Thieves

Taking inspiration from early Hollywood and British cinema, Thieves is a thrilling fantasy adventure based on both the 1924 silent black-and-white and 1940 Technicolor films of the same name: The Thief of Bagdad.

Chinese-American actor Anna May Wong and Indian-born American actor Sabu, who starred in the original films as marginalised characters, become leading characters in Williams Gamaker’s compelling retelling.

The film sees a speculative union unfold between Anna May Wong and Sabu (acted by long-term Williams Gamaker collaborators Dahong Wang and Krishna Istha) where the performers are recast and reimagined as ‘brown protagonists’, claiming their leading roles through direct action.  Thieves evokes early cinema and Technicolor classics, blending practical and analogue methods of special effects with contemporary technology to combine past and present filmmaking.

Thieves was commissioned by Film London Artists’ Moving Image Network (FLAMIN) with funding from Arts Council England, and co-commissioned with the South London Gallery (SLG) and Dundee Contemporary Arts (DCA). Additional support from: National Lottery through Arts Council England; The Foundation Foundation; and The British Academy and the Wolfson Foundation. The film was produced by FLAMIN and Keep Rolling Studios.

Melanie Cura Daball - Producer