Sparsh Ahuja

Last updated

Sparsh Ahuja is an Indian-Australian peace activist and documentary filmmaker. [1] He founded Project Dastaan along with Sam Dalrymple and Saadia Gardezi. [2]

Contents

Sparsh Ahuja
Born
Education Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) in philosophy, politics and economics
Alma mater University of Oxford
Occupation(s) Peace activist and documentary filmmaker
Known for Project Dastaan

Early life and education

Ahuja was born in India and grew up in Australia. [3] He graduated from University of Oxford with a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) degree in philosophy, politics and economics as a Fitz Randolph Scholar. [1]

Career

Ahuja founded Project Dastaan which is a peace initiative aimed at reintegrating refugees displaced by the Partition of India of 1947 with their ancestral homes. [4]

Ahuja is the director of Child of Empire, a VR docu-drama based on the 1947 partition. It premiered at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival. [5]

Ahuja directed a documentary titled Birdsong: the dying whistled language of the Hmong people in northern Laos in 2023. [6] [7] It was awarded a special mention at Palm Springs International ShortFest and was shortlisted by International Documentary Association for the 39th IDA Documentary Awards. [8] [9] The documentary was shortlisted for a Gierson Award, and later acquired by The Guardian. [10]

Ahuja is an explorer with National Geographic. [10]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Laos</span> Country in Southeast Asia

Laos, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic, is the only landlocked country in Southeast Asia. At the heart of the Indochinese Peninsula, Laos is bordered by Myanmar and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the southeast, and Thailand to the west and southwest. Its capital and largest city is Vientiane.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hmong people</span> Ethnic group in southwest China and Southeast Asia

The Hmong people are an indigenous group in East Asia and Southeast Asia. In China, the Hmong people are classified as a sub-group of the Miao people. The modern Hmong reside mainly in Southwest China and countries in Southeast Asia such as Vietnam, Laos, Thailand, and Myanmar. There is also a large diasporic community in the United States of more than 300,000. The Hmong diaspora has smaller communities in Australia and South America.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Laotian Americans</span> Americans of Laotian birth or descent

Laotian Americans are Americans who trace their ancestry to Laos. Laotian Americans are included in the larger category of Asian Americans. The major immigrant generation were generally refugees who escaped Laos during the warfare and disruption of the 1970s, and entered refugee camps in Thailand across the Mekong River. They emigrated to the United States during the late 1970s and throughout the 1980s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William Dalrymple</span> British historian and writer

William Benedict Hamilton-Dalrymple is an India-based Scottish historian and art historian, as well as a curator, broadcaster and critic. He is also one of the co-founders and co-directors of the world's largest writers' festival, the annual Jaipur Literature Festival. He is currently a Visiting Fellow at All Souls College, Oxford.

The Cinequest Film & Creativity Festival is an annual independent film festival held each March in San Jose, California and Redwood City, California. The international festival combines the cinematic arts with Silicon Valley’s innovation. It is produced by Cinequest, a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization that is also responsible for Picture The Possibilities and the distribution label Cinequest Mavericks Studio LLC. Cinequest awards the annual Maverick Spirit Awards. In addition to over 130 world or U.S. premieres from over 30 countries, the festival hosts writer's events including screenwriting competitions, a shorts program, technology and artistic forums and workshops, student programs, and a silent film accompanied on the theatre organ. Founded in 1990 as the Cinequest Film Festival, the festival was rebranded in 2017 as the Cinequest Film & VR Festival and expanded beyond downtown San Jose to Redwood City. It took its present name in 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hmong Americans</span> Americans of Hmong birth or descent

Hmong Americans are Americans of Hmong ancestry. Many Hmong Americans immigrated to the United States as refugees in the late 1970s. Over half of the Hmong population from Laos left the country, or attempted to leave, in 1975, at the culmination of the Laotian Civil War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sheffield DocFest</span> Documentary festival in Sheffield, England

Sheffield DocFest, is an international documentary festival and Industry Marketplace held annually in Sheffield, England.

Grahanandan Singh was an Indian field hockey player who won two gold medals, at the 1948 and 1952 Summer Olympics. There is a documentary film on the team.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anand Gandhi</span> Indian film director

Anand Gandhi is an Indian filmmaker, entrepreneur, media producer, innovator and systems researcher. He is also the founder/CEO of the Mumbai-based new media studio and systems think tank Memesys Culture Lab. His debut feature film Ship of Theseus (2013), which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival won the National Film Award for Best Picture. Gandhi's film as creative director, executive producer and co-writer, Tumbbad opened the Critics' Week at the 75th Venice Film Festival, released to a wide critical acclaim in October 2018.

