The Gravel Road

A woman on the brink of adulthood has a conversation with a world-weary older man during the course of one night.

"Little Uma, an 11-year-old schoolgirl, has an apparently simple desire: she wants to take dancing lessons. She is an Indian girl and lives in Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia. There is nothing exceptional about that, because since the British colonial era, ten percent of the Malaysian population is of Indian descent. ... this film is set today in the city and it is apparent that the Indian community still doesn’t play a full part in Malaysian society. Partly as a result of this, Uma’s ordinary desires are not easy to fulfil. She lives with her mother and her elder brother in the down-at-heel Brickfield. Her brother didn't finish school and is bitter about their living conditions. A career in crime beckons." - IFFR