Adil is the sole carer to his elderly mother, Aliya, who has dementia. Sacrificing his own needs he looks after her with little respite. His sister, Faima, helps when she can, but is restricted by distance and marital duties. As his mother’s condition worsens, watching her wither away takes its toll. He reaches out to his brother, Hakaam, for support, but their abrasive relationship adds to his turmoil. He declines deeper into depression and despair, desperate to be heard, to be acknowledged. To exist.

| ABOUT THE PRODUCTION

In 2024, Kal Sabir was awarded a short film commission by the National Theatre of Scotland (NTS) to write and direct Kinaara (Edge). After a number of months of development, it was filmed on locations in Scotland over three days in September of the same year.

The film is a culmination of research by Kal as part of his Discover Artist Residency with NTS in 2022. His chosen topic was the pandemic’s impact on care in the community, and involved interviews with carers looking after a family member with dementia. There was also a workshop element in which three local actors and a facilitator were employed to discuss and improvise potential scenes.

The ultimate goal of the research was to create a play or short film exploring dementia with a focus on the South Asian community. In autumn 2023, Kal began outlining a short screenplay about a carer looking after his elderly mother.

There are a number of film and television dramas which explore the experience of someone with dementia, such as The Father, Elizabeth is Missing, and Knox Goes Away. But, there are few that share a snapshot of what life is like for those who give up their lives to look after a loved one.