I wanted to be both a protestor and a filmmaker when it came to the 2019 anti-Muslim Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) in India. We went to the Jamia Milia Islamia protests with the intention of doing just this, but found ourselves in a boiling pot of hundreds of angry police and protestors. The claustrophobia and outrage we felt is what this film aims to evoke.
Hell in Jamia
During the 2019 anti-Muslim Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) protests in India, there was something special happening in Shaheen Bhagh, New Delhi. A multi-day, women-led, poetry-driven protest that blocked off the entire street was making sure that the injustices being committed with the CAA would not be forgotten.
An Ode to Shaheen Bhagh
If it isn’t obvious from my work, I am endlessly in awe of Hirokazu Kore-eda’s filmography. When I watched Maborosi, his feature film debut, I felt compelled to share my passion for its deeply empathetic exploration of grief. I wanted to do this as a video essay whose form reflected that of the film and whose writing and analysis was crystal clear.
