Newsletter, November 10, 2006
Divided We Fall
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
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
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
flori...@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 ( val...@dwf-film.com )
Visit www.dwf-film.com and valariekaur.blogspot.com.
(The road is too long… Respond with REMOVE in the subject and we will do so.)