| SikhLens is proud to announce the films to be showcased within the Sikh Art and Film Festival “Focus on: Shorts” cluster to be held on Saturday November 14 from 5:30 pm to 7:45 pm.
Starting off the cluster is the film The Spirit of Hola Mohalla. Directed by Vani Subramanian, Hola Mohalla is a film showcasing mock battles enacted by Nihangs on the play fields of Charan Ganga. This tradition, started by Guru Gobind Singh in 1680, encourages Sikhs to hone their martial arts skills and remain active in their physical and mental form so as to fight any wrong whatsoever against their fellow citizens.
Next, the festival is showing Virtues Misinterpreted. This short documentary directed by Minu Singh looks at the transformation of the meaning of Langar, Sikh community kitchen. The film highlights the evolution of Langar from its original intent to its current level of extravagance, while searching for possible solutions.
SikhNet has partnered with the Sikh Art and Film Festival to showcase some of the winning films from the SikhNet Youth Online Film Festival, including turBAN. First-place winner of the SikhNet Youth Online Film Festival (Senior Division), turBAN is a music video aimed at challenging the ban on religious symbols, including the Sikh turban, within France’s public schools. turBAN is a powerful joint project between Dashmesh Pictures (Sartaj Singh Dhami) and G.N.E. (Tanmit Singh and Gurvinder Singh).
Blade Battle is a computer animated video directed by Pardeep Singh. This flm captures the art of Gatka, a Sikh martial art form. Singh employs interactive design methods in this high action short film.
Finally, this cluster will close with the film Turbanology. The documentary seeks to demystify the turban by exploring why it's worn by Muslims, Sikhs and some Christians. Director Jay Singh-Sohal delves into British and European history to show how the turban, far from being the fashion of a fanatic, represents spirituality, identity, knowledge and wisdom.
SikhLens will be holding its inaugural Sikh Art and Film Festival 2009 will be held at the historic Egyptian Theater in Hollywood, California from November 13-15th, 2009.
SikhLens seeks to provide an outlet for sharing Sikh heritage and culture with the rest of the world by creating awareness for work that is “Sikh-centric,” showcasing our talent, and instilling pride in our community.
SikhLens seeks work from artists in a variety of fields, including but not limited to movies, books, music, and art. It creates appropriate avenues for this work to be shared with the rest of the world with the aim of getting more exposure for the presenters; and at the same time creating awareness about Sikhs. This will result in a better understanding of Sikh culture and values in a way that is pure and unbiased.
If you have any questions/comments, feel free to contact Bandana Singh, Media Director for the Sikh Arts and Film Festival at sikhlens@gmail.com. |
