Post by gigteam on Feb 23, 2005 23:03:03 GMT
PRESS RELEASE
Entering 3RD Year
TRAIL BLAZER FOR SIKHS? MISTAKEN IDENTITY
UPDATE ON ?GLOBAL MEDIA EVENT?
On 7 February 2005, there was a successful screening of ?MISTAKEN IDENTITY: Discovering Sikhs? at the Nehru Centre (the Cultural Wing of the High Commission of India) in London. Lord Baron Navnit Dholakia, OBE, chaired the evening, stating: "this is the best documentary film on Sikhs I have seen to date...?. Internationally acclaimed as a campaigner for human rights and democracy, he is the first South Asian to be Chairman of the Liberal Democratic Party of Great Britain, in the House of Lords.
Dr. Savi S. Arora, Managing Director, Knowledge Hemispheres Ltd. Fast-tracking your success at www.know-how2.com and E-Citizen, spoke of his UK background as a Sikh in relevance to the film. Jaya Shah, President, Jaya Foundation, (Detroit, MI) contacted special 100 invited guests: Kitty Cooper, Contemporary Films, Pam Cullen, both Founder Trustees of the Satyajit Ray Foundation; Mike Ricketts, Chairman of the Foundation for Human Rights and Tolerance (UK); Rev. Janet Kenyon Laveau, Church of Scientology; Brian Walker, Chairman, WCRP; Jehangir Sarosh, Religions for Peace (UK); Brian Pierce, Director, Inter Faith Network for UK; and Farah Damji, Publisher, Another Generation.
On India's Republic Day, 26th January, the film moved into Europe with a screening Brussels, Belgium, and part of the ?global media event? announced in Hollywood. More screenings will take place, especially as the Crowned Prince of Belgium is visiting India in March and will be greeted by Dr. Manmohan Singh, the first Sikh Prime Minister!
Although, the enlargement of the European Union has brought new opportunities, it has also created new divisions and inequalities, among the inhumane migration and asylum policies where stereotypes are reinforced and the fear of the "other" is a serious problem. Remember the restrictions on the turban for of 7,000 Sikhs in Paris! ?Mistaken Identity? has been invited by United Against Racism?s Network Conference: ?Dissolving Barriers: Intercultural Dialogue in Europe? (May 4-8, 2005). It offers opportunities to think about solutions, plan common actions and campaigns for anti-racist organizations with the possibilities to exchange ideas and provide them with knowledge and practical tools to combat prejudice, racism and conflicts in their own environment and in their own way.
As part of the One World Week Forum Film Festival on Sunday 16 January 2005 at the Warwick Art Museum in Coventry, the Warwick Boar?s critic Rito Paul wrote: ? ? the true sign of an expressive piece of work is not how many answers it gives, but how many questions it raises. ?Mistaken identity? proved that even the smallest stone cast can lead to an avalanche, but one must be brave enough to cast it.?
Strangely, the film has taken on a more powerful direction as the first pilot in a series on ?Discovering Multicultural Diversified Ethnic Neighbors? ? Muslims, Christians, Hindus, Buddhists and Jews. With major write ups in global newspapers, BBC radio interviews and hundreds of listings can be found on GOOGLE, YAHOO, etc., the film?s credibility is demanding more planned screenings in Bedford, Birmingham, Bradford (NMPFTV), Cambridge, Cardiff, Coventry, Derby, Dudley, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Hounslow, Huddersfield, Leeds, Leicester, Luton, Manchester, Milton Keyes, Northampton, Nottingham, Oxford, Wales (Swansea ? Peace Mala); Warrington, Wolverhampton ? to raise the initial funding for a unique film TV series entitled: ?A Celebration of Cultural Diversity?. DVD sales are available on www.mi-sia.com. US and www.mistakenidentity.tv (UK/Europe).
YEAR 2004 -- With the help of Raj Pannu (Subway Eateries Entrepreneur in New Orleans) and Harpreet Singh Toor, President, Sikh Cultural Society of New York, MISTAKEN IDENTITY screenings moved across the Atlantic (celebrating George Washington?s birthday in the UK) with the London premiere sponsored by the British Women in Film & TV (WFTV) on 19 April 2004 at the Channel 4 Studio. This was organized by Actress, TV Journalist/Reporter Rani Singh, (one of the first South Asian female lead actresses - BBC?s Eastenders, etc.,) who took on the role of Vice President and Associate Producer. It also commemorated the 3rd anniversary of 9/11 in the small town of Bedford on 12 September 2004.
Screenings took place at the Dudley?s Youth Alliance Center, organized by SYA/Dudley Racial Equality (16 April); with attendance at the Vaishaki Parades in Birmingham, Hansworth and London; and traveling to Cardiff to meet Judith Higginbottom, Rhian Iolo and Sarah Howells at Sgrin Cymru Wales, arrange for public screenings in Wales and then moving on to Scotland, where largest communities of Sikhs reside.
