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SANTOSH
Director: Sandhya Suri
When Santosh’s husband, a policeman in a rural district in North India, is killed in a riot, the widow can only keep their home if she takes his job. Eager to succeed, she shows more determination than is usual among the misogynist male police when a low-caste girl is reported missing and then turns up dead. A charismatic senior woman officer, Inspector Sharma, is duly drafted in to head the murder investigation, becoming Santosh’s mentor. Success for women, however, generally means showing they can bend the rules as flagrantly as the men, where survival always comes at huge personal cost. A fascinating police procedural, focusing on the relationships within the force rather than crimes or culprits, the film is an investigation into deep-rooted systemic corruption.

A SUDDEN CASE OF CHRISTMAS
Director: Peter Chelsom
Ten-year-old Claire loves her family’s annual trip from the US to Italy, where they always spend a snowy Christmas at her beloved grandfather’s hotel in the Dolomite mountains. This year, however, they go in the height of summer; her parents are splitting up and want Lawrence (played by the inimitable Danny de Vito) to explain the situation to her. Claire’s immediate response is to insist that they must have Christmas right away, with all the celebration’s trimmings, even flying in her other set of grandparents for the occasion. She is pinning her hopes on the tradition’s charms to persuade her parents to stay together – a plan that backfires when her grandparents’ marriage also starts to wobble. A charming and entertaining film for all the family to enjoy.

SUPERBOYS OF MALEGAON
Director: Reema Kagti
This entertaining romp is based on the life of Nasir Shaikh, an amateur film-maker from the poor Indian town of Malegaon who was inspired by his love of silent slapstick to make a film of his own, featuring local characters and put together by a crew of friends. As the locals favoured Bollywood escapism, he adapted some of their favourites with the tales transported to Malegaon. People loved it, but their success threatened to split the group, one of whom turned out to have bigger ambitions: a few hurdles had to be jumped before everyone realised what really mattered to them. It is a poignant and at times funny take on film-making, friendship and what happens when those worlds collide.