BFI London Film Festival: Daughter (aka Dukhtar)

Amidst the grand, gorgeously photographed vistas of Pakistan’s northern mountains, two wizened warlords, Daulat Khan and Tor Gul, meet to agree a truce. The only way the conflict between the clans can be settled is if aged Tor Gul is married to his rival’s bloodline, Daulat Khan’s 12-yearold daughter Zainab. The marriage is agreed but Allah Rakhi (Samiya Mumtaz), realising that her daughter is about to fall victim to the same fate she experienced as a girl, makes a dangerous decision. She runs away with Zainab on the wedding day. Both warlords are now disgraced and send a swarm of killers down the mountain after the escaping pair.

Pakistani writer-director Afia Nathaniel’s debut feature is a gripping road movie thriller that explores the disturbing plight of child brides and tells of one courageous mother who takes a stand. Within the plot’s subtext Nathaniel subtly unveils the connected struggles of generations of women shouldering adversity. [Cary Rajinder Sawhney]

Tickets for London Film Festival screenings can be purchased through the BFI and BFI Box Office 020 7928 3232 (9.30am-8.30pm daily) or the London Film Festival website: bfi.org.uk/lff