Kaur Films

The Art of Diversity

Harleen — Mon, 11 Sep 2017 05:57:48 +0000

Imagine a world where everything is the same – one kind of plants, trees, animals, only one color, identical homes, all the streets with same names, homes with same numbers. Imagine a world where you only have one kind of pots and pans and you eat the same food for every meal, every day, we do the exact same tasks every day – day in and day out and are surrounded by people who all look the same.

Does that make you feel uncomfortable or remind you of Groundhog Day? If it does, you are not alone.

“We inhabit a universe that is characterized by diversity”. Desmond Tutu.

Diversity is real. It is all around us. It is in everything we see, we do, we hear, we eat, we sing. No two humans are the same. There are bound to be differences of skin color, gender, beliefs , culture etc. Even twins or triplets who may appear to be cut from the same cloth, have different genetic makeup and behavior.

Centuries ago, when information did not flow easily across geographies, humans were vary of the unknown. We had a strong tendency to cling to things and people that were close to what we looked like or believed in. We shunned people who looked “different”. However, the irony is that people want to live new experiences all the time. People want to talk to different individuals and not just the person in the mirror. This has been true for as long as humans have lived – it was for want of new trading partners that The Silk Route was created and it was the quest for exploring a new country that Columbus sailed to America.

Mark Twain (b. 1835), the famous author summed it up nicely:

“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one’s lifetime.”

SARABJIT SINGH, WATERCOLOR, THE ART OF DIVERSITY

Corporates are not blind to these insights. In 2016, a Thomson Reuters survey revealed that a diverse workforce created more innovative products and have customers that are much more contended and happy. Gender plays a huge role as well. Between 2005 – 2011, Credit Suisse Research Institute interviewed 2360 companies globally. It is clear from the evidence that companies that had one or more women on the board delivered higher returns on equity, better growth and at a much lower risk profile.

In today’s world, if your products are used by a diverse set of people, it makes sense to have a diverse set of people design them in the first place. Diversity and inclusion does not just mean hiring people from all backgrounds. It truly means building and promoting a culture where diverse thoughts, approaches, styles, ideas and experience is encouraged and appreciated which then leads to innovation.

Historically, diversity has brought us the best pieces of music, films and arts. The diverse and often groundbreaking points of view of directors, writers and actors have brought some fantastic films that have made an impact on our thought and culture. The original Star Trek Series is exemplary for it’s time and included characters from different cultures. The current Ms. Marvel series is another fine example of embracing diversity in keeping with our current socio-economic climate. Also, the reality series The Chair is a fine example of how two directors bring their own sensibilities to the same script, creating vastly different films in the process.

In my approach to film making and story telling, I have tried to embrace diversity and hopefully live up to what Maya Angelou said, “In diversity there is beauty and there is strength.”

Through my second documentary “Drawn Together: Comics, Diversity and Stereotypes”, I have tried to address diversity from the vantage point cartoons, comics, editorial cartoons and cosplay. This offers a unique yet impactful way of storytelling in a way that brings a smile to the audience, yet, makes them think.

Racism and stereotyping is not associated with one set of people. People of all age groups, ethnicities, genders, cultures face it and have devised their own ways of dealing with it. The film features the work of and commentary by three comic book artists: Keith Knight, an African-American, has been dealing with this subject since birth because of the color of the skin, provides politically astute commentary. Vishavjit Singh, a Sikh who dresses as Captain America, has been negatively stereotyped purely because of how he looks. Eileen Alden a woman who is the creator of action based comics provides her perspective on gender biases in an industry long dominated by men.

As a film, Drawn Together boldly encourages viewers to unlearn stereotyping, look beyond the obvious, and confront media prejudice. Though the film’s basis is comics and cartoons, it is essentially a film about challenging stereotypes, wherever we see a conscious or an unconscious bias. My goal is to reach out to as many people as possible across the world and talk about the pitfalls of such biases that show up as racism and discrimination.

We have come a long way from the 15th century, but we need to go further. Let’s not encourage public attitudes about who may or may not be of high value in our society based on stereotypes and biased information. We need to reboot our attitude by becoming a more accepting society and break the artificial walls we have created all around ourselves.

Break Stereotypes. Embrace Diversity.

“Drawn Together- Comics, Diversity and stereotypes” is fiscally sponsored by the San Francisco Film Society and all contributions to the film are tax-deductible.

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Can Artificial Intelligence Usher an Era of Gender Parity

Harleen — Fri, 08 Sep 2017 00:34:45 +0000

Imagine a gender equitable society. Where women are not the stereotypical nurturers and men are not the conventional providers. Where the roles that people play in the society are aligned with their acumen and interests rather than a gender driven portrayal of a deeply entrenched parochial viewpoint.