<i>Last Day of Freedom</i> 2015 film by Dee Hibbert-Jones

Last Day of Freedom is a 2015 American black and white and color animated short documentary film about racism, the US Criminal Justice System, and mental health issues. The documentary was well received by critics and earned numerous awards at various film festivals, and The International Documentary Association Best Short Documentary Award, at the 31st Annual IDA Documentary Awards. Last Day of Freedom was shortlisted with ten other documentaries from 74 entries submitted to 88th Academy Awards in Documentary Short Subject category, and eventually received a nomination in this category. In June 2016 the film won an Emmy Award for News and Program Specialty -Documentary-Topical, at the 45th Annual Northern California Area Emmy® Awards. The film was a finalist for a Documentary Short, 59th Cine Eagle Award.

Ruhi Hamid is a British filmmaker, born in Tanzania of Asian origin, who has made award-winning documentaries for the BBC, Channel 4, Al Jazeera International, and other UK, US and European broadcasters. Her films have covered international stories — in Africa, Asia, Europe, South America, the USA, and the Middle East — dealing with social and political issues about women religion, poverty, health, and human rights. A graduate of London's Royal College of Art, she is also a graphic designer.

Aaron Saidman is an American creator-developer, documentary filmmaker and television producer known for creating or serving as an executive producer on a number of non-fiction television series and documentary feature films, including Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath, Curse of Von Dutch,Mind Field,Declassified: Untold Stories of American Spies, The Pitch,The Seven Five,Free Meek and Night Stalker: The Hunt For a Serial Killer. Saidman is the President and co-founder of The Intellectual Property Corporation, which he created in 2016 with longtime producing partner Eli Holzman.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aanchal Malhotra</span> Indian author and historian (born 1990)

Aanchal Malhotra is an Indian oral historian, author and artist, known for her work on the Partition of India. Her research and writings focus on the oral histories of individuals affected by the Partition, capturing their memories and the tangible remnants of that period.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Project Dastaan</span> Peace-building initiative

Project Dastaan is a peace-building initiative that reconnects displaced refugees of the 1947 Partition of India that created the modern-day South Asian republics of India, Pakistan and Bangladesh with their childhood communities and villages through bespoke 360-degree digital experiences. Dastaan means 'story' in several languages of the subcontinent.

Rintu Thomas is an Academy Award nominated documentary filmmaker and director-producer from India.

Sam Dalrymple is a historian, writer, film-maker, peace activist, and social media influencer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shubhangi Swarup</span>

Shubhangi Swarup is an Indian author, journalist and educator. She is best known for her novel Latitudes of Longing, which was published in 2018 by HarperCollins and was declared a bestseller soon after its release in India, and Sweden.

Way Back Home is a 2003 documentary film directed by Supriyo Sen and produced by his wife, Rajasri Mukhopadhyay. The film received a National Film Award from the Government of India, the Sundance Documentary Grant and the Asian Network of Documentary Award from the Pusan International Film Festival.

Saadia Gardezi is a Pakistani peace activist, artist and journalist. She co-founded Project Dastaan.

<i>Tender is the Sight</i> 2014 Bengali documentary

Tender is the Sight is a 2014 Bengali documentary directed by Torsha Bannerji and produced by Films Division of India. It received the National Film Award for Best Non-Feature Film at the 62nd National Film Awards. The film explores the perspective of a visually impaired boy, who perceives the world through sounds such as running trains, sewing machines, an ironsmith’s anvil, and a weaver's loom. It was selected for screening at the Indian Panorama 2015.

References

  1. 1 2 "Project Dastaan: Partition survivors travel to their ancestral villages through VR". The Times of India. 2022-08-13. ISSN   0971-8257 . Retrieved 2024-01-15.
  2. "Derby Museum exhibition to explore legacy of Partition". BBC. 2022-11-08. Retrieved 2024-01-16.
  3. "Partition: My journey to the 'place no-one spoke of'". BBC. 2022-08-05. Retrieved 2024-01-15.
  4. Habib, Waquar (2023-08-30). "Samuel Dalrymple On Showcasing The Partition With Sensitivity". Outlook Traveller. Retrieved 2024-01-16.
  5. Khan, Arman (2022-01-28). "Flashback 75: Partition in virtual reality in 'Child of Empire'". The Hindu. ISSN   0971-751X . Retrieved 2024-01-15.
  6. "Birdsong: the dying whistled language of the Hmong people in northern Laos". the Guardian. Retrieved 2024-01-15.
  7. "Messages born of melody – hear the whistled language of the Hmong people | Aeon Videos". Aeon. Retrieved 2024-01-15.
  8. "2023 Palm Springs International ShortFest announces award winners". The Desert Sun. Retrieved 2024-01-16.
  9. Carey, Matthew (2023-10-24). "'Going To Mars,' 'Bobi Wine,' 'In The Rearview' Nab Spots On IDA's Shortlist Of Year's Best Documentaries". Deadline. Retrieved 2024-01-15.
  10. 1 2 "Explorer directory". Narional Geographic.