DIRECTOR’S STATEMENT
In 1984, two brothers, Surinder and Michael Singh, found themselves in the middle of one of the Indian Government-sponsored massacres of Sikhs, near the
Rakab Ganj Gurudwara. For the next three days, they and their host, the Bishop of Delhi, housed some thirty Sikh women and children as deadly mobs roamed
outside, occasionally approaching the Bishop's compound gate. "Riding the Tiger" tells the story of what these two brothers, half-Sikhs, witnessed.
- How did this experience affect their own identities as partially Sikh young men?
- How did the Government get away with the massacres?
- Who was behind the massacres, and why?
- What did they have to do with Indira Gandhi's thirst for power, and for Sant Bindranwale's mission?
Expansive in scope, yet intimate in detail, the work-in-progress one-hour documentary film "Riding the Tiger" tells an unforgettable tale of the volatile mix of religion and politics, of ambition, courage, cowardice, violence, hatred, love, and death
Exciting Details
A no-holds-barred account of 1984, the first eye-witness documentary film about the most traumatic event in modern Sikh history since The Partition.
Michael Singh, of Punjabi-American heritage, is a Los Angeles based filmmaker who has made award-winning documentaries about Maharani Jindan ("The Rebel Queen”) and WWI Sikh prisoner of War, Mal Singh ("The Prisoner's Song"). His award-winning reality series "Chicago's Lifeline" launched Discovery's Health Channel. His latest film, "Valentino's Ghost", examines how American mainstream media portrays Arabs and Muslims. It was funded primarily by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
Website:
ridingthetiger.tv
michaelsinghproductions.com
Budget
$150,000 - For his latest film "Valentino's Ghost", 93 mins., (2011) Michael raised almost half a million dollars from a combination of non-profit
foundations such as The Corporation for Public Broadcasting and some 250 private donors. He plans to employ the same strategy to raise $150,000 to complete
"Riding the Tiger", which is 75% shot.
Completion funds will go towards such post-production items as editing, original music score, some shooting of final interviews, sound mixing, final
research, motion graphics, and distribution rights to archival stills and moving images, including BBC's footage of the Indian Army's attack on the Golden
Temple in 1984, and footage and stills of the New Delhi massacres of thousands of Sikh men, women and children.
Schedule
Delivery of the one-hour movie is slated for six months following total budget procurement.
Distribution
"Riding the Tiger" will be presented to PBS's Independent Lens and Point of View Series for consideration for national broadcast. DVDs of the film will be
distributed educationally to colleges, universities, and high schools through the USA and foreign territories, including India. Our distributor of choice
will be Bullfrog Films, the current national (and Canada) distributor for "Valentino's Ghost", Bullfrogfilms.com.