Before the premiere Coventry screening under the banner of the City?s PEACE month and the University of Coventry, headline news reported Jagdeesh Singh?s (34) visit to his parents, when two men in their early 20s yelled ?Bin Ladin,? ?Paki? and brutally attacked him with repeated punches in the head, in front of his 10 year old nephew, who was left a complete emotional wreck.
Working with the British Sikhs under the guidance of Gurmukh Singh (brother of Australia?s world renowned musician Dya Singh ? whose music enchants the film), visits were arranged to film major gurdwaras in Southall and Hounslow. Introductions were made with Dr. P.S. Garcha, Secretary Sri Guru Singhji Sabha; Bhai Sahib Mohinder Singh, Spiritual Head of Guru Nanak Nishkam Sewak Jatha, Birmingham, Mohinder Singh Nayyar, Sri Guru Singh Sabha, Hounslow, etc. where concerns were shared, if there is a terrorist attack in Britain, it may result in civil unrest. Reviewing the DVD, Kashmir Singh, General Secretary of British Sikh Federation, recommended working with over 200 Sikh gurdwaras in the British Isles, but due to priority commitments of organized celebration for the 400th Anniversary of the Guru Granth Sahib, plans were postponed.
The film was entered and received a citation on 13 June at the first-ever Hollywood Spiritual Film Festival (after the triumphant Easter success of Mel Gibson?s ?The Passion?) in Los Angeles. In the month of July, it was screened on 13 July at the 2004 Parliament of the Council of World Religions (CPRW), Barcelona, Spain (7-13 July), recommended by Dr. Harbans Singh.
With a network of Sikh Student Associations (SSA) at major American universities, there has been increasing recognition (over 25 States), becoming a key source of informing and educating law enforcement and police academies, human rights, amnesty, peace organizations, world religions and interfaith groups, multicultural, film, media communication, Asian studies and religious departments at major universities (Harvard?s Centre for World Religions); libraries and schools. On 19 June 2003, there was a successful screening at the prestigious National Arts Club in Gramacy Park, New York where members remarked: ?the film opened a window into the lives of American Sikhs about whom we knew nothing?.
The film was produced by two non-Sikh women, 22-year old Amanda Gesine and New York Filmmaker Vinanti Sarkar, six days after 9/11, when Amanda learned about the senseless shooting of Balbir Singh Sodhi in Meza, Arizona. She was convinced that the stories of racial profiling, verbal abuse and physical assaults on American Sikhs was due to fear and ignorance, so ?Mistaken Identity? was produced in a highly emotional frame of focus, with the sensitive task to inform and educate mainstream America about Sikhs and Sikhism.
Entering 3RD Year
TRAIL BLAZER FOR SIKHS? MISTAKEN IDENTITY
UPDATE ON ?GLOBAL MEDIA EVENT?
On 7 February 2005, there was a successful screening of ?MISTAKEN IDENTITY: Discovering Sikhs? at the Nehru Centre (the Cultural Wing of the High Commission of India) in London. Lord Baron Navnit Dholakia, OBE, chaired the evening, stating: "this is the best documentary film on Sikhs I have seen to date...?. Internationally acclaimed as a campaigner for human rights and democracy, he is the first South Asian to be Chairman of the Liberal Democratic Party of Great Britain, in the House of Lords.
Dr. Savi S. Arora, Managing Director, Knowledge Hemispheres Ltd. Fast-tracking your success at www.know-how2.com and E-Citizen, spoke of his UK background as a Sikh in relevance to the film. Jaya Shah, President, Jaya Foundation, (Detroit, MI) contacted special 100 invited guests: Kitty Cooper, Contemporary Films, Pam Cullen, both Founder Trustees of the Satyajit Ray Foundation; Mike Ricketts, Chairman of the Foundation for Human Rights and Tolerance (UK); Rev. Janet Kenyon Laveau, Church of Scientology; Brian Walker, Chairman, WCRP; Jehangir Sarosh, Religions for Peace (UK); Brian Pierce, Director, Inter Faith Network for UK; and Farah Damji, Publisher, Another Generation.
On India's Republic Day, 26th January, the film moved into Europe with a screening Brussels, Belgium, and part of the ?global media event? announced in Hollywood. More screenings will take place, especially as the Crowned Prince of Belgium is visiting India in March and will be greeted by Dr. Manmohan Singh, the first Sikh Prime Minister!
Although, the enlargement of the European Union has brought new opportunities, it has also created new divisions and inequalities, among the inhumane migration and asylum policies where stereotypes are reinforced and the fear of the "other" is a serious problem. Remember the restrictions on the turban for of 7,000 Sikhs in Paris! ?Mistaken Identity? has been invited by United Against Racism?s Network Conference: ?Dissolving Barriers: Intercultural Dialogue in Europe? (May 4-8, 2005). It offers opportunities to think about solutions, plan common actions and campaigns for anti-racist organizations with the possibilities to exchange ideas and provide them with knowledge and practical tools to combat prejudice, racism and conflicts in their own environment and in their own way.
