A Loving Act

Running Time: 17 minutes
Format: 35mm
Year of Production: 2001
Director: Vipon Kumar Sharma
Nationality of the Director: British
Distribution Company: Guerilla Films Limited

Cast

Alex King	Nisha K. Nayar
Robert Ashby	Deborah Findlay
Eve Pearce	David Wilkinson

and

Charlotte Coleman

About A Loving Act

Filmed entirely on location in Southall, West London, and sponsored by the Southall Regeneration Partnership Limited, the London Development Agency (SRB) and the National Lottery, A Loving Act is the first production by Trigun Pictures Limited.

A Loving Act is written and directed by Vipon Kumar Sharma. It is a topical film, which provokes thought and adds to the current debate about assisted suicide and euthanasia.

Synopsis

Chris (Alex King) is driving his car along a country lane. His girlfriend Rani (Nisha K. Nayar) is sitting in the passenger seat. They are laughing and joking. A car suddenly comes towards them from the opposite direction. There is a horrific crash. Rani is seriously hurt and Chris suffers cuts and bruises.

Later the Police Detectives (Charlotte Coleman and David Wilkinson) accuse Chris of murdering Rani. Chris insists it was A Loving Act.

The Doctor (Deborah Findlay) gives Rani's Father (Robert Ashby) the devastating news that Rani will be paralysed for the rest of her life. Rani's Father tells Chris he cannot bear to see his daughter in a helpless condition. He asks Chris to help him end Rani's distress.

Chris remembers an occasion when he accompanied Rani, (who is a social worker), on one of her visits to an elderly woman, Molly, (Eve Pearce) who is living in a care home. Molly is suffering from mental illness. Her condition has deteriorated rapidly. This affects Rani. She reveals to Chris that she would rather die than end up like Molly. Chris remembers the promise he made to Rani that if she could no longer look after herself, he would help her to die. When he is alone with Rani in the hospital room , Chris switches off her life support machine.

In his interview with the Police Detectives, Chris reveals an enormous problem of ambivalence about Rani's death. He is actually troubled by a guilty conscience about it, but also believes he did the right thing.

Main Cast

Charlotte Coleman: Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit, Four Weddings And A Funeral, Beautiful People.
Nisha K. Nayar: The Buddha Of Suburbia, The Sixth Happiness, The Darkest Light.
Alex King: Small Time Obsession, Dead Room.
Robert Ashby: Vol-Au-Vent, Jinnah.
Deborah Findlay: End Of The Affair, Me Without You.
Eve Pearce: Topsy-Turvy.
David Wilkinson: Birth Of The Beatles.

A Loving Act is a drama, which examines the nature of love and the controversial subject of euthanasia. The film was produced in Southall and during production, practical training was given to many young people from the culturally and ethnically diverse community of the area. The project has helped to promote educational filmmaking programmes in Southall.

The film attracted a very experienced cast and crew.

Sadly A Loving Act was Charlotte Coleman's last film. She died of a severe asthma attack on 14 November 2001, a few weeks after the film was completed.

A Loving Act is the fourth film that Vipon Kumar Sharma has directed. The other films are The Kite, A State of Siege, and After the Coronation (with Art Malik and Christopher Timothy). During the past ten years Vipon has worked mainly as a producer of programmes for many cable and satellite television companies. He was the producer of the flagship programme, Asian Morning, on TV Asia. In 1998, Vipon co-founded and became a company director of Trigun Pictures Limited. A Loving Act is the first production of the company.

A Loving Act is Sutish Kumar Sharma's first film as a producer. He currently works for the BBC as a broadcaster, a producer and journalist. In 1998, Sutish co-founded and became a company director of Trigun Pictures Limited.