Asian Enigma

Asian Enigma is a landmark series, investigating and exploring supernatural and paranormal phenomenon across the Asian region.

Angels of Troubled Paradise

Many children in Kashmir, some of whose fathers have been killed, arrested, or are missing, are forced to help their families survive. One such boy is Aadil, who lives with his parents in an area referred to as the “Gaza Strip” of Kashmir. He collects tear gas shells fired by police at protesters and sells them to a scrap dealer. Because the scrap dealer won’t accept the shells unless they are cleared of the explosive material, he must often remove the detonator and take out the explosives from the shells by hand. There is always the danger of it exploding, but as Aadil says, “I prefer to die bravely collecting shells rather than dying of hunger.”

An Engineered Dream

An Engineered Dream follows the lives of four teenagers travelling from different corners of India to Kota, a coaching city where they cage themselves in cubicle-sized rooms in order to prepare for one of the toughest undergraduate engineering exams in the world with an acceptance rate of less than 1 percent.

A Weaver’s Tale

The Yakans are the traditional settlers of Basilan Island in the Southern Philippines, famous for their art of weaving. Their skills have been handed down from generation to generation, and the intricate designs of their fabric are said to be based on their dreams. Get to know the Yakan women as they endeavour to preserve their vanishing art – challenged by a chronic conflict environment and increased modernism – and continue to weave a rich and colourful tapestry of life stories.

A Farmer’s Struggle

The endless desert advances towards the village in surprising speed, nibbling at the houses on the edge of it. Where several hundred families used to live, now there is only one – Wei Guangcai and his wife. Living in one of the worst-hit areas affected by desertification in China, this man stands his ground against the sand pushing him away from his home, enduring the forces of nature and the winds of loneliness.

24th Street

In the Chinese city of Hangzhou is a shantytown called 24th Street. Its residents are migrant laborers working on constructions sites. Among them is a middle-aged man named Su. He was born into a distinguished rural family but ran away from his village in order to escape an arranged marriage. For more than 30 years, he leads the life of a drifter, moving from one temporary job to another. Now, Su is feeling his age and becoming homesick. With his parents dead, he worries about the family plot they’ve left behind. But if he retires from migrant work, where will he live and how will he earn a living?

In search of a final home, Su sets out on a final journey — to the village he left decades ago.

2 Mums and a Dad

2 Mums and a Dad is the story of the rocky road of 3-way parenting, a unique exploration of the nature of family in today’s complicated society, as well as an insightful resource for everyone concerned with issues regarding the raising of children such as access, parent’s rights and family conflict.

Fiona is 33 and wants to have a baby. But her partner, Kellie, is a woman and sperm isn’t handy. Fiona has a solution: an English gay guy from work wants to be a dad. Fiona and Kelly want their child to have a father. It seems perfect…but is it?

For Darren, the arrangement seems like a dream come true. With his parents in the UK, Darren will finally be a dad and have family in Australia. Kellie is skeptical. A baby is one thing but a man involved in her relationship – forever? Could he take off with the baby if anything happened to Fiona?

Unsure what being a parent really means – the three draw up a contract outlining how they will raise a child. All they have to do is get pregnant – without sex! Medical advice: a plastic syringe for the sperm, some contrived romance, and the three manage to self-inseminate.

With pregnancy well underway, the cracks in this unusual family begin to show. Arguments over colours of the baby’s room are just the start. The “baby contract” unravels in an explosive confrontation. Could the three end up in court before the child even arrives? And will their own parents think of the baby as their grandchild??

They are entering uncharted legal territory as well. Kellie is not legally considered a parent, nor is Darren. In fact, the law does not recognize them as a family at all – what will happen if the whole thing falls apart?

Once baby Marley is born, 3 way parenting shifts up a gear. The baby lives with the girls, and Darren is allowed restricted visits. But without enough bonding time, Darren is heartbroken. Access rights are renegotiated with new Mum Fiona keeping a careful eye on every move Dad makes.

It’s Darren’s worst nightmare; he’s fighting to see his son and feels Fiona has decided he isn’t a good father. Did they just want him for his sperm? While the blood parents battle it out, Kellie is so entranced by the baby, now she wants one with Darren too.

Shot from the perspectives of Fiona, Kellie and Darren, 2 Mums and a Dad will take the audience on a roller coaster ride from pregnancy to parenthood in a most unusual unit, while also tackling universal issues of relevance for anyone with a family, and isn’t that all of us?