A director and writer says she wanted to help shed the familiar stereotypes about British-Asians in the new independent movie.

'Tell Me About It' tells the story of two British Pakistani teenagers, Amara and Halima who plot a fun adventure from Bradford to London, but their circumstances take a dire turn.

Amara is kidnapped in a case of mistaken identity with Halima; the daughter of an acclaimed politician who has plans to tackle drug crime in the city. 

The film was created by producer and writer Suman Hanif and stars Asad Shan, Ariya Larker and BBC Radio Leeds presenter Ahmed Sher Zaman. The majority of the cast and crew were across the North of England, including Leeds, Birmingham and Bradford.

Asian Image:

Suman Hanif is a multi award winning writer producer and founder of Pageful Productions, which is a female lead Production company, proudly founded and producing content in the North of England.

Suman said: “The story follows a ‘brown girl’ who gets kidnapped in a mistaken identity of another ‘brown girl’ who is the daughter of an MP whose plans of tackling drug crime didn’t go well with the top goon in town. 

"In a time of heightened discrimination, and systematic and political exclusion of people without a ‘mainstream’ profile, it is pivotal to tell stories like this. 

"There is nothing worst then feeling invisible and Tell Me About It is a film for the invisible audience, anyone experiencing an identity crisis or who would ‘prefer not to say’ when asked about themselves. We have talked about collective diversity, what we really need right now is a conversation about embracing the diversity of individuals."

Suman added:  "In this film we see a Muslim family and community, who are often misrepresented and seen as extreme characters. 

"Their religion is usually what defines them. But we of course know that people are not one dimensional. We all have a lot more to our identity than our faith.

"Tell Me About It looks to humanise the British Muslim community, we want viewers to connect with the characters and to understand on a deeper level the important things they have to say.

"It's been so long since our screens were graced with something like East is East and Bend it like Beckham that was appreciated by audiences for finding humour and hope within the serious social issues explored such of the theme’s race, immigration, and identity. 

"Likewise, with the love and support, TMAI has potential to reach its audiences and contribute greatly to the British Asian genre and admired for its interesting spin on prevalent social issues.”