What a way to come back to my blog. After an absence of two months and some drafts saved for future publication, I write to seek funds for my short film. I have never spoken about my work directly on this blog because I thought it not a good mix, my personal opinion on things and producing a radio show that necessarily has to be balanced and fair (HAHAHAHA *wink*). Also I am not quite sure how many people read my blog. To me it is a self-indulgent exercise to improve my writing. Perhaps others see it differently. So here goes.

I have just written and produced the short film Kimbap. This is a story about a migrant Korean family, a goose family that lives in Auckland, New Zealand and how their fragile existence is shattered by a neighbour. Kimbap is a story of isolation, loneliness, food, culture and inclusion.

I am often asked why, as an Indian, I felt the need to write a Korean story. First of all human emotions do not have a culture, colour or religion. It is how we react to situations that differs from place to place. Loneliness and isolation, the need to give your children a better education are not feelings and notions that belong to any single type of person or culture. Migrant experiences overlap including the need for cultural maintenance, to cook your native foods at home and to make the best of any situation. (To put it simplistically.)

Secondly, I see myself as a transculturalist; a polycultural person who lives in a global world. So wherever I am, the struggles, stories and histories of those people become my own. I live with the uneasiness of my multiple identities and participate actively in that civil society. It is not a separate, ‘Indian’ existence dissociated from others and only having an equation with the dominant host society.

Thirdly, purely from a business point-of-view, it is foolish to tell only ‘Indian’ stories. How limiting! I will do what gives me a cross-cultural audience that broadens discourse. Hence this ”Korean’ story.

I could go on but would rather my readers gave me money and shared the campaign page with their networks. I have also created a Facebook fan page that has photos, a synopsis, a crew list etc. For me this is a grassroots project that should show the power of the community instead of constantly seeking funds from the government as we tend to do in New Zealand. Besides this is a global story. So whoever is reading out there, donate and share. 🙂 ❤