Soni

Ivan Ayr's 2019 Indian film follows the relationship between Soni, a young policewoman in Delhi handling cases of violence against women, and her superintendent Kalpana. When Soni loses control of her anger and beats an attacker, she is transferred out; Kalpana tries to protect her while her own position is insecure. Both women are caught, in different ways, inside the same institution. Ayr works in long takes with almost no music, and the night streets of Delhi form the ground of the story. Its most honest quality is refusing to present anger as a solution: Soni is right, what she does achieves nothing, and she pays for it. Class difference sits constantly behind the relationship between the two women. It screened in the Orizzonti section at Venice. Who it's for: viewers interested in Indian independent cinema and films that treat violence against women at an institutional level. Who it's not for: anyone wanting an ending in which justice is done, or avoiding content about harassment and violence.