EXCLUSIVE: Veteran filmmaker Muzaffar Ali is among the guests confirmed to attend this year’s UK Asian Film Festival, which runs from May 1 to 10 at venues across the UK.
The festival’s opening gala will take place at the BFI Southbank in London and will feature the English Premiere of Ghost School (2025). The film’s official synopsis reads: Seen through the eyes of ten-year-old Rabia, Ghost School follows a village child trying to make sense of rumours, fear, and the sudden closure of her school. A Q&A with director Seemab Gul will follow the screening.
The closing film will be the UK Premiere of Shadowbox (2025). The film’s synopsis reads: When her husband is drawn into a murder investigation, Maya struggles to hold her family together as love, shame, and uncertainty begin to close in. A Q&A with lead actor Tillotama Shome will follow the screening.
Elsewhere, the festival will host a screening of a new 4K restoration of Muzaffar Ali’s Umrao Jaan (1981). The film was restored by the National Film Archive of India. This screening will serve as the film’s European Premiere. The film traces the journey of a courtesan and poet in Lucknow, India. Ali will sit for a Q&A following screenings in London and Leicester.
The festival’s Documentary strand will include screenings of W.R.A.P. – We Really Are Pakistan (2025), Edavela Stillness (2025), Mamun-In Praise Of Shadows (2025), and Friends Of Jilipibala (2025).
The festival’s Closing Gala will also serve as the annual UK Asian Film Festival Awards. Muzaffar Ali will receive the Golden Flame Lifetime Achievement Award. The festival will also present a special tribute to singer, composer, and filmmaker Zubeen Garg.
Discussing this year’s lineup, UK Asian Film Festival Creative Director Samir Bhamra described the films as “brilliant, funny and joyous, yet also daring and deeply political.”
“They bring astonishing clarity and invention to the screen, offering fresh perspectives on identity, memory, and belonging,” Bhamra said.
“From intimate family dramas to fearless new voices in South Asian cinema, our selection captures life in all its complexity. These films remind us that storytelling is not just entertainment – it is a way of seeing each other again. At a moment when division is growing louder across our societies, the festival is an invitation to come together, listen deeply, and rediscover the solidarity that will carry our communities through whatever lies ahead.”
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