BFI Distribution releases a teaser online today for the forthcoming British film AFTER LOVE, the debut feature by writer and director Aleem Khan. This immensely moving drama features a compelling lead performance by British film, TV and stage actor Joanna Scanlan (Getting On, No Offence, Notes on a Scandal, Pin Cushion), alongside French actor Nathalie Richard (Never Let Me Go, Hidden, Jeune et Jolie) and newcomer Talid Ariss in his first major English language role. The film will be released in cinemas in the UK and Ireland on 7 May 2021.
In AFTER LOVE, Mary Hussain (Joanna Scanlan), who converted to Islam when she married and is now in her early 60s, lives quietly with her husband Ahmed. Following his unexpected death, she suddenly finds herself a widow. A day after the burial, she discovers that Ahmed had a secret life just twenty-one miles away from their Dover home, across the Channel in Calais. The shocking discovery compels her to go there to find out more, and as she grapples with her shattered sense of identity, her search for understanding has surprising consequences.
AFTER LOVE had its world premiere screening to much acclaim at the 2020 BFI London Film Festival. Aleem Khan was shortlisted for the IWC Schaffhausen Filmmaker Bursary Award in association with the BFI which was presented during the festival. The film was awarded the Cannes 2020 Critics’ Week label, followed by selection for Telluride 2020, TIFF Industry Selects and Rome Film Festival Official Selection.
AFTER LOVE is a production from The Bureau, written and directed by Aleem Khan and produced by Matthieu de Braconier. The film was developed by the BFI, BBC Film and initially by Creative England through BFI NETWORK and was further supported by the Sundance Institute Feature Film Program. It was supported through production by BBC Film and the BFI, using funds from the National Lottery.
