Veteran of several short and documentary subjects, Anshul Tiwarinarrative function of “Before life after deathhas its world premiere in the Panorama section of the Singapore International Film Festival.

In the film, a rebellious college student and a reluctant middle-aged gynecologist, both of Indian descent, forge an unlikely bond as they each deal with a heartbreaking incident.

“Being a documentary filmmaker in the region has given me unique insight and access to civil society in Singapore. The writer, Debasmita Dasgupta, has created a narrative around the disparity between working-class and upper-class Singaporeans of Indian descent. She and I talked a lot about sisterhood and how sometimes a woman’s best friend is another woman despite [her] to be a foreigner,” Tiwari said Variety. “People often talk about the fault lines where Singapore’s diversity has well-defined boundaries despite sharing the same space. But we saw another side of Singapore where the cross-cultural mix is ​​so natural it’s not even a talking point. We have portrayed a Singapore where the Indian community is not seen as an outsider but rather rooted in this land and working with the complexity of Singapore’s social norms.

The film is produced by FilmsPositive of Tiwari and Namita Lalby NutzAboutMe. “Film funding is always a challenge and this was especially the case in the time of COVID. But we were lucky that the writer, director and I could work as a close team, as we were all in Singapore, and put together a tight but achievable plan and budget. We were helped by a few nice investors who joined us in supporting my first NutzAboutMe production in Singapore,” Lal said. Variety.

Lal also plays a key role in the film and is no stranger to starring and producing simultaneously. His double credits include “Lihaaf: The Quilt” and “Oxygen”.

“For me, being a producer has really helped me as an actor and vice versa. Being involved in the film from the pre-development phase and throughout the script, filming, publishing, marketing and sales has given me a deep sense of the different aspects of making a film, the challenges faced by the director and the crew. Those insights and early involvement in the story help me a lot in my performance,” Lal said.

The film’s cast also includes Gauraangi Chopra and Adrian Pang.

The next step for Lal is to write and develop a feature film about the lives of three women who travel from Singapore to India with life-changing results. Tiwari is part of the new cohort of the British Independent Film Awards Springboard program working with a global mentor to set up her next feature film which will be shot in India and star Kirti Kulhari. Dasgupta and Tiwari are also teaming up via FilmsPositive for an experimental psycho-fiction that will reinvent a play by Jean-Paul Sartre. Principal photography will likely begin in 2023.

“Before Life After Death” premieres on November 26.