TRIADS, YARDIES AND ONION BHAJEES - Ethnic crime romp to represent Britain at Cannes 2003

Gangster film TRIADS, YARDIES AND ONION BHAJEES has been selected to represent British independent cinema at this years Cannes Film Festival.

CANNES, France - Following years of creative drought, British films are enjoying a renaissance, reflected by their strong market share at home and high profile at the forthcoming Cannes festival.

Recently, a string of local hits helped box office receipts jump 24 percent year-on-year in the first three months of 2002, with Hollywood features unusually accounting for less than half of all takings, Reuters reported. Films like LOCK, STOCK AND TWO SMOKING BARRELS and SNATCH have breathed life into the dormant British film industry. This year the British are bringing a new genre to Cannes - the multicultural gangster movie! TRIADS, YARDIES AND ONION BHAJEES from London-based director Sarjit Bains is expected to take this years Cannes Film Festival by storm.

"We are seeing a continuous increase in cinema-going here...But what's more remarkable is clearly the spectacular increase in British cinema's market share," John Woodward, head of Britain's film council, told the Daily Mail newspaper in an interview on Friday.

TRIADS, YARDIES AND ONION BHAJEES competing for the Cannes festival's 2003 Palme d'Or award has done much better than the series of British flops last year and has even been singled out as a possible winner.

The poignant story of a hitman who must kill friends and enemies to get the girl got widespread acclaim when it was showcased in a recent BBC2 documentary. Interestingly, the film also stars real life ex-gangster and underworld don Dave Courtney.

TRIADS, YARDIES AND ONION BHAJEES, running time 90 minutes. Stars Fran Labbe, Sukhi Ghajminger, Dave Courtney, Manish Patel, Ashvin Joshi. Directed by Sarjit Bains.