Lesbian Lips

Rules were not lightly broken in Cape Town in 1952. With apartheid the new order of the day, every detail of life became subject to strict social controls. Shamim Sarif’s soaring debut is set during that time but flies far from the expected clash between black and white. Instead, The World Unseen opens a door on a tightly knit community of South Asians in South Africa. Living in limbo between the stark racial poles of apartheid, they have carved out a delicate peace. It works well enough for most, but not for Amina. At first sight, Amina announces herself a rebel. Dressed in trousers and a man’s shirt, her hair flowing freely, she strides around the Location Café like she owns the place. And, in fact, she does. She has drawn all the neighbourhood’s social outlaws to her café – the black waitress who plainly does not know her place; the older white lady who flirts gently with the elegant brown-skinned bachelor. It’s the only spot in town to have any fun, and therefore bound to infuriate the apartheid police. Amina is more than a match for the cops and the conservative demands of her Indian community, but her bravery has a limit. When she first sets eyes on Miriam, she is suddenly as bashful as a schoolgirl. Miriam is married, of course, but fascinated by the unconventional, free-thinking woman who shows her so much attention. In time, Amina gains the courage to invite Miriam for driving lessons. Alone together in the car, the two women can only surrender to the inevitable. It is fair to say that The World Unseen contains not one but two of this year’s steamiest screen kisses. Yet even with its molten core of romance, Sarif’s story is primarily an anatomy of a rarely explored community. Curbed by both abhorrent social laws and their own inhibitions, Amina and Miriam initially suppress their attraction; only when they resist these obstacles does the unseen world become marvellously visible.