BY CARROT LORD (GIMP AND PAINT.NET TO CREATE THIS.) [GFDL (HTTP://WWW.GNU.ORG/COPYLEFT/FDL.HTML) OR CC BY-SA 3.0 (HTTP://CREATIVECOMMONS.ORG/LICENSES/BY-SA/3.0)], VIA WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

Such a society does not exist yet. But imagining it is a worthwhile exercise. It was only a few years ago that Malala Yousafzai was almost killed for wanting an education for herself. Her story is not unique. It has taken hundreds of years of recent history for women to to establish a mainstream voice. For perspective, that is half the world’s population.

Admittedly, some countries and societies are far advanced than others. Yet, the underlying deep bias continues even in the most progressive of environments. This makes me wonder if a solution lies in reimagining social norms which can be driven by outcomes rather than inherent human biases.

As a thought experiment, consider using Artificial Intelligence in our quest to break out of thousands of years of deep rooted societal bias. Can today’s technology create a mechanism for correcting stereotypical habit patterns using deep learning and data driven techniques?

Deep-learning software attempts to mimic human brain activity in the neocortex, where thinking occurs. The software learns to recognize patterns in digital representations of sounds, images, and other data. Ray Kurzweil wrote a definitive book “How to Create a Mind” through software techniques. The goal of deep learning is to recreate human intelligence at a machine level, hence, Artificial Intelligence. However, the outcome of such learning is predicated on how well the software is trained. Biased training will result in biased outcomes as Microsoft found out with its AI chatbot Tay.

Continuing on our thought experiment, let’s look at a simple workplace situation where more often than not, regular human intelligence fails us.

Situation: A sexist comment in the boardroom.

Desired Outcome: Raise a hand and nip the comment.

Image Credit: Flickr

If this situation were handled by a robot using AI techniques, it is imperative for the robot to be trained on the underlying assumptions. Poor training results in poor outcomes. When the robot receives a sexist input, it needs to understand the context, apply a perspective and then act accordingly. Robots programmed without a woman’s perspective will be inherently biased and fail to deliver the desired outcome. Indeed this is what happened with Tay.

Tech company environments, where AI algorithms are trained and tested suffer from an underrepresentation of women and thus lack an awareness of such biases. Only 16% of computer graduates are women. Add to that deeply ingrained cultural and workplace attitudes, which are often subversive to women, and one can see how quickly gender and cultural stereotypes can be perpetuated.

Fortunately, unlike human biases, AI biases are easier to correct simply by reprogramming the robot’s software. In order to receive an output devoid of bias, the actions in creating that output ought to be categorized with parity and equity. It is just a matter of how we train and test our data and algorithms, redoubling our commitment to such parity. It is not hard to imagine a gender and culture neutralizing framework that processes data and corrects a robot’s behavior, mimicking ideal human language and perceptions.

It is exciting to imagine the possibilities of such equality. In the not so distant future, AI will be an irrefutable part of our lives invading diverse fields such as healthcare, behavioral economics, politics etc. And in order to make it a real success, we will need people from all walks of life, not only programmers but also professionals engaged in healthcare, anthropology, economics, finance etc.

I feel encouraged that men and women are recognizing the potential of technology in creating a world that is free from biases. Next week, I look forward to discussing this and more at the Women in STEM Conference and Awards, which brings together over 100 accomplished women and men to discuss the future of science and tech in San Francisco. Just as Malala championed the cause of equal education opportunities for girls, there will be many advocates for creating a new paradigm for a gender-neutral society. See you there.

This post first appeared on The Huffington Post.

The post Can Artificial Intelligence Usher an Era of Gender Parity first appeared on Kaur Films.

Ending The Gender War For Women In STEM

Harleen — Thu, 24 Aug 2017 12:24:27 +0000

A fantastic effort to bridge the gender divide

As a film maker , researching inequity and disparity for stories of strength and resilience is what I do even when not making films. The last few weeks, I have been pondering over the impact of art on society. It started with the film, Hidden Figures, which did a fantastic job of telling the story of 3 acclaimed black women who changed history. The film had more of an impact than real life – so much so that inspired by the film, the US State Department created an educational exchange for women in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics).

Living in the Silicon Valley, I find the San Francisco bay area a strange mosaic. The world’s most innovative, bright and prolific people concentrate amongst our ranks, yet we fail to find the narrative of progressive parity. In a recent survey conducted by the New York Times, the gender lines are so drawn that men and women have still not figured out how to socialize with each other. Gender roles are predefined in a manner that women increasingly operate in a world where they must go to extreme extents to make their voices heard.

The percentage of women in tech has plummeted in the past 25 years. Silicon Valley must face this issue head-on and reverse this trend. pic.twitter.com/yo69RQfAdP

— Ro Khanna (@RoKhanna) August 21, 2017

Do we have female substitutes for a Bill Gates or Steve Jobs? An important question to ask is: As technology takes over every aspect of human lives, how do we create role models for a new generation of girls and young women?

For so many decades, women have not experienced the same career opportunities presented to men. Women, especially in STEM, are often sidelined because they are erroneously believed to be incapable of solving hard problems. Many such incorrect assumptions abound, are routinely made and propagated even amongst the most progressive of corporate environments.

