Institute History
Description
A London schoolgirl and tireless martial-artist-in-training, Ria Khan is determined to become a world-renowned stunt woman. She’s crushed when her big sister, Lena, drops out of art school, starts dating Salim — the charming, wealthy son of the prominent Shah family — and announces, after barely a month, that they plan to marry and move to Singapore! How could Lena abandon her artistic dreams to become some trophy wife? But Ria soon realizes that something isn’t right, leaving her no choice but to enlist her friends in a daring mission to kidnap Lena from her own wedding.
The wickedly funny, cinematically exuberant debut feature of Nida Manzoor (creator of We Are Lady Parts), Polite Society is an Austenesque tale of two sisters (one in wedding shackles) by way of a loving, anarchic mashup of genres (action comedy, heist, martial arts, Bollywood, social horror). Moreover, it’s an ingenious refashioning of British diasporic storytelling. Newcomer and force of nature Priya Kansara leads an amazing cast, including Ritu Arya as Lena and Nimra Bucha as the nefarious Shah matriarch.
This film offers Audio Description. For in-person screenings, please submit an accommodation request to arrange for an audio description device at your screening time/location. This assists our Accessibility team with ensuring enough devices are available.