Suman Hanif's Tell Me About It screened to packed audience

A preview screening of Tell Me About It – the first feature film by director Suman Hanif, of Pageful Productions – was followed by a Q&A with director and cast at Pictureville Cinema.

Hanif – born in Pakistan, and now living between Bradford and Leeds – first had the idea for the film while walking through The Broadway shopping centre seven years ago.

Aerial shots of Bradford city centre are featured throughout, with one even showing the museum – the very building the film was being screened in.

Suman Hanif (Image: Suman Hanif)

“I’m proud and privileged to have done this in Bradford, a city so rich in culture,” said Hanif.

The local lingo and northern accents in Tell Me About It are refreshing, while South Asian words regularly used here – such as “nakhre”, “kasme” and “lala” – are heard often.

Subtitles allowed the many non-Desi people at the screening to understand just as much as everyone else.

The cast before the screening (Image: Pageful Productions)

“I want to tell South Asian stories, but also others – I want to investigate human experiences, and see the world through others’ eyes,” said Hanif, who did interviews with South Asian girls in Bradford as part of her research for the film, and added that she knows someone similar to each character in real life.

“I can’t take responsibility for representing the South Asian community as a whole, this is just one family, but they resonate with many.”

Hanif, Larker and Shan are joined by Bradford City of Culture's Shanaz Gulzar in conversation with Kirran Shah after the screening last night (Image: Telegraph & Argus)

Tell Me About It follows Amara (Ariya Larker) and Halima (Nimrah S. Zaman), two British Pakistani girls who plan a secret trip away from their strict parents, but end up in hot water.

Amara is kidnapped by a troubled drug dealer (Asad Shan) in a case of mistaken identity, all while the relationship between her parents – Naila (Zerqa Ahmad) and Hassan (Riaz Syed) – reaches breaking point amid mental health battles and unhealed wounds.

It is when Amara is in flight or fight mode that Larker really shines – her tears, sighs and thousand-yard stares bring Amara’s pain to life.

Her performance is perhaps made more impressive by the fact that this is the Birmingham-based actor’s first feature film after switching from teaching to acting.

Ariya Larker as Amara (Image: Pageful Productions)

“There were challenges,” she explained.

“I wanted to represent Bradford, do the accent justice and I was playing a character younger than me.

“But I’m grateful for the opportunity, it’s helped me grow. Amara resonates a lot with me, and many other South Asian women understand the struggles of trying to balance making your family proud with pursuing your own dreams.”

Gender roles are something the film doesn’t shy from. 

“Just imagine if I did what you do, if I stayed out all night," Amara puts to older brother, Danny (Ahmed Sher Zaman), a university drop-out who wants a better future for himself, but isn’t quite there yet.

There was a large audience at the screening (Image: Pageful Productions)

When asked about whether she thought the film conformed to stereotypes – with repressed South Asian girls, and drug-dealing South Asian boys – Hanif said the script was shaped by the girls she interviewed, and that Tell Me About It is not about being “empowering”, but about "accepting flaws and starting conversations”.

“You have to accept your traumas. If Amara wasn’t kidnapped, would she be able to deal with hers? Sometimes, things come as blessings,” she added.

“The characters aren’t perfect. Once they learn self-acceptance, life becomes easier.”

A viewer (far left) poses for a picture with (L-R): Suman Hanif, Will Cook (who plays villain Jamie) and Asad Shan after the screening (Image: Telegraph & Argus)

Identity is a big theme. When the kidnapper says “home never felt like home” – even though it is in the context of his family situation – it could be interpreted as a subtle nod to the conflict faced by those who may feel too British for the Pakistanis, and too Pakistani for the British.

Shan is from London, and his friendly face comes across very different to his ruthless, gun-wielding character.

“Two days before the fight scene, I got bruised – I was thinking this wasn’t what I signed up for, people in Bradford are built differently!”, he told the audience.

Will and Asad light-heartedly re-enact one of the film's more violent scenes, after the screening (Image: Telegraph & Argus)

And share a laugh about it afterwards (Image: Telegraph & Argus)

“I’d only ever seen Bradford in East is East. I’ve always wanted to come. I’ve heard amazing things. I was glad to be here and be part of an amazing team.

“We’re far from home, but we’ve made it home.”

Pageful has announced Tell Me About It's first official selection at the Idyllwild International Festival of Cinema in the US, in the best International Film category, held in March.

There will be a digital release after the festival circuit (end of 2023) so there are plans to make the film available on demand.