Little White Lies - The Polite Society (Mar/Apr)

If you already own sunglasses, go and put them on now. If you don’t, then go and buy some. That’s because LWLies issue 98 is one of the most brightly coloured issues we’ve ever made, and that’s saying something. Our cheerfully florid colour scheme forms a perfect match with cover film Polite Society, about an angry young woman whose dream of becoming a stuntwoman is put on hold when she has to prevent her sister from marrying a wealthy and possibly sinister bachelor.

As paid-up fans of Nida Manzoor’s Channel 4 sitcom, We Are Lady Parts, anticipation levels were already unfeasibly high for the writer-director’s transition to the big screen. And with its gymnastic camera movements, snappy editing and numerous cinematic reference points, We Are Lady Parts perhaps concealed Manzoor’s desire to move in that direction. Polite Society sits comfortably in the rich continuum of films which explore the lives of South Asian families both adapting to the landscape of contemporary Britain, and forging their own idiosyncratic path.

Yet it’s the lively genre twist which makes Polite Society feel like a world away from classic Brit diaspora dramas such as Bhaji on the Beach and Bend it Like Beckham. Manzoor draws in the colours, tones and musicality of Bollywood, as well as the bone-crunching but comic violence that is integral to martial arts classics featuring the likes of Sammo Hung, Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan.

On the cover of the issue we have Polite Society’s boisterous lead Priya Kansara who plays scorned sister Ria with a blend of desperation and outright fury. With our design, we wanted to pay homage to the film’s comic energy, as it feels like the sort of thing that’s been adapted from your favourite graphic novel. It’s a film we love, and an issue we’re tremendously proud of. We hope it will operate as a delightful amuse bouche prior to the film’s UK release on 21 April and also a keepsake for the inevitable long term fandom it generates – especially once Nida strikes it big in Hollywood, as we’re sure she will.