''Purdah'' is an independent

documentary film A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional film, motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". Bill Nichols (film critic), Bil ...

directed by Jeremy Guy, starring Kaikasha Mirza, Saba Mirza, and Al Heena Mirza. The title, ''Purdah'', refers to a veil or screen and can also refer to something that Muslim women wear to keep hidden. The documentary is filmed in a

cinéma vérité Cinéma vérité (, , ; "truthful cinema") is a style of documentary filmmaking developed by Edgar Morin and Jean Rouch, inspired by Dziga Vertov's theory about Kino-Pravda. It combines improvisation with use of the camera to unveil truth or high ...

style. ''Purdah'' premiered at the

Cinequest Film Festival The Cinequest Film & Creativity Festival is an annual independent film festival held each March in San Jose, California and Redwood City, California. The international festival combines the cinematic arts with Silicon Valley’s innovation. It is ...

in March 2018.

Synopsis

''Purdah'' begins in Mumbai, India in 2011 and introduces Kaikasha Mirza who dreams of playing

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

but knows no other Muslim women like herself who are allowed to play. Having just recently been allowed by her father to remove her burka for the first time to play the sport, Kaikasha sets her sights on making the Mumbai Senior Women's Cricket Team. Kaikasha is faced with the harsh judgment of her community and family for her pursuits. All of Kaikasha's hopes are pinned on her upcoming tryouts after her parents tell her that they will arrange her marriage if she cannot make a career out of the sport. The documentary also follows the rest of the Mirza family, including Kaikasha's sisters, Saba and Heena. Each of the sisters has goals for her own career and future, but faces an uphill battle against poverty and intense societal pressure while trying to follow her dreams. ''

Purdah Pardah or purdah (from Hindi-Urdu , , meaning "curtain") is a religious and social practice of female seclusion prevalent among some Muslim and Hindu communities. It takes two forms: physical segregation of the sexes and the requirement that wom ...

'' is the story of how the harsh realities for women in India creates an unexpected outcome for the Mirza family.

Cast

* Kaikasha Mirza * Saba Mirza * Al Heena Mirza

Release

''Purdah'' had its film festival run in 2018 and 2019, premiering at the

. ''Purdah'' went on to screen at the

TCL Chinese Theatre Grauman's Chinese Theatre (branded as TCL Chinese Theatre for naming rights reasons) is a movie palace on the historic Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6925 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, United States. The original Chinese ...

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood, ...

as part of

Dances With Films Dances With Films is an annual independent film festival located in Los Angeles, California and was founded by Leslee Scallon and Michael Trent. Lineup Taking place every year since 1998, the festival is dedicated to representing true independent ...

. The film subsequently played at several more festivals around the world, including the Indian Film Festival Stuttgart,

Indian Film Festival of Melbourne The Indian Film Festival of Melbourne (IFFM) is a Victoria State Government-funded annual festival based in Melbourne founded in 2012. It is presented by Film Victoria, and the provider is chosen through a tender process. The current tender prov ...

, Chicago South Asian Film Festival, Indian Film Festival of Houston, Fünf Seen Filmfestival, South Asian Film Festival of Montreal, River to River Florence Indian Film Festival, Indian Film Festival Münster, Imagine India International Film Festival, and the Big Syn International Film Festival London. ''Purdah'' was also screened at the 2019 Association for Asian Studies Annual Conference to be used as an educational tool. The academic conference gathers university professors and students to discuss issues, literature, film, and art within the field of Asian Studies. ''Purdah'' is distributed internationally by

Indie Rights Indie Rights, Inc. is an American distributor of independent films, based in Los Angeles, California. Indie Rights is a subsidiary of Nelson Madison Films and was incorporated in 2007 to act as distributor for other independent filmmakers. The co ...

Video on Demand Video on demand (VOD) is a media distribution system that allows users to access videos without a traditional video playback device and the constraints of a typical static broadcasting schedule. In the 20th century, broadcasting in the form of o ...

platforms such as

Amazon Prime Video Amazon Prime Video, also known simply as Prime Video, is an American Video on demand#Subscription models, subscription video on-demand Over-the-top media service, over-the-top Streaming media, streaming and Renting, rental service of Amazon (c ...

and

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, and via educational distributor Collective Eye Films to universities and libraries.

Music

The soundtrack for ''Purdah'' was released on February 22, 2019.

Critical reception

''Purdah'' was reviewed by Phantom Tollbooth critic, Marie Asner, who rated the film 4 out of 5. Asner interprets the documentary by considering it to have two contrasting segments, separated by a three year gap in filming. The review highlights how the immersive camera "becomes part of the family and then part of the population," conveying emotion as well as context within India. Asner later included ''Purdah'' on her list of the best independent films of 2019. Bobby Lepire rated ''Purdah'' a 7 out of 10 in a review for

Film Threat ''Film Threat'' is an online film review publication, and earlier, a national magazine that focused primarily on independent film, although it also reviewed videos and DVDs of mainstream films, as well as Hollywood movies in theaters. It first ...

. Lepire writes that the film's "narrative in the first half lacks weight and context," but praised that "the film picks up later on, and the ending is uplifting and empowering, which makes the film worth watching." ''Purdah'' currently holds critic approval rating from critics on the online review aggregator

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

Accolades

* 2019 Named one of the Best Independent Films of 2019 by Marie Asner of Phantom Tollbooth * 2019 Big Syn International Film Festival London - Winner of the Grand Jury's Special Mention Award * 2018 Dances With Films - Winner 3rd Place for Marketing Award

References

External links

* * {{Rotten Tomatoes, purdah, Purdah Indian documentary films 2018 films American documentary films 2018 documentary films 2010s American films Documentary films about women in India Documentary films about Islam Films about social issues in India Films about cricket in India Films about Indian weddings Films set in Mumbai Films shot in Mumbai