Bangla

This playful and charming film has been called the Italian version of box office hit The Big Sick, as a multicultural rom-com.

Phaim is a 22-year-old Muslim who has grown up in Rome’s diverse Torpignattara neighbourhood, his parents being from Bangladesh. At a gig he meets Asia, a girl who lives purely by instinct and hates rules. The two immediately hit it off, and fall hard for one and other. The challenges line up for Phaim as his parents are of the opinion he should marry a nice Bangladeshi girl – and his religion tells him that sexual relations outside of marriage is a sin. Bangla describes, with warmth and humour, the clash of cultures that so many children of immigrants live through.

The film is based on director Phaim Bhuiyan’s personal experiences from growing up in a Bangladeshi family in Italy, and the film’s character Phaim is a fictionalised version of himself. Even though Bangla deals with many important and current topics, it’s a real feelgood comedy at the same time!