Toronto, Sept 08: `Apron Strings` - billed as the first-ever feature film from New Zealand with a substantial Indian theme was today premiered at the 33rd Toronto International Film Festival.

Directed by Sima Urale, the Kiwi female filmmaker of Samoan origin, and set in a multi-cultural suburb of Auckland, the film follows the fortunes of two disparate families - one Sikh, the other Pakeha (New Zealanders of predominantly European ancestry) - as they labour to come to terms with bitter memories of the past, challenges of the present and hopes of a better future.

"It was an important film to make," says Urale, whose short film, Coffee & Allah, premiered at the Venice Film Festival last year.

"Apron Strings is significant because it is the first Indian film to be funded through official channels in New Zealand," says producer Rachel Gardner.

Food is the film`s common thread. The narrative revolves around the complex lives of three women - a pair of estranged Indian sisters Anita (Laila Rouass) and Tara (Auckland-based Leela Patel), and an ageing white New Zealander Lorna (Jennifer Ludlum).

"From my very first reading of Apron Strings, I was immediately gripped by the story and its characters," Urale says adding that "Most appealing to me are the social issues that it raises." The 33rd Toronto International Film Festival will end on September 13.

Bureau Report