June 12th, 2011 mani
Hey all,
As Footsteps Into Gangland goes through the film festival circuit, and hopefully distribution, I find myself with idle hands.
Things are pretty calm for me this summer, for the first time in years. With that being said, I hate not having extra work to do, so I have decided to bump up production on my 3rd feature length film. I have entered the writing stage of my new film which will be a narrative on Vancouver’s downtown east side. The story will be about a young women forced into prostitution to support her drug addiction.
As with all my films, it will be hard-hitting, drastically realistic, and most likely controversial. Though controversy is never a goal, it seems to follow me around 
With 2 features under my belt, I may have enough experience and notoriety to receive funding from Telefilm…a long shot but one I must take. Self financing gives me the freedom of artistic control but makes me a slave to capitalism. I am yet to find that balance of doing what I want in filmmaking with other producers’ money.
As always, will keep everyone posted.
Best regards,
mani
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May 7th, 2011 mani
On May 6th, 2011, an excerpt of A Warrior’s Religion was used to enhance a presentation during the Transnational Punjabis in the 21st Century: Beginnings, Junctures and Departures Centennial Conference which ran from May 5th – 7th.
The conference was presented by the Centre for Indo-Canadian Studies within the University of Fraser Valley.
The presentation’s abstract is as follows;
A Warrior’s Religion Dissected-Past and Present
The term “warrior’s religion” and “warrior race” has become synonymous when discussing Sikhism and Sikh history. I will dissect this issue by looking at the historical context in which such warrior ascetic groups emerged, and under what conditions. More specifically, I will look at the emergence of warrior ascetic groups around the Punjab region as a unique situation in itself due to the areas geographic location. When assessing this term ‘warrior’s religion,’ one also must consider whether such a term is a western concept and thus forced upon us-or is it a term and image which Sikhs embrace? I then connect this theme of the Sikh religion as a ‘warrior’s religion’ in relation to a documentary created by local artist, Mani Amar, titled “A Warrior’s Religion.” Mani was heavily criticized for titling his documentary as such because his film looked at the nature of gang wars within the South Asian community. I then analyze our modern-day equating between Sikhs as a warrior race, and such Sikh youth embracing this image in order to commit crimes of power.
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I am glad my research and films are being used to bring awareness on a multitude of issues. This is why I do what I do.
Shout out to Sharanjit Kaur Sandhra for utilizing the film and for her ongoing support of my films.
The entire conference agenda can be found here.
As always, thanks everyone.
mani
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April 22nd, 2011 mani
Hello everyone,
A few months ago, I was approached by our old friend Nimi Chauhan of Sahara Services Society to be one of the three presenters for the ‘At Home, On the Streets’ presentation (a hard-hitting presentation showing the realities of drugs, gangs & materialism).
The presentation took place on April 20th, 2011 at David Thompson Secondary School in Vancouver to 400 students, teachers, community members, and parents.
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March 24th, 2011 mani
Thank you everyone for your ongoing support of my work.
The screenings of Footsteps Into Gangland on March 21st/22nd/23rd were received very well. But as always, my work, however sincere my intentions might be, some people will misconstrue the message of the film.
This has prompted me to eventually put up a F.A.Q. on the film’s website.
As with all my work, the goal of the film is simply to bring awareness to issues that a lot of youth face.
Once again, thank you to everyone for your ongoing support.
gratefully,
mani
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February 17th, 2011 mani
Hello everyone!
Thank you for your ongoing support over the years.
‘A Warrior’s Religion’ could not have been as successful as it has been without you.
My new film, ‘Footsteps Into Gangland‘, a fictional follow up to my documentary will be released this spring to the public.
There will only be a handful of screenings before I enter the film festival circuit, so if you are in the Metro Vancouver area, please come and support the cause.
Footsteps Into Gangland – Premiere Screenings
March 21st/22nd/23rd – 7pm & 9pm showtimes
Surrey Arts Centre
13750 88th Avenue
Surrey, BC
Tickets $11 (all inclusive)
buy tickets online now @ tickets.surrey.ca
or call the box office @ 604.501.5566
or call Films Of Fire Productions @ 604.288.2528
http://www.footstepsintogangland.com/showtimes
Thank you everyone! Hope to see you there!
best regards,
mani
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January 13th, 2011 mani
Hey all,
One of the greatest compliments any artist, especially a filmmaker, can get is that their work is still sparking dialogue between people. It shows that the artwork has the ability to evoke thought, ‘films evoking thought’, the motto my film production company goes by.
I was contacted by Olena Morozova of The Source/La Source Newspaper. A community driven newspaper serving Vancouver for over 10 years, their motto; ‘forum of diversity’.
