I've attended SikhLens in Santa Ana (Southern California) a few times. This time was yet more enjoyable. Here are some of the personalities I was honored to connect with during the event.
Firstly, I reunited with Sukhman Dhami who I had met only recently. We found a kinship in having friendly debates about interpretations of Sikhi. He is an admirable character and a new friend. The thing that shines through him is his sense of humanity. His disarming and personable nature belies the very important work he is ambitiously doing to expose the human rights abuses in Punjab.
Gurinder Singh Mann who I've met for the first time and found lots of interesting things to converse about. After having had sporadic correspondences with him over email and, on rare occasion, by phone it was very good to get a sense of his British humor in person. Gurinder Singh has a wealth and depth of knowledge of not only Sikh history but scripture as well. He is a top scholar in the Sikh world today and I look forward to working with him on any future projects.
One of the first exposures to the impressive talent displayed during the weekend was of the live play-acting team consisting of Davinder Singh (Indo-Canadian director, actor and producer), theatrical performers Only Kewal and Mridul Sharma with their play called 'Jaagde Raho' written and directed by Rishi Puri. The play holds a harsh mirror to the mentality of tit for tat violence and was superbly rendered with a high level of emotionality from the above actors. I was also impressed how they enacted their touching performance multiple times during the weekend for different audiences. This is something that is best seen in person.
The feature length documentary '1947: Brexit India' was a very well produced film and I was honored to meet its producer: Dr. Swarnjit Singh from Arizona. I look forward to any future projects he makes.
Another feature film that was very touching was created by Sikh Coalition and the Nishkam TV youth team lead by Harbaldeep Singh. The documentary is 'Bewatana' which is about the tragedies faced by the Afghan Sikh community. Hearing the first hand testimonies of families describing how terrorists bombed and gunned down their loved one was heart wrenching. This was juxtaposed with the inspiration of how these simple Sikhs face impossible loss and displacement with such heart and resilience. This film is mandatory, we should all watch it, definitely do so as soon as you get the chance.
Another documentary that was featured I happened to have had a cameo in. This was 'Rhymes With Hunger'. Produced by SikhLens this is about the Denver University class that teaches students to host a langar event. Headed by prof Marji Karish this initiative is guided by a most thoughtful Singh named Dilpreet Jammu, executive director of 'Colorado Sikhs'. It was an honor to have attended the langar event and quite novel to see it displayed on the big screen. Most of all it is always so good to meet with Dilpreet Singh and we will all be interested to see his initiative spread to other colleges.
I bumped into Prof Simran Jeet Singh, also a long correspondence but a first time meeting, who happened to be in town.
In attendance was also Bir Ishwar Singh Grewal who is always full of great ideas on how to make Sikhs more prominent in the mainstream. Harjus Singh who is a direct and producer and all-around film expert. Sajan Singh who shared is debut documentary about Kes. Hansjeet Singh a professional in the entertainment world who works with studios in Hollywood. All of whom I look forward to speaking with more.
One notable moment from the festival was the film of 12 year old Kabir S. 'The Lego Master' who's creates stop motion lego movies. He taught himself how to create this type of animation from YouTube. On the panel he expressed that he will hopefully make a full length movie later on. You can see how many people were beaming with pride to see such a talented and ambitious youth among us, especially as a crowd (sometimes called an 'India Circle') formed around him after the panel discussion.
Bicky Singh and wife Gurpreet Kaur put on, and preside through, the whole event. SikhLens is a small miracle that happens once a year in Southern California and is now happening throughout the country and world, and it is all due to the diligent vision of Bicky Singh. At the moment they are producing no less than 15 films. It never ceases to amaze how much talent in the Sikh community he is able to spot, garner and gather together. Thank you Bicky Singh for all the work you do. Here is to ever more success!
Thank you auntie Ruhan and uncle Atma for hosting in your lovely home/magical garden.
