AFTER LOVE, the BAFTA-winning feature debut by Aleem Khan, is releasing in select theaters across North America on January 20th, 2023, courtesy of Vertigo Releasing.

Starring Joanna Scanlan (The Thick of It), Nathalie Richard and Tali Ariss, AFTER LOVE tells the story of a widow that discovers her husband’s secret family after his unexpected death.

Mary (Joanna Scanlan) is a white English woman who converted to islam when she married her Pakistani husband, Ahmed, and they settled in Dover, England. Following Ahmed’s unexpected death, Mary discovers that her late husband had a secret life just twenty-one miles away across the Channel in Calais, France. The shocking discovery compels her to go there to find out more, and as she grapples with her shattered sense of identity, her search for understanding has surprising consequences.

Director Aleem Khan’s feature debut offers a powerful exploration of identity and womanhood. He says, “My need to tell this story was initially born out of a desire to express something about my own experience of existing between two worlds and in two skins. Being mixed English-Pakistani meant I grew up within two cultures, and being Muslim and gay caused me to lead two very separate personal lives for a long time. These dichotomies in my youth were difficult to reconcile with and the feeling that I never fully belonged anywhere operated at quite a cellular level within me.”

AFTER LOVE is The Bureau Films production produced by Matthieu Braconier, with cinematography by Alexander Dynan and original music by Chris Roe.

AFTER LOVE by Aleem Khan / Set in the port town of Dover, Mary Hussain suddenly finds herself a widow following the unexpected death of her husband. A day after the burial, she discovers he has a secret just twenty-one miles across the English Channel in Calais. / courtesy of Vertigo Releasing

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About VERTIGO RELEASING

Vertigo Releasing is committed to discovering and championing the most important part of film: the talent. Our releases have grossed over $100 million at the box office. We have won multiple awards for our innovative campaigns for quality independent films such as Sound of Metal (2 x BAFTA and Academy Award® winner), Black Bear, The Assistant, The Miseducation of Cameron Post, Child’s Play, Death Wish, Mrs Lowry & Son, Hunt for the Wilderpeople, Springbreakers, Horrid Henry, Streetdance, Bronson, Top Cat the Movie, The Time of Their Lives, Monsters, Riders of Justice, and Joyride starring Olivia Colman.

Upcoming titles include the slick thriller The Enforcer starring Antonio Banderas and Kate Bosworth, and Carlota Pereda’s Piggy, an impressive adaptation of her award-winning short horror film starring Laura Galán, Richard Holmes, Carmen Machi, Irene Ferreiro, and Camille Aguilar.

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