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You see it often. The “successful” children leave to start families of their own and the so-called “donkeys” (or khotas in the case of this Punjabi household) are left caring for the parents that were hard enough on them to make the level of compassion necessary to do so tough to understand. Mona (Agam Darshi) was the black sheep in many ways growing up. She was the artistic type. The rebel. The “lesser” twin. Growing up in a Sikh home with a demanding father (Marvin Ishmael) and more pliable and obedient siblings meant discipline, screaming, and beatings. So why did she stay? Why nurse him through seven years of cancer? Love is complicated.

So too is Darshi’s directorial debut Donkeyhead. Her Mona is a failed writer (the details of which come out during the course of the film) living at home with her ailing father, desperate to finally win his affection.

Ava DuVernay’s Array Releasing has acquired award-winning feature films “Definition Please” and “Donkeyhead” and will debut them on Netflix.

Array has acquired distribution rights to both films in the U.S., U.K., Australia and New Zealand, with the additional territory of Canada for “Definition Please,” and will debut them on Jan. 21 on Netflix.

Both films are by South Asian origin female actor-filmmakers making their feature directorial debuts and who also star in them. “Definition Please” is by Sujata Day, whose acting credits include HBO’s “Insecure” and she directed and starred in short “Cowboy and Indian,” which is now being developed as a series.

The film follows Monica (Day), a former Scribbs Spelling Bee champion in the U.S. who must reconcile with her estranged brother when he returns home to help care for their sick mother. The film also features Ritesh Rajan (“Russian Doll”), Anna Khaja (“The Walking Dead: World Beyond...

Exclusive: Array Releasing has acquired two new feature films from emerging South Asian female directors: Agam Darshi’s Donkeyhead, and Sujata Day’s Definition Please. The company has acquired distribution rights to both films in the U.S., UK, Australia and New Zealand, with the additional territory of Canada for Definition Please. Both films will debut January 21 on Netflix.

“Array Releasing is proud to distribute the work of Sujata Day and Agam Darshi, two promising South Asian women filmmakers who both wrote, directed and star in their directorial debuts,” Array president Tilane Jones said. “Definition Please and Donkeyhead beautifully showcase the dynamic talent of their creators while sharing the oftentimes humorous dynamics of tradition and culture that film lovers of all kinds can relate to, appreciate and celebrate.”

Definition Please follows Monica (Day), a former Scripps spelling bee champion who must reconcile with her estranged brother when he returns home...

Exclusive: Agam Darshi, who was most recently seen in Deepa Mehta’s coming-of-age film Funny Boy and can be seen in Ava DuVernay’s forthcoming HBO Max series Dmz, is set to make her directorial debut with the family dramedy Donkeyhead. Principal photography started in Regina, Saskatchewan on January 18. It is slated for release later this year.

Directed, written by and starring Darshi, DonkeyHead follows Mona (Darshi), a thirty-something woman who returns to her traditional Sikh family home in order to sort things out in her messy life. However, what starts as something temporary turns into seven years after her father is diagnosed with cancer. When his health suddenly takes a turn for the worst her three successful siblings played by Stephen Lobo (Travelers), Sandy Sidhu (Nurses) and Huse Madhavj (Schitt’s Creek) come home, determined to take care of the situation. Through quirky family dynamics, things quickly unravel as...

Piers Handling, CEO and Director of the Toronto International Film Festival, and Cameron Bailey, Artistic Director of the Toronto International Film Festival, announced the first round of titles premiering in the Galas and Special Presentations programmes of the 40th Toronto International Film Festival. There are some wonderful film-watching opportunities for fans of South Asian film, as a slate of films either produced in, set in, or with a connection to South Asia are included in the announcement. The following is taken from the Tiff press release, with some additional notes.

Galas:

Beeba Boys – Deepa Mehta, Canada – World Premiere

An adrenaline-charged violent Indo-Canadian gang war mixes guns, bhangra beats, bespoke suits, cocaine, and betrayal. Gang boss Jeet Johar and his loyal, young crew are audaciously taking over the Vancouver drug and arms scene from an old-style crime syndicate. Hearts are broken and family bonds shattered when the Beeba Boys (known as...