Companies are engrossed in creating frameworks that limit their legal liabilities. They are far less focused on creating organic understanding of normal working relationships between men and women or promoting a natural, healthy interaction between the two sexes. It is extremely difficult to evaluate the health of our workplace culture because objectionable conversations rarely occur in the open.

Not so anymore. The last few months have shown that women no longer want to have these experiences swept under the proverbial rug. At the intersection of this revolt and a push back lies a work culture that still needs to be repaired. I have long searched for a solution for this adversity but private, closed door conversations, HR interventions and lawsuits are really just reactions to the symptoms – not a sustainable solution.

Thankfully, all hope is not lost! Some organizations are starting to rise up to make sure that women aren’t left to fill up the back row seats anymore. Just a few days ago, as I pondered over my dilemma, I came across a refreshing new perspective that is the brainchild of a San Francisco based non profit, Menina Kaj Femme.

'Let's Talk About X and Y' Panel/food/ network #event https://t.co/OBYdwdDYsr #WiSTEM #NerdGirls #SF #WiSTEM2017 #womenintech #SiliconValley pic.twitter.com/08crGZJek5

— MKF Impact (@MKFImpact) August 10, 2017

The Non profit hosts its annual Global Women in STEM Conference and Awards in partnership with Mobile World Congress on Sept 11-12 in San Francisco. The conference is supported by more than 100 thought leaders, both men and women, politicians and industry mavens who want to be engaged in the conversation and encourage equal opportunity for women in fields as diverse as government, Smart Cities, Transportation, Climate Change, Cybersecurity, the future of AI, AR, VR, Robotics etc etc. To encourage more women entrepreneurs, VCs and fellow entrepreneurs will be on hand to help them walk through the challenges.

Tom Steyer, the San Francisco based leader who leads the war on climate change will talk about renewable energy. Laurie Yoler, the founding board member of Tesla will share her thoughts on the future of transportation while Vinod Khosla, a preeminent venture capitalist will lead an open Q & A for the audience. Lauren Schmidt, representing DuiX (Dept of Defense Innovation Fund) , will lay out DOD’s investment priorities. Kate O’Keeffe representing Cisco’s hyperinnnovation lab CHILL will offer her perspective on bringing together diverse corporations and interests to generating ideas that will lead to breakthrough services, businesses and products.

Catering to the needs of a diverse, global audience and women in STEM, many other leaders will present their views including Ann Winblad who is a pioneer in VC investing, Tory Burch, the famous designer who also runs a foundation for women entrepreneurs, Anarkali Honaryar, the first woman parliamentarian from Afghanistan, Dru Ramey, the beacon of human rights in America etc.

The 2 days at WiSTEM this year will be exactly the conversation we want to have. A conversation about not being anchored in the past but building a cohesive future where men and women are both vested in the same outcome – economic growth and capacity building.

Where men and women are not segregated by arbitrarily defined capability but deeply entrenched in each others success, the lessons from Women in STEM Conference may show the path to end the gender war for women in STEM. The start of a new beginning. I am excited – see you there.

The post Ending The Gender War For Women In STEM first appeared on Kaur Films.

Remembering Jaspal Bhatti – In conversation with Savita Bhatti

Harleen — Fri, 03 Mar 2017 15:48:23 +0000

Jaspal Singh Bhatti (1955 – 2012), the Punjabi satirist with his unique brand of humor, entertained us for nearly three decades. Through vehicles such as his brainchild, The Nonsense Club (started in 1982), he challenged our wisdom about deep-rooted social practices.

Tragically, on October 25, 2012, one day before the release of his son’s debut film ‘Power Cut‘, he was killed in an automobile accident.

The eternally optimistic director, producer, actor and social activist left behind a legacy of satire that has spawned hundreds of imitators, but none quite like the master himself.

Here are some excerpts from a conversation I had recently with his widow, Savita Bhatti.

Jaspal Bhatti – The Sikh King of Satire

* * * * *

Q: How did first you meet Jaspal?

A: It was in the 1980’s when I first got to know of him. At that time, he used to work in the Punjab State Electricity Board and I had seen him on TV. He had created a 3-minute segment called ‘Rang Vich Bhang’ which appeared alongside ‘Chitrahaar‘, the most popular TV series at that time.

The show was a satire on social issues that plagued India, such as dowry demands, bride burning, etc. Holding a mirror to the society, it soon gathered a cult following.

Around this time, an acquaintance suggested his name in an arranged marriage proposal and, not long thereafter, we were married.

Q: What were the early years like, together?

A: Our home was always full of people who would show up for rehearsing plays. Jaspal had special permission to stage plays and shoot for his TV segments, as he was a performing artist. He was starting to get famous and recognized on the streets.

Right around this time, his daily cartoon strip, ‘Oddly Speaking,’ began to be published on the front page of the region’s leading English daily,’The Tribune.”

