Arpita Kumar

My Dear Americans

Arpita Kumar

Gugun Deep Singh, Ansuya Nathan

A short narrative funded by Film Independent, My Dear Americans is about a Sikh woman’s defiant spirit. A recent immigrant to the U.S, Tejpreet is reluctant to embrace her new American identity. In contrast, her husband celebrates everything that mildly reeks of America. On America’s most patriotic holiday, the fourth of July, they have a threatening racist encounter that crushes the Sikh man’s enthusiastic spirit. Witnessing her husband’s devastation, Tejpreet makes a choice against hate and turns the situation around, if only momentarily.

Sita

Arpita Kumar

Garima Bharadwaj

When Sita rents her womb out to a Canadian woman, her commercial surrogate status opens a legal and ethical can of worms. The film culminates in tragic irony when both the body of a pubescent female child and Sita become sites for opposing narratives on the role of the feminine and of the commodified. There are no villains in the films, just people with pressing needs.

Our Time

Arpita Kumar

Hungry for the attention of her absent father, ten-year old Maira hides behind the screen of her ipad constantly facetiming him but also avoiding the loving presence of her mother. Videos shared from these devices paint a picture of a happy family until one day Maira stumbles upon the truth that is both a sobering and transforming for her.