HOME presents: Not Just Bollywood – A celebration of contemporary Indian culture

The folks over at HOME have just announced the programme for Not Just Bollywood 2019, their third annual festival of Indian filmmaking and culture. Beginning in September, the three-week long event is linked to the venue’s ‘Celebrating Women in Global Cinema’ season, and will exclusively present films by female directors. Standouts include Deepa Mehta’s ‘Elements’ trilogy, which explores, in turn, the complex socio-political issues of homosexuality, Partition, and religion. Initially banned in India, ‘Lipstick Under My Burkha’ centres on four small-town women and their resistance to patriarchal oppression. ‘A Death in the Gunj’ is a critically acclaimed period piece featuring an ensemble cast of some of the country’s most well-respected actors, including Om Puri. The festival will also feature talks, including one from Warwick University’s Dr Saba Hussain about the impact of the #MeToo movement in India and its links to the growing power of female audiences at the box office. It’s not all so serious – event partner Dishoom café will present a cookery workshop as part of the season’s special events programme.