Q: Sounds like Jaspal was a multi-talented artist …

A: There’s no doubt about that. His vision was so amazing and all pervasive. Till today, he is India’s only professional humorist who also drew cartoons and wrote articles for almost all leading newspapers, ventured into TV and films, opened a comedy school, “Mad Arts” and founded the humor club, “The Nonsense Club”, and so on. He has no rivals.

He would start his day early with a little prayer, a long walk. While on his morning walks, he would record a new set of jokes and work on his delivery.

He wrote every day. The first half of his day was dedicated to writing. After that he used to take a quick trip to the film school and interact with the students. In the evening, a bonding time with the family or his friends.

And even as he retired for the day, a quick glance at a page of the book on his bedside.

Q: What made Jaspal unique?

A: Jaspal was a quiet person, a thinker and a philosopher. The only people amongst whom he talked and laughed freely were his friends, especially from his engineering days.

Actually most people who create humor are very serious people. Jaspal created humor from things that trouble the world. Instead of getting frustrated and ranting, he created humor out of it and made millions laugh. He was a very keen observer and sometimes out of nowhere he would mouth a one-liner. It just made you wonder about the depth of his thought process.

But what set Jaspal apart from others was that he had a sense of social obligation. He had the courage and conviction to take on any issue that bothered him. He made a common man’s pain his own. That’s why he’s called the common man’s superstar. Very few celebrities can walk the roads today in the blistering sun for an issue they feel so strongly about.

He was a crusader, a revolutionary, but in an insanely funny way. He could make an 8-year old kid, a 35-year old and a 65- year old grandmother laugh the same way at his jokes. ‘Reader’s Digest’ ranked him at #43 in their list of ‘100 Indians India Admires’.

Q: How did Jaspal handle the trappings of celebrity-hood?

A: Jaspal was a well-grounded person. Very comfortable in his skin. That’s why he was so resplendent in his colorful turbans. Being a Sikh was natural to him. He didn’t feel the need to get into any trappings of glamour to prove a point. He would walk around in Sector 17 and just walk into any store. He chose to be what he normally would be at home rather than pretend to be someone else.

That is why the world loved him, and continues to do today.

And what endeared me most to this man is that in his generosity he shaped and modelled so many lives and careers — Vivek Shauq, BN Sharma, Sunil Grover and myself, amongst many others. He could do this because he cheered and appreciated talent in others.

Q: You mentioned he was a proud Sikh. How did that inspire him?

A: Jaspal’s day started reading from the Sikh scripture and it is his understanding of Gurbani that made him a humble and compassionate person. The first 10 years of his life, he lived with his grandmother in Ambala. She was an ardent Sikh. That upbringing influenced him immensely. Jaspal always gace away his dasvandh for worthy causes. For example, a part of whatever money we earned would go to the local gurudwara dispensary.

Q: What surprised you most about him in the 28 years that you spent together?

A: His ability to look at everything in an ‘ulta-pulta’, topsy-turvy manner. From time to time, he would suddenly come up with a new activity, a press note or something – out of nowhere. I would exclaim, “You were just there with me 20 minutes ago! How did this come to your mind, out of the blue?”

He was observant and constantly thinking and reinventing himself. That never failed to surprise me.

Also, he was not afraid of anything or anybody. I remember once he when ‘The Nonsense Club’ staged an event right in front of the Indian Parliament, with the tongue-in-cheek message that Parliament should not waste its time on small corruption scandals. Anything below Rs. 2 billion ($40 million) should not be considered a scam at all in India!

He spared no political party. He was unbiased. He had no scores to settle. His job was just to tell the truth, even if it meant standing alone.

Another thing about him was that he was very unpredictable. Even after so many years of being together, I could never predict his actions. He used to always do some new things on every family trip. All his moves were loaded with surprises. And true to this, he went away so suddenly. How I pray that God could undo this one surprise!

Q: How did Jaspal identify talent in those around him?

A: Jaspal was very intuitive and always gave due respect to talent. He gave people an equal platform and let them perform. Vivek Shauq, Guthi and quite a few others started their careers with Jaspal. In fact he helped me as well in developing as a performer. He was very secure and clear in his vision … I believe that if one has such a vision, everything else just falls into place.

Q: How are you keeping his memory alive?

A: March 3 is Jaspal’s birthday. I would like to establish that day as a ‘Comedy and Laughter Day’ so that every year people come to Chandigarh, Punjab, and celebrate this man and the joy he brought us. I would love to call all kinds of people for this festival – national TV stars, international comedians and also the ‘bhands’, local performers from our villages who do a great job of making people laugh. I would like to make this day special and create a unique event in his memory.

This article first appeared here.

The post Remembering Jaspal Bhatti – In conversation with Savita Bhatti first appeared on Kaur Films.

