Gay Entertainment Report: Lesbian Love Amid Apartheid

Ready or not America, here comes a film that dares to simultaneously question virtually every prejudice – nothing is left out in The World Unseen.

Here's the skinny: In writer/director Shamin Sarif's The World Unseen two women cope with multi-faceted discrimination as they fall in love in 1950s South Africa.

That's lesbian love, in racist and sexist 1950s South Africa. We did say every prejudice.

Clearly, the gay film is a heavy drama, but its rewards for the viewer are abundant.

Amina (Sheetal Sheth, American Chai) is breaking all the rules of South Africa and her Indian heritage by managing a café with a “colored” business partner when she meets traditional mother and housewife Miriam (Lisa Ray, Water). The pair's relationship quickly escalates to a fever pitch as the couple sorts out their new found feelings and are forced to cope with the intense hate that surrounds them.

The World Unseen is a period piece that has been masterfully photographed and wonderfully acted.

AfterEllen.com called the film, “[O]ne of the best-conceived queer films of the past year – a sincere, beautifully realized vision of love and resistance in an intolerant world.”

The World Unseen opens in New York City and Beverly Hills on November 7^th, and in San Francisco on November 14^th.

Gay Entertainment Report is a feature of On Top Magazine and can be reached at ontopmag@ontopmag.com.