In 2022, Aneil Karia won an Academy Award for his short starring Riz Ahmed. Now, he\u2019s skewering Reform-style parliamentary candidates with the help of Jack Lowden and an unlikely online platform<\/p>\n
Some film-makers have unrealistic expectations for their work; Aneil Karia is not one of them. \u201cI\u2019m not deluded enough to think that it\u2019s going to bring down the government,\u201d he says of his new film, Vote Gavin Lyle \u2013 but you never know, it just might. A funny, clever, superbly acted, small-but-perfectly-formed satire, Vote Gavin Lyle stars Jack Lowden as a wannabe Reform-style parliamentary candidate for the fictional middle-England constituency of Fletcham and Wold. At just 16 minutes long, it absolutely skewers the far-right mindset; not the minority-bashing, flag-hoisting street thugs, but the cannier, well-spoken Farageists who dominate the tendency\u2019s leadership.<\/p>\n
Without wanting to give away the film\u2019s final flourish, it\u2019s fair to say that there\u2019s an element of empathy, even sympathy for its central character. Karia says: \u201cI don\u2019t think it\u2019s interesting or useful to look at these people \u2013 far-right politicians, councillors, prospective candidates, whoever \u2013 and just say what nasty bastards they are. I think what strikes me about them is they\u2019re just as vulnerable and scared as the rest of us.<\/p>\n
![](\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/c258727d6cb2c60542a82b47620327bd0e5c8d07\/426_0_1350_1080\/master\/1350.jpg?width=140&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=9e1390db26c264fde1cb752f1470e3ff\" "\\"\u2018They\u2019re")
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