''The World Unseen'' is a 2007 historical

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

, written and directed by

Shamim Sarif Shamim Sarif (born 24 September 1969) is a British novelist and filmmaker of South Asian and South African heritage. Her work often focuses on various aspects of identity including gender, race, and sexuality. It often draws upon her own person ...

, adapted from her own novel. The film is set in 1950s

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

during the beginning of

apartheid Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...

. The film stars

Lisa Ray Lisa Rani Ray (born 4 April 1972) is a Canadian actress and model who has also worked internationally. Ray began her modelling career in India in the early 1990s, appearing for leading Indian brands like Bombay Dyeing and Lakmé. She made her ...

and

Sheetal Sheth Sheetal Sheth (born June 24, 1976 ) is an American actress, author, producer, and activist. She starred opposite Albert Brooks in his film ''Looking for Comedy in the Muslim World''. She debuted to rave reviews in the films ''ABCD'' and '' Ame ...

as two

Indian South African Indian South Africans are South Africans who descend from indentured labourers and free migrants who arrived from British India during the late 1800s and early 1900s. The majority live in and around the city of Durban, making it one of the l ...

women who fall in love in a racist, sexist, and homophobic society. Ray and Sheth also star together in another Shamim Sarif movie, ''

I Can't Think Straight ''I Can't Think Straight'' is a 2008 British romantic drama film directed by Shamim Sarif. Based on Sarif's 2008 novel of the same name, the film tells the story of a London-based Jordanian of Palestinian descent, Tala, who is preparing for an e ...

'', released in November 2008. ''The World Unseen'' was made with the assistance of the National Film and Video Foundation of South Africa, which took a minority equity stake in the film.

Synopsis

In 1950s South Africa, a land torn apart by apartheid, Amina epitomizes individuality and freedom. She runs the Location Café, a haven of fun, food, and festivities open to all. Amina defines her own laws and lives on her own terms, undeterred by the reproving police and the disparaging Indian community. Miriam demurely follows conventions and makes no demands on life. Her world is confined to being a doting mother to her three children and a subservient wife to her chauvinistic husband Omar. Amina has a covert business partner, Jacob, who is barred from owning a business because the State considers him to be 'coloured'. He is attracted to Madeleine, a local white postmistress, but the indignities and injustices of the prevalent law thwart their desire to pursue a relationship. Omar's sister Rehmat married a white man, against rules that forbid mixed marriages. When she needs protection from police, Amina shelters her, and her charm and strength of character captivate Miriam, who secretly rejoices when Amina accepts a farming job in her backyard. Amina notices Miriam's inherent kindness and silent dedication, and the mutual attraction between them grows. They bare their hearts to each other and their emotions get entangled. They contrive another reason to meet: driving lessons. The inescapable social distance between them makes them question their feelings, but, in the midst of hatred and oppression, their only refuge is love. In the resplendent South African landscape, with retro music strewn in the background, ''The World Unseen'' explores Miriam's relationship with Amina and how it empowers her to make personal choices that change her world.

Cast

as Miriam, a wife and mother who has recently immigrated to South Africa. *

as Amina, a free spirited café owner. *

Parvin Dabas Parvin Dabas (born 12 July 1974) is an Indian actor, director and model, who works predominantly in Hindi and English language films. Early life Parvin Dabas was born on 12 July 1974. His family is from Kanjhawala, Outer Delhi. He studied in M ...

as Omar, Miriam's chauvinistic and frustrated husband and one of the film's primary antagonists. * David Dennis as Jacob, Amina's business partner. * Grethe Fox as Madeleine Smith, Jacob's

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...

love interest who runs the local post office. * Colin Moss as De Witt, a policeman and one of the film's primary antagonists. *

Nandana Sen Nandana Dev Sen (19 August 1967) is an Indian-born American actress, screenwriter, children's author and child-rights activist. Her first film role in Bollywood was Sanjay Leela Bhansali's ''Black'' (2005), starring Rani Mukherjee and Amitab ...

as Rehmat *

Natalie Becker Natalie Bridgette Becker is a South African actress. Biography Becker was born in George, Western Cape province and raised in Cape Town. She is of Cape Coloured descent. Becker has spoken about growing up lonely on a small holding because her mo ...

as Farah, Omar's lover *

Rajesh Gopie Rajesh Gopie, is a South African actor of Indian descent. He is best known for the roles in the television serials ''Stellenbosch'', ''Professionals'' and ''The World Unseen''. Personal life He was born in Durban, South Africa to an Indian fami ...

as Sadru * Bernard White as Mr. Harjan * Avantika Akerkar as Mrs. Harjan *

Amber Rose Revah Amber Rose Revah (born 24 June 1986) is a British actress, writer, and voice artist. She is best known for playing the roles of Dinah Madani in Marvel's '' The Punisher'', Mika in MGM limited series Last Light and as Mary Magdalene in the box ...

as Begum * Leonie Casanova as Doris, a waitress at Amina's café shop

Reception

Critics

The film was positively reviewed by the gay and lesbian media, with

AfterEllen AfterEllen (also known as AfterEllen.com) is an American culture website founded in 2002, with a focus on entertainment, interviews, reviews, and news of interest to the lesbian and bisexual women's community. The site covers pop culture and lifes ...

calling it "one of the best-conceived queer films of the past year – a sincere, beautifully realized vision of love and resistance in an intolerant world."

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 ...

gave the film a 24% rotten rating, with an average score of 4.5, from 25 reviews, with no consensus.

Awards and honours

References

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External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:World Unseen, The Apartheid films 2007 films 2007 drama films 2000s English-language films English-language South African films South African LGBT-related films Lesbian-related films British drama films Films directed by Shamim Sarif Films shot in South Africa Films set in South Africa South African drama films South African Indian films 2000s British films