Donkeyhead, the award-winning film produced by ABP Studios with Deepa Mehta as the executive producer, will be screened in Kolkata for the first time on Monday. KarmaFilm is the principal producer of the film.
The directorial debut of actress Agam Darshi will inaugurate the competitive section of the World Film Festival organised by the Federation of Film Societies of India at Nandan. The screening is scheduled at Nandan 3 at 12.30pm on September 16.
Donkeyhead, also written by Darshi and featuring her in the role of a Sikh woman in her 30s — Mona — who returns to her family home in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada, hoping to sort out her life. Her father Gurinder’s (Marvin Ishmael) cancer diagnosis prolongs her stay. Huse Madhavj of Schitt’s Creek fame, Sandy Sidhu from Nurses and Stephen Lobo from Arctic Air play Mona’s siblings. Kim Coates, from Sons of Anarchy, plays Mona’s love interest.
Donkeyhead had its world premiere at the Mosaic International South Asian Film Festival at TIFF Bell Lightbox in Toronto, where it received four awards including Best Fiction Feature and Best Canadian Feature.
Agam Darshi in ‘Donkeyhead’
“Donkeyhead is a personal story. I lived with my father during his year-long battle with cancer. I watched in awe as my mother cared tirelessly for him, putting her own life on hold to feed, wash, and soothe him day after day. That experience became a major anchor point while writing my script. We are all getting older, and in today’s world where we have been touched by our own mortality in such a visceral way for the past two years, Donkeyhead feels timely. The caring of our elderly and the analysis of our traumas is at the centre of this story,” said Darshi.
Deepa Mehta, after watching a screening of the film, had said: “I watched your (Darshi’s) film last night and loved it! I laughed out loud many times, got teary once and grinned hugely at the end. The cinematography is superb. The performances were fab. I really think you have a gem. Bravo for a wonderful directing job and a SUPERB performance.”
A still from ‘Donkeyhead’
“ABP Studios is proud to be a co-producer of Donkeyhead, actor-writer-director Agam Darshi’s heart-rending coming-of-age story that authentically captures the relationship dynamics within a typical South Asian immigrant family. With a story drawn from personal experiences and backed by sensitive performances, we believe that Donkeyhead will appeal to all film lovers,” said Sameer Rao, CEO of ABP Studios, which is a part of the ABP Group.
Pinaki Chatterjee, who is from Kolkata and is the associate producer from the Indian side of the film, said the project was shot in 2021 and 2022, as the world was grappling with Covid. “Donkeyhead touches upon a pertinent topic in Canada like Bipoc and also strikes a familial chord with not just second- or third-generation Canadian Punjabi Sikh families, but the larger South Asian diaspora worldwide. It’s a slow-burn atmospheric dramedy that can vibe with people across the world at an interpersonal level, whoever has been a late social bloomer in their families or a beautiful loser — to borrow from the name of the last novel of Canadian poet & singer Leonard Cohen,” said Chatterjee. Bipoc stands for Black, Indigenous and People of Colour, and the solidarity between the communities of colour.
The distribution of the film is a work in progress in India currently. Donkeyhead has received international recognition at the Leo Awards and CMPA Indiescreen Awards in 2022, Durban International Film Festival and Madrid International Film Festival, among others.
The World Film Festival is on at Nandan from September 15 to 21.
