January 7th, 2010 mani
Thanks to unsuspected phone calls from Assistant Professor Kym Clark and then Professor Reynaldo Ortiz from Binghamton University (State University of New York), my film was showcased via online streaming to the students of LACAS: 380-A: Asian, Latino/a, and African-American Gangs in NY and Californa: Stereotypes and Realities on January 6th, 2010.
Professor Ortiz advised me that the students were shocked to learn of some of the conditions/reasons for youth getting involved in gang activity in Metro Vancouver. Just as it is stated in my film, some precursors are considered abnormal reasons for motivating youth into this lifestyle.
I was happy to learn that my poetic footage was deemed ‘moving’ by the students. The use of strong metaphorical visuals and impacting audio seems to be working for bringing awareness. I hope to use such tools in my future film endeavours.
Currently, Professors Clark & Ortiz are working on bringing me to New York to showcase the film to a larger audience, along with a Q&A.
Shout outs to Kym Clark & Reynaldo Ortiz & Binghamton University.
Thanks,
mani
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November 6th, 2009 mani
Hello All,
As the ‘gang’ issue steadily inclines, more and more communities around BC and across Canada are looking for ways to spread awareness.
A couple of months ago, I was kindly approached by a criminology professor to the possibility of bringing myself and my film to their University.
After many emails and phone calls, we were able to schedule a firm date to showcase my film and proceed with a Q&A session. Vancouver Island University were spectacular hosts and the criminology department went above and beyond to organize these events.
The film was showcased at the Parksville VIU campus on November 4th. The screening on November 5th took place at the Nanaimo campus along with the Q&A session with myself. The criminology students came prepared to ask questions and I hope I was able to answer them sufficiently. It is in our youth we must place our greatest amount of support. Without their intuitive and progressive thinking, issues such as gangs will surely not be resolved for future generations.
I want to send shout outs to VIU Department of Criminology, VIU Human Rights Office, VIU Criminology Student Association, and Worldbridger Film Series.
Worldbridger is a great organization that brings provocative films to many communities. Please show them support so they may continue to help spread valuable messages.
Finally I wanted to send a special shout out to a new friend, Professor Joanne Simister, Chair, Department of Criminology, Vancouver Island University. Professor Simister’s drive to educate youth and propel them to think outside the ‘box’ is very apparent. It is not often you find someone whose impressive acumen takes a back seat to humility and kindness. Professor Simister is as lovely and kind as she is intelligent and wise. I am blessed to have made this new friend whose views are very much aligned.
Thank you everyone,
mani
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November 1st, 2009 mani
Hello Everyone,
I write this blog today, with some disappointment, some frustration, and a little bit of anger.
Yesterday was Halloween, youth take to the streets, dressed up in costumes, and they trick or treat. Some of the costumes I saw this year as I handed out the candy in North Delta saddened me.
First off, let us establish that my neighbourhood is a fairly multicultural neighbourhood. There is no minority but an almost equal mix of different cultures.
Our house had about 100 kids knock on the door this year. Out of the 100, there were about 15-20 that were between the ages of 12 to 15. Their were a few young ladies between those ages wearing short skirts, knee-high boots, and not enough clothing on their upper bodies. Top that off with fish-net stockings and a whole lot of make-up. I asked them what they were suppose to be and they replied with nothing. Is this what our young ladies strive to be?
If that was not enough, this further increased my disappointment; I had 6 young men in the aforementioned age group, all of whom were South Asian, dressed up as hoodlums and wreaking havoc by throwing firecrackers at little kids. One young man came to my door, and I asked him, ‘what is your costume suppose to be?’, and with a golden smile and a tone of pride he replied, ‘a gangster!’
Six young men! Dressed up as hoodlums/gangsters/idiots/whatever you may wish to call them. And sadly, all of them South Asian.
Next year I will be handing out a copy of my film to young men such as this.
It is very apparent that striving for ‘gangsterism’, plagues are youth. More positive role models are needed. I send out a cry for help. Please come forward and educate the youth around you.
The world is free to contact me at anytime.
Best regards,
mani
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October 29th, 2009 mani
The amount of support I get from our neighbouring province is overwhelming. Alberta has been so respectful of my work. They continuously provide support. I sincerely hope British Columbia can start taking the initiative as Alberta has.
On October 27th, AWR screened at the Royal Alberta Museum in Edmonton. The film screened to an audience of over 200 people. Members of the community, volunteers, students, law enforcement, government officials, youth, and other proactive peoples were present. The film was meant to be used as a tool (as it was intended) to educate other minority communities as well as society on the gang issue. By taking an in depth look at one community’s struggle with this issue, perhaps awareness can be provided and the issue can be prevented in another community, and eventually society. The ultimate goal is to save lives, now and for the future.
