SYNOPSIS
The normal journey of a London bus driver transforms into a living nightmare as he finds himself in the middle of a terrorist stand-off between his panic-consumed passengers. Lives hang in the balance as he desperately tries to negotiate his way out of the quagmire.
DIRECTOR’S STATEMENT
When I was 13 years old, I took a Bus from Gants Hill to Tottenham (London) after visiting family. I sat at the back of the Bus on the top deck. Soon into the journey, four young men surrounded me, held a gun to my head, and robbed me. I was trapped at the back of the bus and had no way of escaping. Some years later, South Asians became a target for hatred after a wave of terrorist activity. Extreme prejudice was directed at people that resembled these terrorists. I started to comprehend my discrimination. This introspective period taught me how a narrative piece could assess deep-rooted prejudices. Bus Driver, for me, is a representation of a society that is fighting over its very own identity without resolving underlying trauma. The film is not about colour vs. colour, it is about the way we perceive and react. There are heroes in this world, just like my late father, that would, in a heartbeat, put themselves on the line for the highest truth. -Amar Singh Sethi