Adeel Akhtar – ALLIANCE OF WOMEN FILM JOURNALISTS

MOVIE OF THE WEEK July 29, 2022: ALI & AVA

July 23, 2022July 28, 2022 Jennifer Merin Adeel Akhtar, Ali & Ava, betsy bozdech, Cate Marquis, Claire Rushbrook, clio Barnard, jennifer merin, leslie combemale, loren king, Marilyn Ferdinand., motw, Movie of the Week, nell minow, Pam Grady, sandie angulo chen, susan wloszczyna

Two lonely, good-hearted people yearning for companionship and affection find each other in writer/director Clio Barnard’s sweet, understated, music-infused romantic drama Ali & Ava. As their relationship progresses from acquaintanceship to friendship to love, Ali (Adeel Akhtar) and Ava (Claire Rushbrook) must acknowledge and move past their personal history and circumstances that make them hesitant to believe in and embrace the happiness they’ve discovered in being together.

Reviews

ALI & AVA – Review by Susan Wloszczyna

July 18, 2022August 4, 2022 Susan Wloszczyna Adeel Akhtar, Ali & Ava, Claire Rushbrook, clio Barnard, motw

Ali & Ava is the latest film by British filmmaker Clio Barnard, one that resonates with a sweet dose of social realism set in the ethnically diverse working-class neighborhood of Bradford, England. It is also a rare middle-age romance that stars Claire Rushbrook as a widowed kindergarten teacher’s assistant who eventually romantically clicks with Adeel Akhtar’s Ali, a British Pakistani man.

Festivals Reviews

ALI & AVA (TIFF2021) – Review by Alexandra Heller-Nicholas

September 16, 2021September 18, 2021 Alexandra Heller-Nicholas Adeel Akhtar, Ali & Ava, Claire Rushbrook, clio Barnard, Ole Bratt Birkeland, TIFF, toronto international film festival

A strong screenplay, strong direction, and – of course – two strong performances from Adeel Akhtar and Claire Rushbrook make Clio Barnard’s Ali & Ava something genuinely precious and electrifying, all while remaining focused on the low-key minutia of the everyday lives of its two central characters. Only going from strength to strength, Ali & Ava is another extraordinary achievement in Barnard’s unrelentingly impressive filmography.