Top 10 S Asian Films 2021

Here are my Top 10 South Asian films of 2021 Irsquom excluding India here as I will focus exclusively on India in my list next week These films include fiction features documentaries and shorts and so are not in order1 Rehana Maryam Noor by Abdullah Mohammad Saad Bangladesh Stunning demanding film First Bangladeshi film in the Cannes Film Festivalrsquos official selectionmdashUn Certain Regard Azmeri Haque Badhon is compelling as a medical college professor whose obsession with justice in a MeToo case doesnrsquot end well Producers Jeremy Chua Singapore and Rajib Mohajan Bangladesh pull off a coup with this BangladeshSingaporeQatar coproduction2 No Landrsquos Man by Mostofa Sarwar Farooki Bangladesh Farookirsquos big international film in English starring Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Megan Mitchell Australia is produced by Shrihari Sathe USIndia with music by AR Rahman also Executive Producer and shot by Alexey Kosorukov Russia and Sheikh Rajibul Islam About a man who pays the price for defensively lying about his name religion family and identity Was at the Busan and Cairo film festivals3 Payer Tolay Mati Nai No Ground Beneath the Feet by Mohammad Rabby Mridha Bangladesh About a desperately poor ambulance driver who is supporting two wives the village wife gamely copes with the floods that climate change brings Starring Mostofa Monwar it was at the Busan Film Festival and is produced by Abu Shahed Emon and team4 Alborada The Dawning of the Day by Asoka Handagama Sri Lanka Sobering revelations about Chilean poet Pablo Neruda who was posted in British Ceylon as the consul in 1929 Recovering from a disturbing relationship he soon sets upon a local lowcaste woman Starring Luis J Romero and Rithika Kodithuwakku the film was at the Tokyo Film Festival5 Mulaqat Sandstorm by Seemab Gul Pakistan This superb 20 min short film by the BritishPakistani director premiered at the Venice Film Festivalrsquos Orizzonti followed by the Sundance and AFI LA film festivals Starring Parizae Fatima and Hamza Mushtaq it is about a young woman whose online boyfriend threatens her after she shares a sensuous video of herself dancing Produced by Abid Aziz Merchant and shot by Argentinian cinematographer Alberto Balaacutezs6 Daagh Daagh Ujala This Stained Dawn by Anam Abbas Pakistan Karachirsquos feminists boldly organise an Aurat March womanrsquos march to protest against Pakistanrsquos extreme right wing despite the surveillance and threats of physical violence hoping to spur a revolution This 89 min documentary was at the Yamagata and Sheffield documentary film festivals The PakistaniCanadian Abbas also produced itmdashher debut feature docu as director Shersquos also a cinematographer activist and fronted the ultracool Maa Behn ka Danda from Garam Andaymdashjust YouTube it7 Anyadin Day After by Kamar Ahmad Simon Bangladesh This hybrid documentary eavesdrops on the multiple stories of people travelling the Rocket a centuryold paddle ship that sails along the river to and from Dhaka Produced by Sara Afreen and Simon this BangladeshFranceNorway coproduction was at the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam IDFA8 Asu by Sanjeewa Pushpakumara Sri Lanka Neelum is happily pregnant until diagnosed with cancer Once her baby is born she approaches death The film was at the Tokyo Film Festival Third feature of Pushpakumara a Berlinale Talent who studied filmmaking in Korea and whose Flying Fish and Burning Birds were at Rotterdam9 Bhai by Hamza Bangash Pakistan Two brothers drive to a restaurant for biryani A commotion reveals that the younger one is autistic the film is a reflection on inclusivity This short by the PakistaniCanadian Bangash was at the Toronto International Film Festival Bangash made Dia Locarno 1978 Locarno and Stray Dogs Come Out At Night London Clermont Ferrand10 Why is the Sky Dark at Night by Kelzang Dorjee Bhutan About a stoic young girl who can put up with chopping meat in a butcherrsquos shop in Thimphu but not a layabout boyfriend This 23m short was at the Busan film festival His second short A Song of Silence was at LocarnoI would like to add Kiran Shrestharsquos Yet Another Winter a Nepali short that was at Busan A motherrsquos visit to a shaman to cure her deaf child turns traumatic A Berlinale Talent this is Shrestharsquos debut This is not a watertight list but rather to spark more interest and conversations around good South Asian cinema Your suggestions are welcomeMeenakshi Shedde is India and South Asia Delegate to the Berlin International Film Festival National Awardwinning critic curator to festivals worldwide and journalistReach her at meenakshisheddemiddaycom