“Unicorns” explores a world not seen much in feature films — the world of “gaysians,” the South Asian gay community in the U.K. The film, directed by Sally El Hosaini (“The Swimmers”) and James Krishna Floyd and written by Floyd, follows Aysha/Ashiq (charismatic newcomer Jason Patel) a queer, Muslim, South Asian drag queen living a double life who sparks a friendship then romance with white, straight mechanic and single father Luke (“Eastenders’ ” Ben Hardy, equally charismatic). The film bowed to rave reviews at the Toronto Intl. Film Festival. Protagonist Pictures is handling international sales at AFM.
“Unicorns” is El Hosaini and Floyd’s third collaboration.
“I think mainstream society is very good at lumping very reductive identity labels on all of us. Obviously, in terms of sexuality, but I think in terms of everything in terms of race and gender and I’ve always felt that these things are very gray and very fluid. These two have been for me,” says Krishna Floyd, a veteran actor who made his directing and screenwriting debut on the film. “I always wanted to make a film that was going to explore that, that feeling and boil it up and put it in a story that was that was worth telling.”
The film is gritty but it’s still got the heart of a traditional romcom. “I love the tension of these two opposing worlds,” says El Hosaini.
Authenticity, especially being authentic to and representing the South Asian drag queen community was also very important to the filmmakers. “In South Asian culture, the kind of drag that we’ve had for centuries is realism drag, which is what you see in the film. Realism drag is the opposite of the American-style drag, which is wonderful. It’s very fierce; however, the kind of drag that we have in the film is all about subtlety and realism. … And it comes from Bollywood films where you always have the ‘item girl,’ often this kind of young, very feminine, beautiful, coquettish dancing woman who ends up performing for the manly king in exchange offerings in exchange for protection and security,” says Krishna Floyd.
“Jason Patel who plays that character, he’s a real life, femme unicorn,” he says. Indeed, the chemistry of Hardy and Patel jumps off the screen.
El Hosaini credits casting director Laura Windows with finding Patel, using social media and reaching out to the somewhat secretive gaysian community. Hardy was already set so Patel did a screen test with him. “And during that screen test, we knew their chemistry was just instant. And we looked at each other and we’re really excited because we suddenly realized we had the film. It was like suddenly the movie was going to work and it was going to exist,” says El Hosaini.
Asifa Lahore, herself a pioneer as Britain’s first out Muslim drag queen, is an executive producer on the film, and helped the filmmakers navigate the drag queen world.
“I think what’s been great is that the response so far from audiences and critics that it’s ultimately a classic love story. And it’s really sexy and you believe their love and you experience the joy in the comedy and all those things the characters go through when they fall in love, just as if they were heterosexual. I think that’s something that’s really important. The whole point of this movie is where we’re trying to say, why should we all have these identity labels to hold us back? When we can define ourselves with our actions, not what mainstream society wants to categorize us as, and especially in the context of falling in love. You don’t choose who you fall in love with. It just happens. And that’s why I think the universality of the film is just so clear,” says Krishna Floyd.