Jaggi

Anmol Sidhu's 2022 Punjabi-language film follows a schoolboy in the countryside. Jaggi has a sexual difficulty, and once it is known he becomes a target at school. The film does not give the bullying as a single incident. His friends, his relatives and his teachers each take part in turn; the narrative shows how the expectation of manhood binds a community together and who is left outside it. The cast are not professionals and the film was made on a very small budget. The tone is merciless and the close brings no relief. Who it's for: viewers of hard realist cinema and independent Punjabi production. Who it's not for: viewers for whom detailed scenes of sexual violence and peer abuse would be difficult.