Sidharth Sharma’s Birmingham and London set feature debut Arjun & Alison is all set to enjoy its World Premiere on June 30 at the London Indian Film Festival (June 20 – July 3). Disturbed by events he encountered before making the film, Sharma has launched an initiative called Fight Against Racism (FAR).
Arjun & Alison is an unflinching look at a racially motivated murder and its aftermath. It successfully pulls off the feats of taking a balanced look at race relations in contemporary Britain, the dorm lives of overseas students and the country’s thriving drug and gun subculture. Featuring an all-British cast and crew and an Indo-British director and finance, the film is a shining example of co-production between two countries linked forever by history and culture.
Director Sidharth Sharma says, “The story of Arjun & Alison was inspired after true life events, when I got caught up in the Birmingham riots of 2009. I witnessed them, as it was the day I landed in the city after two years of film school in India. It was very shocking to witness the youth fighting and police trying to bring things under control. This got me thinking. After collaboration and many months of exchanges with scriptwriter Andy Conway a feature script surfaced and the film was born. Arjun & Alison is a gritty new revenge thriller that tackles racism on all sides and takes no prisoners. The selection at London Indian Film Festival and our World Premiere on June 30 at the Cineworld Haymarket has been a dream come true and come to us at the right time. It will give us the opportunity to proudly showcase our film for a vast and diverse audience in London.”
FAR is a counseling forum on Facebook, which will help and guide the students going abroad for further studies to overcome the phobia of racist attacks. Dr Shreepad Khedekar, Clinical director, who has treated tennis player Novok Djokovic and footballer Marko Pantelic will be counseling the students. Through online counseling Khedekar will ensure that the students are mentally and emotionally prepared in order to overcome their mental trauma. If students face racist attacks they can seek guidance and counseling in a click [Link].
Sharma is also setting up a toll free number for phone guidance.
Sharma’s next project is with renowned Indian filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt.
