Throughout July and August, we’re excited to present an array of screenings and special events around South Asian Heritage Month 2023, which is themed ‘Stories to Tell.’ The films chosen include suggestions by our members and local residents, alongside partnership events with curator Anupma Shanker, SUPAKINO, and London Bengali Film Festival. The screenings will explore a range of themes, from identity and community to gender, faith, and family, with a special focus on music, dance and drama.

The season opens with Jean Renoir’s intoxicating first colour feature The River, a glorious tribute to the sights and sounds of Indian culture. The film will be introduced by Anupma Shanker and preceded by an Odissi dance performance by Prachi Hota. We also screen Satyajit Ray’s debut feature, Pather Panchali, which revolutionised Indian cinema.

On India Independence Day, there’s chance to see Sandhya Suri’s remarkable, Around India with a Movie Camera, which draws exclusively from the BFI National Archive and features some of the earliest surviving footage from India.

From Bangladesh, we are proud to present Tareque Masud’s rarely screened masterpiece, The Clay Bird, and London Bengali Film Festival also presents a preview of Muhammad Quayum’s award-winning debut feature, The Golden Wings of Watercocks.

For the 40th Anniversary of Octopussy, SUPAKINO brings Turbans Seen On Screen to The Garden Cinema: film screenings featuring notable characters wearing turbans. This under-screened Bond film is surrounded by many fascinating stories linking British film history to the British South Asian experience. 

Saim Sadiq’s dazzling Joyland, one of the most acclaimed films of the year, will return to our screens, as well as Gurinder Chadha’s Bruce Springsteen jukebox comedy Blinded by the Light as part of Musical Fridays. Our Films For The Family screening is the Oscar-nominated animation, The Breadwinner.

See individual film pages for more details, including guest speakers.