The Model Wins Best Feature Film at the UK Asian Film Festival

The Model has won Best Feature Film at the UK Asian Film Festival 2026 — the most significant award to date for a London New Wave film.

Directed by Marcus Flemmings and shot by Haider Zafar, the film screened at the Kiln Theatre in Kilburn to a near-capacity house before taking the festival’s top feature prize.

A win shared across the cast

The award caps a run that began with the film’s world premiere at Manchester Film Festival and continued through official selection at the South Asian Chicago Film Festival. Lead actress Sasha Vadher carries the film, alongside Supreet Bedi, who both appears in The Model and hosted the awards ceremony — presenting an award to the film she features in.

What the film is about

The Model is a story about identity, family, faith and the quiet weight of expectation — the standard we are all held to, whether cultural, religious, or carried in from the people who raised us. It asks who we become when no one is watching, and what performance costs, on screen and off.

See the full run of festival recognition across the slate on the awards page.