Sat
18-Aug-2007

i for india

Matt and I saw a lovely film last night at the ICA – I for India. It's a documentary following an Indian family who moved to Darlington in the 1960s, made by one of the daughters of the family and drawing on an amazing wealth of footage from England and India. The father, Yash Pal Suri, wanted to keep in touch with his family back in India after he moved to Darlington, so he bought two Super 8 cameras, two projectors and two reel-to-reel recorders and sent one set back to his parents and siblings in India. Hence there are all these amazing scenes of English and Indian life from the 60s and 70s, and then the 80s, all skillfully put together into what is both a documentary about immigration and the painful necessity of separating from parents and home, and a sentimental domestic drama that draws you so close to the family that many of us were quietly sobbing by the end of the film.

The weirdest thing was that as the lights came on and we turned to get up, we saw that the mother from the film was sat right behind us in the audience, along with other members of the family from the film! I really recommend seeing it if you have a chance.