Top20 South Asian, diaspora films 2023

Herersquos my Top20 South Asian and South Asian Diaspora Films of 2023 Films 1120 are here Films 110 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 coproducers each on meritmdashamazing isnrsquot it About time in 202411 WHISPERING MOUNTAINS by Jagath Manuwarna Sinhala Sri Lanka Absolutely stunning politically daring debut on how the government is trying to contain a lsquovirus that causes widespread suicidersquo Political allegory for whatrsquos all too familiar in South Asia how the government has brutally suppressed peoplersquos revolts over decades and used misinformation fake repurposed history and tradition to control or eliminate any opposition NETPAC Award IFF Rotterdam12 BOLI THE WRESTLER by Iqbal Chowdhury Chittagonian BangladeshCanada Moju a middleaged 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 FF13 TENTIGO Neelum Kuluna by Ilango Ram Sinhala Sri LankaIndia Debut feature about a family that discovers their dad has passed awaymdashbut with an erect penismdashis 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 Perera14 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 lsquolipstick momentrsquo with his randomly visiting dad is a revelation Wellmade debut directorial feature Busan FF15 WAKHRI ONE OF A KIND by Iram P Bilal Urdu Punjabi PakistanUSA 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 Bilal16 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 director17 YELLOW BUS by Wendy Bednarz Hindi English UAE Following a reallife Indian diaspora school bus incident an Indian woman in the UAE demands accountability Tannishtha Chatterjee Debut feature TIFF Woman director woman producer Nadia Eliewat18 MUNNEL SAND by Visakesa Chandrasekaram Tamil Sri Lanka An exTamil Tiger militant out on bail seeks out his childhood love Vaani in this melancholic tale Special Jury Award IFF Rotterdam19 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 USA20 Sultanarsquos Dream El Suentildeo de la Sultana by Isabel Herguera Spanish Hindi Bengali English Basque Spain Germany Extraordinary animation feature The Spanish directorrsquos debut inspired by a feminist sciencefiction story written by Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain in 1905 Bengal now Bangladesh The protagonist Ineacutes travels through India looking for traces of Ladyland the utopian country for women described in the book women rule Ladyland men are put in lsquomardanarsquo Included in this list as an exception as the film is set almost entirely in India San Sebastian Dharamshala FFs Woman directorShorts I loved that were at top festivals include Shambhavi Kaulrsquos Slow Shift IndiaUS woman director Niranjan Raj Bhetwalrsquos Witness Tree Nepal Nuhash Humayunrsquos Foreigners Only Sunil Gurungrsquos Windhorse NepalUS and Everybodyrsquos Gotta Love Sometimes by Sein Lyan Tun Myanmar FranceMyanmarIndonesiaMeenakshi 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