More tales from the road! Here's the report for you, kind members of
the *Divided
We Fall: Americans in the Aftermath *newsletter list… but first, some
exciting announcements! If you're in Miami, San Francisco, or Sacramento,
we're screening in your town over the next few days –  skip to the end for
details.

Our website has a brand-new look!  Click here to read the buzz about the
film, watch film clips, scroll through our tour schedule, and most
importantly, share your own reactions and stories to the film:
www.dwf-film.com

A special welcome to all you new members from Illinois! As you read our news
from the road, experience the full stories, pictures and all, on Valarie
Kaur's compelling production journal *Into the Whirlwind*:
http://valariekaur.blogspot.com

*WHAT IS SOLIDARITY - ILLINOIS
*Full story:
http://valariekaur.blogspot.com/2006/10/what-is-solidarity-illinois.html

Illinois is a very large state. Writer-Producer Valarie Kaur,
Producer-Director Sharat Raju, and Director of Communications *Tracy
Wells*discovered just how large on
*Divided We Fall*'s first-ever state-wide tour last week. Covering 750 miles
to three cities over five days, the *DWF* world tour rolled through the vast
plains of Illinois and into the city of Chicago on an exciting trip.

First stop was *Bloomington**, IL*, smack in middle of the state, and home
to *Illinois** Wesleyan University* – hosts of the *DWF* Illinois premiere.
Wonderfully organized by IWU's *South Asian Students Association*, more than
200 people joined us in a brand-new facility, complete with coffee bars,
internet cafes, and couches in the back for students to lounge and watch the
film. The warmth of our hosts and the audience was overwhelming – another
standing ovation (that's number four, not that we're counting or anything…).

What was so special about the IWU screening was that the audience was a mix
of people from different backgrounds and cultures. Black, White, Hispanic,
Native American, Jewish, Christian, and more. That is to say, it was a truly
American audience. It's a landmark screening in the life of the film, a
reaffirmation that it can reach people across political, cultural, and
racial lines.   Thanks so much to SASA (especially *Patrick Halloran* and *Amee
Patel*) for doing an incredibly thorough job in organizing such a large
event that we will never forget.

*DWF* continued down state to *Carbondale**, IL*. "Where is Carbondale?" you
might ask. The answer: barely in the state of Illinois. (Any further south,
it would be in Kentucky.) The expanse of farmland yielded to beautiful
autumn forests, and eventually the team reached *Southern Illinois
University*. Hosted by the *Department of Cinema and Photography*, *DWF* was
shown with a new angle – as part of a film class.

With 80 students staying late on a Monday evening to join us in a lecture
hall, *Professor Jyotsna Kapur *presented the film to her students, faculty,
and others who joined from the community. We were very happy to hear the
warm reception and astute questions, both technical and content-related,
from the SIU crowd. And afterwards, Professor Kapur even let Sharat, Tracy,
and Valarie stay overnight at her home (good thing she liked the film, too).

The stay was brief, however, and the *DWF* team continued on the road, all
the way up up up the state back to *Chicago* on *Halloween* for our
spookiest screening ever! Just kidding... nothing really spooky. But we did
hand out Halloween treats to everyone in the audience…

The *Sikh Student Association* at the *University of Illinois-Chicago
*organized
an intimate gathering of around 100 people – many of them friends and
family. Thanks to *Parminder Mann* and *Natasha Kaur* for pulling the event
together. We were joined by many dear friends who've supported the film over
the years, including *Amar Bhachu* and *DWF *Story Consultant* Deonnie
Moodie's *parents *Gai and John*.  *DWF *Editor *Scott Rosenblatt* brought
his parents and friends into the city to see what he was doing for ten
months last year.

We were also joined by *Nidhi Bedi*, niece of *Balbir Singh Sodhi *. Sodhi's
murder five years ago prompted Valarie to start the journey that would
eventually become *DWF*. We are so very fortunate to have been given such a
warm endorsement and unending support by the Sodhi family during both the
making of the film and its journey across the country.

Our entire Illinois tour would not have been possible without *Dr. Narendra
Jaggi* of Wesleyan University. Not only did he lend his guest rooms to the
filmmakers while hosting our premiere in Bloomington, he was the catalyst
and spark for all our Illinois screenings. (In fact, he is right now
scheming a return to Illinois and perhaps St. Louis in the near future…) We
are proud and honored to have him as a new member of the growing *DWF*family.

