After MAMI, Yoodlee Films’ Axone is selected for the BFI London Film Festival

Nicholas Kharkongor's Axone, produced by Yoodlee Films, is heading to the BFI London Film Festival. Earlier this week, it was named as one of the selections for the India Story section at the upcoming Mumbai Film Festival.

The bittersweet comedy will have its world premiere on 2 October and its Indian premiere later that month in Mumbai. Starring Sayani Gupta, Lin Laishram, Vinay Pathak, Dolly Ahluwalia and Tenzin Dalha, the film follows a group of friends from the Northeast who are preparing a traditional dish called Axone (pronounced Akhuni) for the wedding of another friend. However, their noble plans go astray as they run into all kinds of problems while trying to cook the pungent dish.

In a press release, Nicholas Kharkongor said the film was a personal story for him. "I have lived outside the Northeast for over 20 years. For a long time, I have wanted to make a film about the Northeastern experience of living in the city: about a tiny community of (mostly) young people who, in the way that they look, eat, dress and speak are set apart from the rest.

"But I didn’t want to make a bleak film. Because the truth is also that we find a lot of acceptance and love in the city; and for many of us, the city is home. So the result is this funny and bittersweet film that gives you a peek into the lives of an oft-maligned community living on the fringes of society, celebrating their difference," he continued.

"Axone tackles the tough issue of racism in a humorous way and perfectly encapsulates the philosophy of film at Yoodlee," said producer Siddharth Anand Kumar of Yoodlee Films. "Nicholas has done a great job handling this double-edged sword and made a film that could become a future classic. We are thrilled that the film has been selected in two of the most prestigious film festivals out there."

Axone is also the third film in three consecutive years from the Yoodlee stable to be selected in MAMI, the previous two being Ajji (2017) and Hamid (2018).

Besides Axone, the Indian films The Gold-Laden Sheep And The Sacred Mountain, Bombay Rose, The Sky Is Pink will also been screened in London. The BFI London Film Festival will be held from 2 to 13 October while the Mumbai Film Festival will be held from 17 to 24 October.