SAFF 2022 Social Issues (Mature Content)

COPELESS

The son of a drunk and abusive politician reconciles with the guilt that comes from not protecting his mother from his father.

LOHRI

A husband (Jaskaran Singh) and wife (Aman Buttar) try to celebrate their daughter’s birth while dealing with his alcoholism, toxic masculinity, and the culture’s negative attitude towards women.

CHILDREN OF PARTITION: AN ORAL HISTORY OF POTHOHARIS

Look back at the events of 1947 through this illuminating documentary.  Children of Partition: An Oral History of Pothoharis is a deep focus on how a community was affected by Partition and their subsequent migration to the UK. The film focuses on the Pothohar region of West Punjab and how this community’s heritage and culture has been nurtured and cultivated by the generation who came to Britain. This documentary has been made by the Pothohar Association UK and has been supported by the Heritage Fund.

EMERGENCE: OUT OF THE SHADOWS (R RATED) 

For Kayden, Jag, and Amar, awakening to and expressing their sexuality within conservative South Asian families was a lonely and terrifying experience. Denial, shame, and despair haunted their youths, even threatening their lives. Yet, they’ve emerged. In the feature documentary Emergence: Out of the Shadows, the disparate journeys of Kayden, Jag and Amar converge around a shared sense of compassion and healing as they bravely convey their often heart-wrenching stories. Confronted with tradition and taboo in their Punjabi Sikh cultures, Jag’s parents and Amar’s mother choose love and support for their children, offering courage and inspiration to individuals and communities struggling with acceptance.

R.K. JANMEJA (MEJI) SINGH, PhD

Dr. Meji Singh discusses the issues involved in the prior films. Meji is the Chief Training Consultant at the Community Behavioral Health Training Center, Concord, California. He is the Founding President of Inter-faith organization Ik Onkar Peace Foundation (2002-2006) currently a member of the Board of Trustees. It is a Co-operation Circle of the United Religions Initiative (U.R.I.), San Francisco. It has over 900 such Cooperation Circles in 80 different countries. He was a Member of the Action Coalition for Global Change, San Francisco. He was a member of the Beyond War Higher Education Group of Bay Area. He was one of the founding members (1964), Secretary (1972-1973, 78 &79), Chairman (1974, 75) of the Sikh Center of San Francisco Bay Area, El Sobrante Gurdwara. He taught Sikh Scripture Gurbani at the Gurdwara from 1990 to 2004. He was the founding Trustee and Secretary of the Sikh Foundation of North America, Redwood City, California (1966-74). In 1975 International Institute of the East Bay recognized him “For Unselfish Service to This Community.” Since 1996 he has served as a judge for the International Youth Symposium organized every year by Sri Hemkunt Foundation of New York. He was on the Board of Directors of the Inter-faith Center at Presidio in San Francisco (2002-2004).  

WOMEN IN THE FRONT SEAT

Fierce, Bold, Fast, Brave! “Women in the Front Seat” paints a vibrant and diverse picture of women who not only drive their motorcycles but drive their lives. This feature documentary captures the growing movement of women hitting the throttle and riding into the wind, breaking social norms and shattering stereotypes about women and women riders.

On a transformative solo cross country quest riding her Indian Scout motorcycle, filmmaker Indy Saini challenges her own fears, facing harsh weather conditions, exhaustion, and an existential crisis, to discover who these women are, why they decide to ride, and how they make the leap into the front seat. Indy’s story of growing up a mixed race kid struggling with self-esteem and a sense of belonging, weaves through the stories of the women she meets, touching on the common themes of fear, freedom, camaraderie, personal permission, and power.