*BREAKING NEW GROUND – NYC *

Full story: http://valariekaur.blogspot.com/2006/10/breaking-new-ground-nyc.html

As a prelude to Illinois, Valarie made a trip down to *New York City* for a
conference on *Women and Religion in the 21st Century*. Valarie showed
*DWF*to a small crowd of academics and religious practitioners – but
more
importantly, she spoke elegantly about the stories of Sikh women in America.
It was the first time Valarie spoke directly to the struggles of women in
her community in the aftermath of 9/11, a ground-breaking experience for her
and a memorable moment for the participants of conference – more than 100
women of all faiths from around the country.   Read Valarie's compelling
speech online: http://valariekaur.blogspot.com/2006/10/breaking-new-ground-nyc.html

Thanks to conference organizer *Lucinda Mosher* and long-time friend from
the Harvard Pluralism Project *Kathryn Lohre* for bringing Valarie – and a
Sikh perspective – into the dialogue.

*COAST TO COAST*

Full tour schedule: http://dwf-film.com/tour.html

Check out our next screenings below! This week we are making a
coast-to-coast DWF extravaganza, starting in Miami, then Northern California
. We're especially excited about our formal California premiere in
Sacramento.  Hosted by *Lieutenant Governor Cruz Bustamante*, *DWF* will
screen down the street from the California state capitol, with an audience
of lawmakers, politicians and other state legislators! We hope that
*DWF*can help mend the inevitable rifts that election season creates –
a soothing
balm, if you will, to politics as usual…

*Miami** – Florida Premiere
**Saturday, November 11 at 2:15 p.m.

*Spinning Wheel Film Festival - Florida
Jago Sikh Young Professionals Conference
Radisson Hotel on Biscayne Bay <http://www.radisson-miami.com/>
Miami, FL

Site: www.spinningwheelflorida.com
Filmmakers present for Q&A
Admission: $15 for students, $20 for adults, $25 at the door
For tickets: Sheena Wadhwa at 954-464-6348 or floridas...@gmail.com

*San Francisco - Premiere
Sunday, November 12 at 11:30 a.m.

*3rd I South Asian International Film Festival
Roxie Cinema
3117 16th Street (between Valencia and Guerrero)
San Francisco, CA

Tickets: http://thirdi.org/festival/film/divided.htm
Filmmakers present for Q&A
Admission: $8

*Sacramento** - Formal California Premiere
Tuesday, November 14 at 6:15 p.m.

*Hosted by California Lieutenant Governor Cruz Bustamante
Secretary of State Auditorium
1500 11th Street (Corner of 11th and O Street)
Sacramento, CA

Reception at 5:30 p.m.
Filmmakers present for Q&A
Free Admission

*London – United Kingdom Premiere
November 27-28 - TBA

*CRE Race Convention 2006
Commission for Race Equality
Queen Elizabeth II Conference Center
London SW1

Site: http://www.raceconvention2006.com
Filmmakers present for Q&A
Admission: Conference Registration

*Washington**, D.C. **– Premiere
**Saturday, December 2 at 4 p.m.

*George Washington University
1957 E Street (Building)
Washington, D.C .

Dinner served following the film
Filmmakers present for Q&A
Free Admission

*New York City** (Tentative)
Monday, December 18 - TBA
*
Hosted by NYC District Leader Rory Lanceman
Queens, New York

Filmmakers present for Q&A
Admission: TBA

*HOP ON BOARD!*

We continue to get requests for new screenings in new parts of the country
nearly every day. From a tour in Nebraska to Alabama to South Carolina ,
we're slowly hitting all fifty states. .. when, oh when, will Hawaii call?

With the help of *Chris Byrnes*, *Jessica Jenkins*, and *Irene Yeh* of the *
DWF Dialogue Team*,  we have started handing out "response cards" at the end
of each screening. We read some incredible responses on these cards. Some
people had never heard of Sikhs before. Many didn't know about a backlash
after 9/11. Still others expected a political one-sided film and were
relieved that *DWF *isn't.  Most overwhelmingly, we've heard how the film
has moved people from all different backgrounds – because we all have a
stake in expanding who counts as 'one of us.'   We invite you to read and
share responses on our website as part of anew  storytelling forum:
www.dwf-film.com.  We continue to be inspired by your stories.

If you want to join the *DWF* Movement, please come on board – there's
plenty of room! We still have dates available in 2007 for more screenings.
Contact us and let us know if you want to bring *DWF* to your town, city,
hamlet, villa, megapolis, etc.

Thank you – we'll be back soon with more news from the road!

Divided We Fall: Americans in the Aftermath

Produced and Directed by Sharat Raju (sha...@dwf-film.com )

Produced, Written and Created by Valarie Kaur (vala...@dwf-film.com )

Visit www.dwf-film.com and
valariekaur.blogspot.com<http://www.valariekaur.blogspot.com/>
.

(The road is too long… Respond with REMOVE in the subject and we will do
so.)