FFFA: Sister Midnight

Sister Midnight

Australian Premiere

“★★★★ A feral feminist fable with a whole lot of bite.” – Time Out

“First-time feature director Kandhari marches to the beat of his own drum, constrained by neither tone nor genre expectation.” – Variety

Brash, rebellious misfit Uma is a newlywed in an arranged marriage to Gopal, a soft-spoken and supremely timid groom. Uma tries to settle into a domestic routine in the couple’s cramped one-room apartment in Mumbai, but the pressure to fulfil the rigid expectations of an Indian bride wreaks havoc with her mental health. Until one day, an insect bite makes Uma feel strange, and she starts giving in to her most feral impulses.

This punky, feminist comedy-thriller is a confident, wholly original feature film debut from writer-director Karan Kandhari. Led by a phenomenal performance by Radhika Apte as Uma, Sister Midnight is captured with energetic cinematography, regularly employing whip pans and crash zooms to hilarious effect, and soundtracked with a delightfully unexpected mix of American blues, swooning Cambodian tunes and even Motörhead.

Festivals & Awards
Cannes Film Festival 2024
Sitges Film Festival 2024
BFI London Film Festival 2024

Rating

Unclassified 18+

Duration

106 min

Country

United Kingdom, India, Sweden

Language

Hindi (English Subtitles)

Cast

Radhika Apte, Ashok Pathak, Chhaya Kadam

Director

Karan Kandhari