RIDING TIME
directed by Roopa Gogineni & Farhaan Mumtaz2025, 19’
Neza bazi, an ancient South Asian cavalry sport adopted by British colonial officers, has two distinct scenes in today’s UK. There is the national team (posh, tweed-wearing) and a quickly growing Pakistani British circuit at the heart of this film. Then there is Jaleal, a dual-heritage competitor who braids manes and sharpens lances while quietly dreaming of show jumping.
Filmed over three summers in the northern town of Bradford, RIDING TIME meanders from the absurd to the profound. Juxtaposing the boisterous play and caretaking of the stables with the pounding hooves and fine kurtas of competition, the film follows its protagonists into a transcendent space between geographies, childhood and adulthood, people and horses.
World Premiere
Leeds International Film Festival 2025
Jury Special Mention
International Premiere
Berlin International Film Festival 2026 - Generation Kplus