I Feel Like a Superhero

Harleen — Mon, 11 Jul 2016 03:10:09 +0000

In some other news this week, I was eeatured as a person of the week on the much widely read www.india.com portal. India has a long way to go in addressing implicit and explicit biases that create an uneven playing field for its citizens. The website claims to have about 28 million readers – even if a small fraction of those who get to read about Drawn Together- Comics, Diversity and stereotypes, change their attitudes about racial, gender and appearance related stereotypes, I’d consider that the film is on the right path to creating social change.

You can read excerpts from my interview here. Much thanks to Soni and Trisha.

The story is reproduced below.

Harleen Singh’s new documentary, “Drawn Together- Comics, Diversity and stereotypes,” is a fantastic feature on three people using cartoons to fight stereotypes. In fact, it is so much more than that because of the profound meaning and message it carries. In a time where xenophobia, sexism, and racism are alarmingly common and the media coverage of these issues are either biased or ignored altogether, Singh’s documentary is not only insightful but timely. It is a worthy study in why popular culture values, or rather devalues these topics.

Singh’s achievement is no small feat. She examines American cultural stereotypes with a backdrop of superheroes – typically, white, male, and physically formidable – as portrayed in comic books and films.

“The film explores how a lack of diversity among these superheroes reflects and reinforces public attitudes about who may or may not be of high value in our society,” she said. “We also take a hard look at the opposite of superheroes as portrayed in comic books: the villainous characters that, more often than not, represent racial, ethnic, or religious minority groups who are misrepresented and stereotyped.”

The film features the work of and commentary by three comic book artists: Keith Knight, an African-American who provides politically astute commentary, Vishavjit Singh, a Sikh who dresses as Captain America, and Eileen Alden a woman who is the creator of action based comics. These artists grapple with and challenge the stereotypes of gender, race, and physical appearance, both in their creative work and in their personal lives.

In her film, Singh also interviews a professor of entertainment education, a cartoon museum curator, and an Al Jazeera journalist. They reflect on the stories popular media tells and how they shape how we think about ourselves as a people. Singh questions who is idealized and who is excluded from the public determination of being held in highest regard.

In regards to comics, it would appear that there is more diversity than in years past. For instance, there are more superheroines in comic books as opposed to female characters only being depicted as damsels in distress. Despite this, most female comic book characters continue to be sexualized. Luckily, Singh’s documentary echoed these sentiments and believes that there is some progress in terms of diversity in comic books, but there are disproportionately less number of minorities.

“We address the gender stereotypes in two ways. First, we show a creator’s perspective. Eileen Alden is the creator of comics, but unlike what has been thought about of women creators—they can only create things that are highly emotional, are mostly sentimental and always deal with the subject of love—she breaks that stereotype and goes on to create an action based comic,” she said. “Second from a creation point of view, the Super Sikh comic that we talk about in the film is also one where the woman protagonist is equal in her presence. She is definitely not a sexual object sitting in one corner, she plays a critical role in solving the issues. Her character is fiercely independent and can do things that are equal to a male counterpart if not more.”

Singh also added that though her film’s basis is comics and cartoons, it is essentially a film about challenging stereotypes. “It’s not just about comics alone, but wherever we see a conscious or an unconscious bias. Our goal is to reach out to as many people as possible across the world and talk about the pitfalls of such biases that show up as racism and discrimination.”

As far as propagating stereotypes, Singh said we all share the blame and we need to reboot our attitude by becoming a more accepting society and break the walls we have created. “We have come a long way from the 15th century, but we need to go further,” she said. “The film definitely has an answer to this question. Hopefully, towards the end of the year when you watch the film, you will have some handy tools with anecdotes to help you understand the issue and solutions to get past them.”

“Drawn Together- Comics, Diversity and stereotypes” is a fiscal sponsorship with the San Francisco Film Society and all contributions to the film are tax-deductible.

The post I Feel Like a Superhero first appeared on Kaur Films.

Confessions of an Accidental Filmmaker

Harleen — Wed, 20 Apr 2016 15:20:59 +0000

I suppose, I am an accidental filmmaker.

For it was by sheer accident that bored of making sales calls in New Delhi, I called up the offices of National Geographic, asking for a job on a Friday and started working with them a week later. One fine monsoon afternoon, a chance meeting with Steve McCurry, the photographer of The Afghan Girl, taught me two things that I would always carry with me: to be intensely aware of the world around me and to live life passionately.

Years later, now in San Francisco, another set of happy coincidences matured into a role as a jury member of United Nations Association Film Festival (UNAFF). I met diverse filmmakers from across the world, telling their own stories — of pizzas in Iran or baseballs in Havana or why the bread I eat is not what I think it is. Some of these are so far removed from our lives, yet provide a perspective — to learn, to think and to keep me alive.

So, in this spirit of being alive, I simply want to tell my stories. Stories that may originate from where I live, where I travel and the people I meet. Surely, not everyone is going to feel the same way as I do or understand where I am coming from, but that’s ok. It’s ok to have a diversity of thought and opinion, because in this diversity lies the accidental discovery of things that matter. Diversity is necessary for serendipity, and chance discoveries make great stories.

