakistani girl who is passionate about becoming a stuntwoman like her idol (represented by real-life British stuntwoman Eunice Huthart). To that end, she is learning martial arts, takes her sister Lena’s (Ritu Arya) help to videograph her stunts for her youtube followers, and even writes letters to Eunice hoping she could help her with an in into the industry.