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Exclusive: UK indie feature Worry Time, written by and starring Emma Paetz (Pennyworth) and produced by and co-starring Ben Aldridge (Fleabag) has wrapped shoot in London.

The micro-budget absurdist feminist thriller is a co-production between Penny4 and Paetz’s company Thaddeus. Producers are Cambria Bailey-Jones, Heloise Lowenthal, Emma Paetz and Aldridge who is making his producing debut.

The film marks the filmmaking debut of British theatre director Tom Brennan (The Last of the Pelican Daughters). The team is submitting the movie for 2025 festivals.

The official synopsis reads: “Something terrible has happened to Annette’s (Paetz) friend, Vivian, and everyone’s decided to move on from it. Everyone except Annette. She will not ‘process’. She will not forgive. She’s going to make an allegorical sci-fi film – a reflection on women’s accommodation of male dominance – whether or not Vivian wants her to. The film deals with the grief of a friendship faded,...

Afsaneh Dehrouyeh in a chadari

The Jury Awards for the inaugural Muslim International Film Festival in London were announced today, with Amjad Al Rasheed's Inshallah A Boy taking top prize. Set in Jordan, the film focuses on a mother fighting for her rights after she is widowed, and it has been a hit at festivals all around the world.

The award for Best Short went to Yellow by Elham Essas, the story of a woman shopping for her first chadari after the return of the Taliban.

The festival's Trailblazer Award went to Asif Kapadia, whose highly acclaimed films include The Warrior, Far North, Senna and Amy.

This year's jury consisted of Claudia Yusef (Head of Development at BBC Films), Leon Oteng (Production Inclusion Manager at BFI Filmmaking Fund), Neila Butt, Tas Brooker, Youssef Kerkour (BAFTA nominated...

The wearing of the chadari is an age-old tradition in Afghanistan, claims the man on the news. It is a part of Afghan culture. It’s only natural that that Taliban, for whom he speaks, should want to restore it. The entrance to the shop where Laili (Afsaneh Dehrouyeh) goes to buy her first chadari, now that they are mandated by law, is surrounded by bright colours. Silk scarves flutter; vibrant patterns catch the eye. A yellow canary sings inside a cage. Stepping into the shop, she is confronted by a rack of identical-looking blue chadaris. The camera lingers on them for a fraction too long, forcing viewers to share her discomfort, the sense that the promise of this place has been stolen.

The strains of a rubab call her – and our – attention to the back room. It’s a traditional melody, now – as the shopkeeper (played by director Elham Ehsas...

The Phantom of the Open Review — The Phantom of the Open (2021) Film Review, a movie directed by Craig Roberts, written by Simon Farnaby and Scott Murray and starring Mark Rylance, Sally Hawkins, Ian Porter, Tommy Fallon, Jake Davies, Christian Lees, Jonah Lees, Mark Lewis Jones, Johann Myers, Nigel Betts, Afsaneh Dehrouyeh, Tim [...]

Continue reading: Film Review: The Phantom Of The Open (2021): Mark Rylance is Perfect in a Comedy About Golf that Has a Lot of Heart...