I may not know what inspires me — for it is a fleeting moment, if I am aware, I may recognize it, else it is gone forever. But I do know that inspiration does not come when we build walls around ourselves or isolate people and their lived experiences because they look or appear different to us. Inspiration lurks somewhere in appreciating these differences as the richest form of human experiences. As a Sikh, I have been outside these walls many times and I often ask myself, “If I don’t tell these Sikh stories, who else will?” and perhaps more importantly, “How?”

Which brings me to write about my current project, Drawn Together- Comics, Diversity and stereotypes, in which I challenge gender, racial and appearance biases, but with a backdrop of comic books and superheroes. Here is a sneak peek:

Comics are everywhere, in all cultures, in all countries and are for all ages. Turn on television or Netflix and chances are you will see some show inspired by or adapted from a comic book. Go shopping at the mall or a department store and you will be guaranteed to find comic boom memorabilia and merchandise for sale. Movies based on comic books are some of the highest grossing films each year.

Comic books have the ability to instill important values and life lessons into its readers, such as protecting the weak, believing in hope, and a rare combination of simultaneously having the courage and a strong moral ethic. For all of the good, comic books have a tendency to perpetuate stereotypes among people, especially gender and racial ones. Almost all the superheroes are anglo American male wearing a cape, with super human powers and often depict women in minor roles. There are no Sikh Superheroes or role models in this genre. Disney has a history of bringing racist/sexist characters to life. Black, Latino, gay characters are all underrepresented, and women are just reduced to sex symbols. The gap is too glaring to ignore and since I wanted to make a film on stereotypes, this provided a perfect opportunity I don’t think anyone has attempted such an audacious story before this.

In the film “Drawn Together- Comics, Diversity and stereotypes” I challenge such stereotypes. The film weaves together stories of three comic creators Eileen Kaur Alden, Keith Knight and Vishavjit Singh, who share their perspective of being stereotyped and how they constantly challenge this notion through their work and in their personal lives.

On the face, Keith, Vish, and Eileen look like they are worlds apart — when you see them onscreen together, you immediately think — what are these disjointed set of people doing together? So subconsciously, as an audience, you have already bucketed them — rightly or wrongly. And that’s I want you to place yourself as the film begins.

Over the course of the film, I also interview voices in academia (Dr. Arvind Singhal), media (@Adam Elrashidi) and an expert on cartoon art (Andrew Farago). With hard evidence, they explain how consciously or unconsciously we box people and make generalizations based on race, color, gender or looks. Through their voices, we get a perspective on how our lead artists are creating and curating new stories to counter the deeply negative subculture of stereotyping. So in effect, I am telling a story of how other artists are telling their stories.

And we all ought to tell our own stories, for they may uncover another superhero.

Perhaps David Bowie anticipated it in his song Heroes:

We can be heroes, forever and ever

What’d you say?

I know I’d say Drawn Together- Comics, Diversity and stereotypes.

The post Confessions of an Accidental Filmmaker first appeared on Kaur Films.

You’ve Got Mail | The Dying Art of Letter Writing

Harleen — Wed, 13 Apr 2016 15:45:37 +0000

There was a time when writing letters was the norm.

An Indian Postman – it was an honorable profession

Back in India where I was born, there were these blue-colored Inland Letters which used to cost just 25 paisa — later escalating to 75 paisa — and sending and receiving those blue inland letters was almost a weekly activity.

My friends could understand how busy I was, just by the frequency with which I used to write to them. My mother could even gauge my mood, simply by looking at my handwriting.

During my teenage years, I lived in a hostel. There was one telephone for about 250 girls there and no cellphones were around. Standing in line to make a long distance call when there was so much work to do, was simply not possible.

The only person I used to look forward to meeting every day was the postman. He was the one who could light up my face by just saying “aap ke liye letter aaya hai “ (You’ve got mail).

I used to jump around the entire hostel when I would get that sacred sheet of paper in my hand. I would religiously read the letter at least 4 – 5 times before I was satisfied that I had not missed a single word. Then, maybe, read it one more time before going to bed.

It was a different sort of joy when I visited a friend and found a postcard that I had written to him/her and found it posted on their fridge. I could remember the exact moment that I had written it. I could go back in time and relive that time when I picked up the postcard and wrote those lines.

Thanks to the postal services, I could stay in touch with some of my best friends who were scattered to different parts of the country.

Sitting down and writing to a loved one was a very joyful exercise. I could let my heart out and sometimes the tears on the pages went along as well. I felt relieved and sometimes even re-energized after writing letters.

I remember the time when my father was posted in Kashmir and phone calls were hard to come by. It was only through letters that we could correspond and get to know of his well-being or that the snow was finally thawing and the gardens were turning green.

The Blue Inland Letter, India

Those letters would be our support system and we eagerly looked forward to them — sometimes disappointed that the postman did not have one for us, but two for our neighbors.

