Film alumnus Aleem Khan’s new film After Love dominates British Independent Film Awards

The film won six awards at the British Independent Film Awards, including Best Film, Best Script, Best Director and Best Actress. After Love, which was supported by BBC Films and the BFI, also received selections at Cannes Critics’ Week, Telluride, TIFF and the London Film Festival.

In the movie, Joanne Scanlan stars as Mary Hussein, a British woman who converted to Islam when she married, and the film is a subtle drama that reveals a shocking secret. Set in the port town of Dover, Mary suddenly finds herself a widow following the unexpected death of her husband. One day after the burial, she discovers that her husband has a secret just 21 miles across the English Channel in Calais.

Aleem wrote and directed the film and based the character of Mary on his mother, although the story is fictional, and draws on Aleem’s experiences of loss and identity confusion. After Love was funded by BBC Films and the BFI, and was developed with the Sundance Directors’ Lab. 

Aleem has directed several short films, including Three Brothers (2014) and Diana (2009). Three Brothers toured the international festival circuit, and received a BAFTA nomination in 2015 for Best British Short Film. He was also named one of Screen International’s Stars of Tomorrow in 2015. 

Talking about the awards, Aleem said: “I am delighted and still in shock to be honest! It was certainly a night I'll never forget.”

Peter Hort, who was course leader for Film from 2006 to 2019, commented: “Aleem stood out for me when he was a student because of his focus on working with actors and interpreting texts, and he spent much of his spare time directing theatre productions within the University. ‘After Love’ built my engagement with the characters so subtly and gradually that I was taken by surprise by how emotional I felt at the end.”

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