Olena wanted to do an article about AWR with a focus on the precursors and attributes that can cause gang-related issues. Most reporters want to focus on the controversy or the ‘South Asian’ angle. Sufficed to say, Olena pleasantly surprised me.
Shout out to Olena for writing a great article, you are a talented writer and you will surely write great articles for years to come.
The article is available in PDF format from http://www.thelasource.com. You can alternatively download it by clicking here.
thanks,
mani
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December 20th, 2010 mani
Society is becoming more and more insecure. Insecurity is leading to more and more radical and life altering choices.
These are human-made conditions that stem from consumerism, materialism, and globalization. Globalization and its precursors are very complex issues, but it is safe to say that the human-condition is becoming adversely affected.
For example if we look closely at mass media, the ‘female’ advertising trend, for the most part, is to showcase having slim-toned bodies, sharp features, and light skin. This is apparent in nearly every ‘beauty’ magazine. Women are depicted to be ‘desirable’ when they have this look. The ‘male’ advertising trend, is to have a somewhat muscular body, the ‘six pack abs’, sharp female-esque features with a pronounced jaw line. What I stated above have always been measures of beauty, but the even more-so disturbing trend is that nearly 75% of magazine covers that are distributed worldwide have a European descendent gracing the cover.
This does wonders for our already insecure youth who ‘just want to fit in’ in today’s day and age.
I am a big believer that we control our destinies, that we have the power to make the right choices. But the truth is, when our society is being brainwashed by mass media, the chips are stacked against you.
Bleach, Nip, Tuck: The White Beauty Myth is a documentary about the growing trend in minorities in the U.K. wanting to be more white.
Bleach, Nip, Tuck: The White Beauty Myth
When you take apart the ‘gang’ issue, you will understand how this issue is connected.
This is the first episode, I will try to post them as they come.
Shout out to Channel 4 Productions for putting this together.
You can find out more about the series here;
http://www.channel4.com/programmes/bleach-nip-tuck-the-white-beauty-myth/episode-guide/series-1
Everyone is beautiful.
mani
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December 14th, 2010 mani
Hello everyone,
Early Sunday morning on December 12th, approximately 2am, multiple shots were fired in the Oak Street & West 22nd Avenue area of Vancouver.
When I say multiple…I really mean a lot. Reports are saying that there are 10 victims!
The stupidity just doesn’t lie in this event, but with the residents of that area and the Vancouver Police Department as well.
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December 2nd, 2010 mani
Many of you might not know but I have been very busy working on my new project, ‘Footsteps Into Gangland’.
Going from the genre of documentary to fiction is quite drastic but ultimately was a smooth transition for me. ’Footsteps Into Gangland’ (FIG) is based on true events, it allowed me to keep the realistic nature of my work. It also gave me the opportunity to utilize my poetry, similar to the techniques that I had employed in AWR.
I sincerely hope FIG has the same or even greater reach than AWR did in reaching youth and opening the lines of communication in families. As always, it is my sincerest goal to make a positive difference.
For all those interested, here is the trailer;
To learn more about the film, please visit the official website;
www.footstepsintogangland.com
You can also find us on the following social networking sites;
Everyone’s support for myself and AWR has been enormous thus far. It was that support that propelled me to continue making socially conscious films. I look forward to everyone’s support once again.
Best regards,
mani
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December 2nd, 2010 mani
Hello everyone,
Professor Heidi Currie has been a whirlwind of support for myself and my work since day one. She has been tireless with her efforts to get my work recognized. I am forever grateful and indebted for her ongoing support.
I was invited to speak to one of her criminology classes at Douglas College (New Westminster Campus) yesterday.
This guest speaking session was a great experience for myself and I hope for the class as well. It was structured differently. The class had already seen my film and had done some homework on it. I wasn’t invited to speak about the film (or just the film) but to speak about Mani Amar, the person. About how I got into filmmaking, my beliefs, my activism work, my past, my present, my future, and anything else the students wanted to know.
It was one of the first times where I was given the opportunity to be an ‘open book’.
I believe the students were more engaged due to the fact that I was just another ‘regular’ person, who had similar experiences as they did, and spoke from the heart and was bluntly honest. Speaking like a robot to today’s youth does not reach them. And that is what our politicians and government need to understand.
There is a huge communication gap between our future generations and the generation in power.
What is the point of being in power if you cannot protect our future? If you cannot at the very least listen to their concerns?
Shout out to Heidi Currie for the ongoing opportunities and support. A shout out to all the students who made it a great session.
Best regards,
mani
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