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West is West

West is West

Andy De Emmony

  • Country: United Kingdom
  • Year: 2009
  • Language: English
  • Producer: Leslee Udwin
  • Executive Producer: Jane Wright, Shaana Levy, Kim Romer
  • Screenplay: Ayub Khan-Din
  • Runtime: 102
  • Programmes:

Manchester, Northern England, 1976. The now much-diminished, but still claustrophobic and dysfunctional, Khan family continues to struggle for survival. Sajid, the youngest Khan, is under heavy assault both from his father's tyrannical insistence on Pakistani tradition, and from the fierce bullies in the schoolyard. His father decides to pack him off to Mrs. Khan No 1 and family in the Punjab, the wife and daughters he had abandoned 30 years earlier. The sequel to East is East, West is West is the coming of age story of both 15-year-old Sajid and of his father, 60-year-old George Khan.

South Asia,  United Kingdom,  Family Relations,  Coming of Age & Youth,  Muslim

screening times

    • Sunday September 12
    • 1:30:00 PM
    • ROY THOMSON HALL
    • Tuesday September 14
    • 12:30:00 PM
    • WINTER GARDEN THEATRE
    • Saturday September 18
    • 6:15:00 PM
    • SCOTIABANK THEATRE 2

Note: indicates Premium Screening.

official description

It’s hard to believe it’s been a decade since East is East. That story of a south Asian family carving out an identity for themselves in seventies England struck a chord wherever people define themselves between cultures – which these days is everywhere. In the heartwarming and often hilarious follow-up, original screenwriter Ayub Khan-Din flips the script, taking this boisterous family from bleak Salford back to the hot dust of rural Pakistan. The much-loved Om Puri leads a spirited cast in this coming-of-age story about the to and fro between Britain and south Asia.

After insulting his father’s country bumpkin background, teenaged Sajid (Aqib Khan) is forced to accompany his dad on a month-long trip to Pakistan, where he is expected to learn the customs of his family’s life. Sajid has been on the receiving end of endless racist bullying in his Salford schoolyard and wants nothing to do with this remote side of his lineage. While George (Puri) tries to discipline his defiant son, he has his own ghosts with which to contend; this trip is his first to Pakistan since he deserted his first wife and young family thirty years ago. As Sajid confronts the challenges and splendours of a completely foreign way of life, so too must George confront the legacy of his past choices.

Woven into these narratives is Sajid’s older brother Maneer (Emil Marwa), who’s been living in Pakistan for over a year and is desperate to find a wife. Matchmaking proves to be more difficult than anticipated and, while Maneer is generally amenable to Pakistani culture, he is enamoured by the trends of the West and besotted, inexplicably, with Nana Mouskouri music. As Sajid becomes increasingly aware of the charms of the opposite sex, he keeps his eyes peeled on Maneer’s behalf and spots a young woman who, against all odds, may be the answer to his brother’s prayers.

Director Andy De Emmony captures the verve of young and old and the convergence of east and west in this uplifting film about a fascinating family in transitional times.

director bio

Andy De Emmony’s TV directing credits include Life Isn’t All Ha Ha Ha Hee Hee Hee (05), Recovery (07), Filth: The Mary Whitehouse Story (08), Framed (09) and Off the Hook (09). He won a BAFTA in 1995 for best television comedy programme for Father Ted. West is West (10) is his feature film debut.

full credits

Principal Cast: Om Puri, Aqib Khan, Linda Bassett, Ila Arun, Jimi Mistry
Producer: Leslee Udwin
Executive Producer: Jane Wright, Shaana Levy, Kim Romer
Cinematographer: Peter Robertson
Editor: Jon Gregory, Stephen O'Connell
Sound: Simon Willis
Music: Rob Lane
Production Designer: Aradhana Seth, Tom Conroy

Canadian Distributor: D Films  
International Sales Agent: Icon Entertainment
Production Company: Assassin Films Ltd
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