It is no easy task to have something ‘outside the box’ be done in any government agency. Sgt. James Clover, of the Edmonton Police Force worked tirelessly for months (after meeting me at the Alberta Gang Summit) to bring my film out to Edmonton. His active role in the community and with youth is amazing and I thank him sincerely for his efforts.
Thank you to Edmonton Police Force and the Citizens’ Police Academy of Edmonton. Again, a special shout out to Sgt. Clover for his hard work.
Thanks everyone,
mani
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October 20th, 2009 mani
On October 19th, after months of hardwork by the criminology coordinator, AWR was brought to the collegiate level as a film that was required to be watched for criminology students for a related assignment.
It was great to see students watching the film with the goal to be educated. The Q&A period was my opportunity to educate these eager young minds on how they can make a difference. As criminology students, their potential for helping is limitless. For them to have an accurate understanding of why the issue is happening was essential. I made them aware of the relation of marijuana trade in British Columbia and how it increased the number of gangs significantly.
I was given much respect as many students stayed after the Q&A to continue the discussion with me and to give me their positive comments. It is reasons like this I never tire in trying to make a difference. The kindness and respect is more than enough fuel to drive advocation of the issue forward.
Thank you to Douglas College for welcoming me. The screening at the college was in association with Cinema Politica, a great proactive network of film screenings. A special shout out to Heidi Currie, criminology coordinator and faculty member.
Thanks all,
mani
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October 15th, 2009 mani
Surrey, a suburb of Metro Vancouver, has seen its fair share of gang violence. Surrey is also home to the largest population of Sikhs and South Asians in North America.
On September 28th, AWR was booked to be screened for Professional Development Day for approximately 70 teachers. Despite the bright sunlight through the windows of the library, the teachers were able to extract enough content from the film to be given insight and awareness into this gang violence issue that has shaken Metro Vancouver. The screening led to an in depth Q&A period lasting nearly 45 minutes. Questions presented were thought provoking none the less to the audience, I hope the answers and avenues I provided were equally as thought provoking and enough to have the issue discussed in the future.
I wanted to thank Q.E. Secondary School, Q.E. Secondary Teachers & Staff. A special shout out to Don Cosens, chair of Professional Development, for recruiting the film and working very hard to bring it to his school.
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One of the teachers present on the September 28th screening of my film took it upon herself to initiate conversation with her Punjabi Studies Class. The interest was evoked, my film was screened for the class on October 8th, and further discussion occurred. The response was so positive that a student took it upon himself to seek me out. Contacting me and speaking about the issue for well over an hour, it was apparent the thirst for knowledge was there for this youth and his classmates. He further took initiative and approved my visit to the Punjabi Studies Class as a guest speaker on October 14th. The discussion about my life, my work, and an educating Q&A seemed to have kept the youth interested for nearly 2 hours.
This further solidifies my belief, that with a spark, you can engulf the world with the fire of awareness.
Thank you to Q.E. Secondary School once again. A very special shout out to Rani Kandola, the teacher who further took the initiative to bring my film to the youth, and Shehbaaz Jhalli, the youth, who took the initiative to bring me to the youth.
Thanks everyone,
mani
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September 27th, 2009 mani
Hello all,
On September 26th, ‘A Warrior’s Religion’ was screened at the Spinning Wheel Film Festival in Toronto.
The festival took place September 25th to 27th at the Royal Ontario Museum.
SWFF has been a pioneer in South Asian driven film and art festivals, in its 7th year, it becomes one of the longest running South Asian festivals.
The Q&A after the film’s screening further reiterates that people are willing to talk about and support an issue when unbiased information is presented. It seems that my film acts as a good catalyst to initiate dialogue and/or evoke action.
Shout outs to all the volunteers of SWFF making it a success every year. A very special shout out to T. Sher Singh for recruiting my project to be a part of this year’s festival.
Thanks all,
mani
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September 21st, 2009 mani
Hello everyone,
Thank you for all the ongoing support.
On September 19th, 2009, ‘A Warrior’s Religion’ was screened to a sold out crowd during the documentary session of the festival. It was very well received and I was approached by many people in regards to the subject matter. It is always a great feeling when your work is appreciated and applauded for the different manner in which it was created. I am more glad everyday that I stuck to my guns and produced a film within a very small genre called ‘poetic documentaries’.
On September 20th, 2009, Sikh Arts & Film Foundation hosted the gala for the Sikh International Film Festival, to my surprise, I was awarded Best Documentary prize along with $5000.