Recently my mother-in-law showed me a letter that she had preserved for more than 35 years. It was a letter that her parents had written to her, congratulating her when my husband was born.

In this age of social media and emails, that art of letter writing is dying – perhaps already close to extinction. I have nothing against modernity, in fact I am writing this very piece using the new medium.

But the point is that somewhere down the line we have forgotten the personal connections that we make when we sit down and take the time out to write something with our own hands. We have forgotten that if we hand-write a few words, send a post card, a special photograph, a dried flower and maybe even a tear – it will have a different effect on the receiver as compared to something on the electronic media.

Somehow we have forgotten that we need to just get ourselves off these screens, pause, get our thoughts together and just take a pen — an old fountain pen, or any felt-tip or ball-point will do — and start to write our hearts out. I hope to carry on writing letters to my loved ones and one day receive a postcard or two from some old friend.

Lo and behold, I have only recently received a wonderful greeting card for my daughter’s first birthday – a real one made of paper with words scrawled across it with a fountain pen – just like it used to be.

Wonders never cease …

This post first appeared here.

The post You’ve Got Mail | The Dying Art of Letter Writing first appeared on Kaur Films.

Kaur Life is talking about Us

Harleen — Sun, 10 Apr 2016 15:35:51 +0000

Kaur Life featured a new story about Kaur Films and what we are trying to do. I almost missed this story as it appeared just days after my daughter was born. Here is a full reproduction of it.

Often times a lot of us just aren’t aware of all the career options out there. So, in an effort to highlight non-traditional career paths and to inspire Kaur’s to explore different educational and job options, Kaur Life launched a new series called “Kaur Careers.”

Filmmaker, Harleen Kaur grew up in India and currently lives in California. As the daughter of an Indian Army officer, she traveled extensively all across the country. Traveling to remote locations and meeting people from different walks of life gave her a very ‘real’ sense of the world. From a very young age, she wanted to showcase and share these stories that she had encountered along the way which, lead her to start Kaur Films.

Education: MBA in Marketing and Strategy from the Indian School of Business, ISB, in Hyderabad, India.

What inspired the creation of Kaur Films?

I am a big fan of story telling and it is fascinating to watch characters in a story come to life. When I was working for National Geographic and The History Channel, I helped produce, pick and market documentaries. Watching and understanding the craft behind story telling definitely piqued my interest. However, I got lost on the corporate side of things when I started working as a brand manager for a few consumer product companies and my personal creativity took a backstage. But, somewhere at the back of my head I always wanted to go back to films and film making.

A couple of years ago, I quit my traditional corporate job and started to seriously think about film making – and started to learn the process of being an independent film maker. It was during this time that I was invited to be a member of the United Nations Association Film Festival (UNAFF), San Francisco as a jury member. For my first 2 years at UNAFF, we probably went through 1000+ films on a wide variety of subjects and from different parts of the world. I was quite surprised that none of these stories had a Sikh perspective. The story teller in me woke up and said, “If we don’t tell our own stories then no one else will.” We ought to make our own stories, market them and showcase them to the world. That’s the genesis of Kaur Films.

What is your mission? vision?

At Kaur Films we Imagine, Create and Inspire – our stories are for everyone. There are hundreds of contemporary Sikh stories waiting to be told and we want to bring inspirational stories to life. In a way, our stories are no different from any other human story, but being a Sikh itself provides a different perspective and color to them. There are lots of heroes around us and it is their stories that we try and weave into the mainstream story telling platforms. The best way to do that is to integrate other cultures into our stories.

What do you hope to achieve in the future?

As I said earlier, the unique Sikh perspective is lost when it comes to mainstream media – and in today’s world, media drives everything – it not only tells us the content of our thoughts but also how to think those thoughts. It is no wonder that Sikhs have been stereotyped in the media – and Sikhs everywhere are battling those very stereotypes. In order to change the culture of a society, we need to change the stories that we tell. Kaur Films is changing the stories and if we do this persistently, we will be able to change the culture of stereotyping that precedes us. Hopefully, we can inspire others to tell their own stories along the way. Here is some more information on our forthcoming project, Drawn Together- Comics, Diversity and stereotypes.

How can others get involved or contribute?

Historically, Sikhs have been at the center of creating amazing real life stories and we have been wonderful story tellers as well. We need to revive this art and liberally use modern tools in doing so. So my advice to everyone is to search for stories that excite you, that you want to be a part of, where you can bring your own unique perspective and go full throttle in making the story happen. Share, contribute, inspire, change – that’s the best way to get involved. If you like something that Kaur Films is doing, do get in touch. More information here: www.kaurfilms.com.

What do you enjoy most about working on Kaur Films?

Each day is new, different and offers an opportunity to learn and create and that is what I love most about working on documentary films. My first film The Odd Couple taught me a lot about sports, athletes, triathlons, challenges and struggles that a sportsperson goes through.

