After EightThe Story of Satpal Ram

Winner
The Whickers Best Short Film

Winner
Audience Award, Berlin British Shorts

Despite Britain’s curry houses serving the nation’s favourite cuisine, they have often served as backdrops for racism and violence.

In 1986 Satpal Ram was assaulted in a racially motivated attack at an Indian restaurant. Stabbed in the face with a glass bottle, he defended himself, sparking a chain of events that would shape his life. After Eight delves into the injustices of his trial, exposing the biases and systemic shortcomings that led to a murder conviction despite clear evidence of self-defence.

Through interviews, archival footage and personal accounts, the documentary chronicles a decades-long global campaign for Satpal Ram’s freedom.

After Eight is a BFI Doc Society and The Guardian supported film.

Watch the teaser

Directors: Mos Hannan & Usayd Younis
Editor: Mos Hannan
Executive producers: Hannah Bush Bailey, Ekaterina Ochagavia
Production: Black & Brown Films
Running time: 30 minutes

Supported byBFI Doc SocietyThe Guardian

“It is a brilliantly told and compelling story about a miscarriage of justice that festered under our noses for 24 years, held together by the quiet dignity and luminous spirit of Satpal Ram.”
Folkestone Doc Fest Jury

“Satpal’s quiet dignity on screen, despite decades of institutional racism, was compelling. This deeply thought provoking film is an iconic testament to survival and a very worthy winner of our inaugural Short Doc Award.”
Jane Ray, Artistic Director, The Whicker TV and Film Awards

“A vital watch about the fortitude to withstand seemingly insurmountable challenges in the quest for justice.”
Darren Lawford, EP and CEO, DARE Pictures

Awards

WinnerThe Whickers Best Short Film — Folkestone Doc Fest
WinnerAudience Award — Berlin British Shorts
NominatedBest Short Film — Bristol Doc Fest
Special mentionJury — Bristol Doc Fest

Official selection

Folkestone Doc Fest
Flatpack Film Festival
London Indian Film Festival
International South Asian Film Festival
Birmingham Indian Film Festival
Bristol Doc Fest
Berlin British Shorts

Cinema screenings

Bertha DocHouse, LondonBFI Doc Society
Rich Mix, LondonCounterpoints Arts
Rio Cinema, LondonDoc’N Roll Films, with a Q&A with Nikesh Shukla and Aki Nawaz
BLOC Cinema Arts, LondonSouth Asian Heritage Month
Phoenix Cinema, LeicesterStephen Lawrence Research Centre
Midlands Arts Centre, BirminghamUnite The People
Filmhouse, EdinburghDoc Screen & Scottish Documentary Institute
Theatre X, BerlinThe Left Berlin
Sputnik Kino, BerlinUnframe Festival
Neutral Cinema, KarachiChalti Tasveerain

Press

Newspaper clipping: a letter from Satpal Ram, aged 13, to the Birmingham Evening Mail — Satpal Ram, aged thirteen, in the Birmingham Evening Mail, 1976.