Honour Me

Selected for the Cannes Short Film Corner and Raindance Film Festival, Belonging follows Sameem Ali — Manchester councillor and author — as she reflects on a life shaped by displacement, control and survival.

Sameem spent her early childhood in care, a place she remembers with clarity — safe, structured, and filled with a sense of belonging. When she was told she would return to her family, it marked the beginning of a very different life.

What followed was a world defined by fear, control and isolation. Still a child, she was subjected to abuse within the home — her sense of self slowly eroded, her coping mechanisms turning inward.

At thirteen, she travelled to Pakistan for what she believed was a holiday.

Instead, she was forced into marriage.

Two months later, pregnant, Sameem returned to the UK — where the cycle of violence continued. Years on, after finding love and escaping to Manchester with her young son, she began the difficult process of rebuilding her life.
But leaving was only part of the story.

Belonging is a portrait of resilience and identity — a quiet, unflinching account of survival, and of what it means to reclaim a sense of self in the face of deep-rooted expectations and consequence.

"Thanks so much for sending the copy of your truly wonderful documentary: Surviving Burkitts. The way you use a camera is so exciting; you are a true visual artist and in this case, you chose two remarkable woman to be your focus. There were no talking heads in this brief masterpiece".

Pat Silver-Lasky (Mrs. Jesse L. Lasky, Jr) Author, Script Consultant and lecturer. Writers Guild of Great Britain, Writers Guild of America, American Society of Authors & BAFTA