I plan on using the money as seed money to fund my next project if yet again I am unable to secure a producer. The film world needs to understand that I am not going away, and regardless of no funding, I will continue to make films that evoke thought.
Shout out to Sikh Arts & Film Foundation. And a very special shout out to Paul Johar, the chair of the film festival, he scouted me, got me out there, and helped spread the message to a broader audience. Much respect my friend.
Thanks all,
mani
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August 27th, 2009 mani
Hello Everyone,
I got some good news and some bad news.
The Good
A couple of months ago, a lead programmer from the Toronto International Film Festival kindly gave me a call, which was much to my surprise. Though I relentlessly hoped, I would never think my film, especially my first film, would ever be of interest to TIFF, the biggest film festival on Earth. They told me they had spotted my film project some time ago and were patiently waiting to see the finished product. What a compliment to be semi-courted by such a respected institution. I was further given the respect to bypass the standard application process and speak directly with the programmer.
The Bad
Now, I don’t look at this as really bad. Hey, I was so happy being even considered. In the end, my film was not accepted. I was told it was not due to film quality, but instead the theme of the film. This year they were not going to focus on such themes. Whatever the reason is, it is totally ok, I am just happy to be given the opportunity.
Shout out to Ms. P. Dhillon for calling, and yes, I will be shipping out my 2nd project directly to you 
Without the support I have received from around the world, I would not be given such opportunities. The world I wish to help, the world I wish to protect, unknowingly helps me, unknowingly protects me.
Thank you everyone,
mani
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July 29th, 2009 mani
Whoever said that hosting screenings was easy is mistaken. Just ask our new friend Pete from the Plaza Theatre in Calgary.
Day 1:
Due to time constraints, our dvd disc was not fully tested out to make sure it is compatible with the equipment available at the Plaza. “It is just a dvd disc, what could go wrong?” Surely those words were lost in a puddle of sweat when the dvd disc’s aspect ratio would not match up properly when hooked up to a $30k projector! While trying to figure out the aspect ratio, the projector decided to go into a standby mode that they were unable to get it out of. Thank God for back up equipment, we then decided to go with a lower key projector that was able to display the picture, still not in the correct aspect ratio but at least it displayed the image. All good? Sadly no, 45 mins into the picture (after a 15 minute delay in start time and impromptu apologies on stage for the ‘technical difficulties’) the disc started skipping! Many screenings under my belt, not one disc skipping issue! Kulwant Neote, my acting manager in Alberta, got up on stage to explain the situation, ‘it was not our dvd disc’…’it was the equipment’…’we are offering full refunds’… Things seemed bleak but the audience responded with ‘no refunds are needed’ and an undeserving applause. Turns out almost everyone was impressed with what they saw up until we decided to stop beating the dead horse and call it a day. A few refunds were given but mostly everyone either wanted to come back or watch the online screener of my film. Many kind thanks to everyone and their patience. Shout out to Al, another technician at the Plaza who tried desperately to get things working in Pete’s absence.
Day 2:
This time no taking chances, Pete and I came to the conclusion that the technical difficulties that we could not get around (the dvd disc skipping) were due to unclean dvd player heads. That pesky dust did a number on my morale, that is for sure. The night before, I watched the entire dvd disc on a residential dvd player and there were no skips! We borrowed the dvd player (which belonged to Kulwant’s family) and hooked it up at the Plaza. Pete, wanting to make sure we have a successful screening this time around sat in the poorly ventilated projector room on a crate making sure he is there in case of an emergency. No problems today, with less than a minute to go in the film, I go upstairs to shake Pete’s hand on a job well done when the disc freezes! After hitting play repeatedly we were able to finish the screening with that one and only glitch. I guess I celebrated too early.
Conclusion:
So what went wrong? The dvd disc played fine at Kulwant’s home with no skips. The same dvd player was used on Day 2, but there was a freeze point. Could it be bad luck? Or a combination of factors? We cannot say for sure, but that same dvd disc has been used a few more times since with no problems. Pete took the onus upon himself to make sure the entire technical difficulties fiasco was due to the equipment at the Plaza. Although I appreciate Pete putting the onus on himself and the theatre (he even offered to come up on stage and apologize), things like this happen and I am not in the business to hold grudges but to instead make friends.
Pete has offered free movie vouchers to anyone not satisfied with the Plaza Theatre after Day 1’s screening, you can contact Pete here.
If anyone came to see the film on Day 1 and wants a refund or watch the film in its entirety may contact me at anytime.
Shoutouts to Kulwant Neote, The Neote Family, The Neote Family DVD Player, Pete, Al, The Plaza Theatre, the Audience, and their Patience.
(The Calgary Public Screenings took place July 25th & 26th 2009)
Thanks Everyone!
mani
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