As part of the One World Week Forum Film Festival on Sunday 16 January 2005 at the Warwick Art Museum in Coventry, the Warwick Boar?s critic Rito Paul wrote: ? ? the true sign of an expressive piece of work is not how many answers it gives, but how many questions it raises. ?Mistaken identity? proved that even the smallest stone cast can lead to an avalanche, but one must be brave enough to cast it.?
Strangely, the film has taken on a more powerful direction as the first pilot in a series on ?Discovering Multicultural Diversified Ethnic Neighbors? ? Muslims, Christians, Hindus, Buddhists and Jews. With major write ups in global newspapers, BBC radio interviews and hundreds of listings can be found on GOOGLE, YAHOO, etc., the film?s credibility is demanding more planned screenings in Bedford, Birmingham, Bradford (NMPFTV), Cambridge, Cardiff, Coventry, Derby, Dudley, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Hounslow, Huddersfield, Leeds, Leicester, Luton, Manchester, Milton Keyes, Northampton, Nottingham, Oxford, Wales (Swansea ? Peace Mala); Warrington, Wolverhampton ? to raise the initial funding for a unique film TV series entitled: ?A Celebration of Cultural Diversity?. DVD sales are available on www.mi-sia.com. US and www.mistakenidentity.tv (UK/Europe).
YEAR 2004 -- With the help of Raj Pannu (Subway Eateries Entrepreneur in New Orleans) and Harpreet Singh Toor, President, Sikh Cultural Society of New York, MISTAKEN IDENTITY screenings moved across the Atlantic (celebrating George Washington?s birthday in the UK) with the London premiere sponsored by the British Women in Film & TV (WFTV) on 19 April 2004 at the Channel 4 Studio. This was organized by Actress, TV Journalist/Reporter Rani Singh, (one of the first South Asian female lead actresses - BBC?s Eastenders, etc.,) who took on the role of Vice President and Associate Producer. It also commemorated the 3rd anniversary of 9/11 in the small town of Bedford on 12 September 2004.
Screenings took place at the Dudley?s Youth Alliance Center, organized by SYA/Dudley Racial Equality (16 April); with attendance at the Vaishaki Parades in Birmingham, Hansworth and London; and traveling to Cardiff to meet Judith Higginbottom, Rhian Iolo and Sarah Howells at Sgrin Cymru Wales, arrange for public screenings in Wales and then moving on to Scotland, where largest communities of Sikhs reside.
Before the premiere Coventry screening under the banner of the City?s PEACE month and the University of Coventry, headline news reported Jagdeesh Singh?s (34) visit to his parents, when two men in their early 20s yelled ?Bin Ladin,? ?Paki? and brutally attacked him with repeated punches in the head, in front of his 10 year old nephew, who was left a complete emotional wreck.
Working with the British Sikhs under the guidance of Gurmukh Singh (brother of Australia?s world renowned musician Dya Singh ? whose music enchants the film), visits were arranged to film major gurdwaras in Southall and Hounslow. Introductions were made with Dr. P.S. Garcha, Secretary Sri Guru Singhji Sabha; Bhai Sahib Mohinder Singh, Spiritual Head of Guru Nanak Nishkam Sewak Jatha, Birmingham, Mohinder Singh Nayyar, Sri Guru Singh Sabha, Hounslow, etc. where concerns were shared, if there is a terrorist attack in Britain, it may result in civil unrest. Reviewing the DVD, Kashmir Singh, General Secretary of British Sikh Federation, recommended working with over 200 Sikh gurdwaras in the British Isles, but due to priority commitments of organized celebration for the 400th Anniversary of the Guru Granth Sahib, plans were postponed.
The film was entered and received a citation on 13 June at the first-ever Hollywood Spiritual Film Festival (after the triumphant Easter success of Mel Gibson?s ?The Passion?) in Los Angeles. In the month of July, it was screened on 13 July at the 2004 Parliament of the Council of World Religions (CPRW), Barcelona, Spain (7-13 July), recommended by Dr. Harbans Singh.
With a network of Sikh Student Associations (SSA) at major American universities, there has been increasing recognition (over 25 States), becoming a key source of informing and educating law enforcement and police academies, human rights, amnesty, peace organizations, world religions and interfaith groups, multicultural, film, media communication, Asian studies and religious departments at major universities (Harvard?s Centre for World Religions); libraries and schools. On 19 June 2003, there was a successful screening at the prestigious National Arts Club in Gramacy Park, New York where members remarked: ?the film opened a window into the lives of American Sikhs about whom we knew nothing?.
The film was produced by two non-Sikh women, 22-year old Amanda Gesine and New York Filmmaker Vinanti Sarkar, six days after 9/11, when Amanda learned about the senseless shooting of Balbir Singh Sodhi in Meza, Arizona. She was convinced that the stories of racial profiling, verbal abuse and physical assaults on American Sikhs was due to fear and ignorance, so ?Mistaken Identity? was produced in a highly emotional frame of focus, with the sensitive task to inform and educate mainstream America about Sikhs and Sikhism.