My second film Drawn Together- Comics, Diversity and stereotypes is about combating stereotypes and racism – the story is told with a backdrop of comic books. It has been a steep learning curve – about comic books, the portrayal of superheroes, about struggles of African Americans and even how entertainment can have a role in educating people. What I really enjoy is piecing diverse elements to create a good story. Kaur Films is a one woman show and I am grateful that I get a lot of help from my family to do the work that I am doing.

When and how did you realize this was the career path for you?

I am sort of an accidental film maker. Ever since I was involved with the National Geographic channel, I knew that somewhere down the line this is what I would want to take up as a career. In 2013, I stumbled upon the story of Parvin and Jeff and decided to go with the flow and made my first short film The Odd Couple. The film went on to be screened in many film festivals in US, Canada, and Australia and the overall response has been very encouraging. So, in a way, I am still going with the flow – and as long as I can find compelling stories I will continue to weave them into films.

How do you feel Sikhi inspires your work?

Every aspect of my life, work or otherwise is inspired by Sikh values. Before I started with films, I also did a podcast series on Sikh History (available free on iTunes here.) That’s when I truly realized how rich our own history has been – 500 years ago, Sikhs were talking about equality, tolerance, equal rights for women etc. It is almost surreal to imagine the political, religious social discourse back then and yet the solutions that came out of the Sikh teachings were so farsighted and as we call them today – liberal and progressive. These lessons continue to be inspiring and uplifting – and I derive my motivation from those very stories of our heritage. There are times when I am really drained out and feel completely done – this happened on occasions as I was filming while being 7/8 months pregnant. But then remembering these stories carries the day for me.

What elements of Sikh values are in your work?

While there are various elements of Sikh values that are in my work, but two that stand out for me are being in a state of Chardi Kala (eternal optimism) and the concept of Nirvair – without malice and prejudice. Treating everyone equally and with dignity is something that all generations have to learn for themselves. Drawn Together- Comics, Diversity and stereotypes has people from all walks of life and from all cultures and socioeconomic backgrounds. But to see them as equals and understand them as persons first have helped me immensely in giving them their due part in the film.

What advice do you have for young Kaur’s may want to pursue film but are trepidatious?

My advise to anyone who wants to pursue their dreams is to first be confident that if this is what really excites you and you really want to do it – put in the time, energy and effort to make it happen. Obsess about it. Research and do your due diligence so that you are aware of what you are getting into and while there will be plenty of surprises – you are equipped to handle them. There will be missteps and puddles in between, learn from those but don’t regret your decisions.

The post Kaur Life is talking about Us first appeared on Kaur Films.

Kaur Films Featured on NBCNews!

Harleen — Sun, 10 Apr 2016 15:30:41 +0000

NBCNews featured Kaur Films and our documentary Drawn Together- Comics, Diversity and stereotypes on their website today. We made it to their front page.

Drawn Together- Comics, Diversity and stereotypes as featured on NBC news after Kickstarter Launch

Here is an excerpt from the page:

Do you ever wonder how stereotypes propagate? That’s the question filmmaker Harleen Singh wants to answer with her new film, “Drawn Together- Comics, Diversity and stereotypes.” The documentary, which started its crowdfunding campaign this week and has already broken 80 percent of its goal, will examine racial and gender stereotypes through comic books.

“Comics are an excellent lens on the society,” Singh told NBC News. “They incorporate storylines that reflect the times, but they also propagate stereotypes for their super heroes. It’s the perfect back drop for getting the message across about how generalization is not the best thing.”

Check out the full story here.

The post Kaur Films Featured on NBCNews! first appeared on Kaur Films.

ColorWebMag has a story on Drawn Together- Comics, Diversity and stereotypes

Harleen — Sun, 10 Apr 2016 15:29:04 +0000

Chanced upon this story this morning. I think it is well done and breaks down the premise of Drawn Together- Comics, Diversity and stereotypes through tweets and comics.

There are quite a few stereotypes in comic books. One documentary is aiming at discussing stereotypes in the comic book industry and how the industry is working to become more inclusive. Drawn Together- Comics, Diversity and stereotypes, directed by Harleen Singh, features Eileen Kaur Alden, co-creator of the comic book Super Sikh, Vishavjit Singh, also known as Sikh Captain America, and cartoonist Keith Knight.
Singh told NBC News one of the reasons why comic books are the subject of this project. “Comics are an excellent lens on the society,” he said. “The incorporate storylines that reflect the times, but they also propagate stereotypes for their super heroes. It’s the perfect back drop for getting the message across about how generalization is not the best thing.”

Alden also told NBC News how comic book creators are now empowered to create more diverse stories. “It’s not just about slapping a diverse character into an old trope. I think what people are really craving is really diverse stories, something that’s not quite so focus-grouped or old and familiar.” Alden said that comics featuring diversity were once considered “outsiders,” and now these properties are part of the mainstream.

Click here to read the rest of the story.

The post ColorWebMag has a story on Drawn Together- Comics, Diversity and stereotypes first appeared on Kaur Films.