Shades of Ray
6.9
Ray Rehman, a young American of Pakistani descent, returns home one night only to find his father at the door. His father, a Pakistani immigrant, has been thrown out of the house by his mother, a white woman, which puts Ray in an uncomfortable position. The return of his father couldn’t come at a more tense time, as Ray has just proposed to his white girlfriend, but has yet to receive a definitive answer from her. Amidst this emotional and family turmoil, Ray is forced to navigate his responsibilities toward his family, his relationship, and his own sense of identity.
Ray's life, up until that moment, seemed to be taking a predictable course. However, his father's unexpected return presents him with a series of challenges and dilemmas. The encounter with his father, a man who has been part of his life but whom Ray barely knows due to the tensions with his mother, makes him reflect on his own cultural heritage and the differences that have shaped his life in the United States. Despite being raised in a mixed family, Ray has never felt fully part of either culture, neither Pakistani nor white. This ambiguity creates an increasingly intense internal conflict, especially when he meets a young woman of South Asian descent, also biracial like him, who leads him to question his place in the world even further.
The girl he meets is a mirror of his own experience, someone who understands the complexities of growing up between two different worlds, yet feels disconnected from both. Ray must decide whether he identifies more with his Pakistani heritage, with his white mother, or with his American life, not knowing if any of these options will allow him to find true inner peace.
Director: Jaffar Mahmood
Cast: Art Evans, Bonnie Somerville, Brian George, Cody Klop, David Doty, Fran Kranz, Gerry Bednob, Jake Kasdan, Kathy Baker, Lucy Davis, Nazanin Boniadi, Phil Rosenthal
