THE DISGUISE
The Disguise is an intimate film about the lives of two women in London. One is conservative, holding on to her native symbols and customs, while the other is liberal and assimilated into the western world. One day, an incident on the road, a hate crime, pushes matters to a head, and forces them to rethink their concepts of identity.
This film makes no attempt to arrive at any answers, and instead just leaves some questions hanging: what is culture? What is integration? What is acceptance? And who decides how we choose to live?
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Sandeep A. VarmaDirectorManjunath, The Virgins, Kahanibaaz
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Riya MukherjeeWriter
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Riya MukherjeeProducer
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Naomi WillowKey Cast"Rabia"
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Adriana GrigorievKey Cast"Lena"
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Zed JosefKey Cast"Hashim"
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Jennifer Scott-MaldenKey Cast"Lena's mom"
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Project Type:Short
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Genres:Drama, Slice of Life
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Runtime:17 minutes 38 seconds
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Completion Date:November 1, 2018
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Production Budget:38,000 USD
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Country of Origin:India
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Country of Filming:United Kingdom
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Language:English
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Shooting Format:RED
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Aspect Ratio:1:2.39
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Film Color:Color
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First-time Filmmaker:Yes
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Student Project:No
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South Asian Short Film FestivalKolkata
India
March 26, 2019
India Premiere
Ritwik Ghatak Trophy for Short Fiction - Bronze -
Lonely Seal International FestivalMassachusetts
United States
Award Winner - Best Woman Film Maker -
Oaxaca Film FestivalOaxaca
Mexico
Finalist -
Southern Shorts AwardsGeorgia
United States
12 individual awards -
Best Shorts CompetitionCalifornia
United States
North america Premiere
Award of Excellence -
Accolade Global Film CompetitionCalifornia
United States
Award of Merit -
Swindon Independent Film FestivalSwindon
United Kingdom
April 16, 2019
UK Premiere
Official Selection -
International Screen AwardsJakarta
Indonesia
Platinum Award -
Vancouver International Short Film FestivalVancouver
Canada
Official Selection -
Best of India Short Film FestivalLos Angeles
United States
Official Selection -
Int Documentary & Short Film Fest of KeralaTrivandrum
India
Official Selection -
Social Political Short Film FestivalMontana
United States
Official Selection -
Bozeman Film FestivalBozeman
United States
Official Selection -
Habitat Film FestivalNew Delhi
India
Official Selection -
Jaffna International Film FestivalJaffna
Sri Lanka
Official Selection -
Commffest GLobal Comunity Film FestivalToronto
Canada
Canada Premiere
Official Selection -
India International Film Festival of BostonBoston
United States
Official Selection -
Respect Human Rights Film FestivalBelfast
Ireland
Ireland premiere
Official Selection -
Lady Filmmakers FestivalBeverly Hills
United States
Official Selection
Sandeep A. Varma is an award winning filmmaker. As a writer, director and producer he’s won multiple accolades and recognitions. His feature film Manjunath won the Ramnath Goenka Award for cinematic excellence & the best screenplay award at the Screen Awards 2015 apart from being nominated for the Best Debut Director Award.
His short film, The Virgins, has crossed 14 millions views since its release in 2016. It has been felicitated at several festivals including Jio Filmfare, Delhi Shorts International & Noida International.
Sandeep has also written & directed Kahanibaaz, starring Ashish Vidyarthi, for Royal Stag Large Shorts.
Apart from his filmmaking career, Sandeep is an experienced entrepreneur. He is the managing director of Icomo, a Mumbai based boutique creative agency. He has recently co-founded Filmboard Movies, a film & tech based start-up that seeks to revolutionize the way content is created in this country.
An engineering degree from BITS PILANI, an MBA from FMS, along with rich corporate work experience, allow Sandeep to straddle these various roles with acumen and ease.
When you live in a large multi-racial, multi-ethnic and religious city, how much should you become like them, and how much of 'yourself' should you hold on to? This premise of 'The Disguise' is what attracted me - the subtle war between the 'native' and 'migrant'. Rabia wants to stay close to her conservative Lebanese roots. But at a bus stop in London, something shocking happens that makes her question that. A local Londoner, Lena, present at the bus stop, helps her, and their stories intersect. But Lena only appears to be a 'native'. She has Slovakian Muslim roots. What happens with both , how their stories intersect, is what this film is about.
Set at an ambling pace, and yet dramatic, capturing the inner streets of London, The Disguise is a personal intimate story that raises questions which have no definitive answers.