Vikas Khanna talks about his new film American Sikh while Guneet Monga Kapoor gives her review.

American Sikh tells the true and unlikely origin story of Vishavjit Singh, an American-born, turban-wearing Sikh man, who after a lifetime of facing prejudice, self-doubt and violence, finally finds acceptance in a superhero costume.

Director Vishavjit Singh & Ryan Westra
Producer: Vishavjit Singh
Executive Producer: Vikas Khanna & Guneet Monga Kapoor
Animation Director: Sean Zwan
Animation Producer: Nick Campbell
Animation: Studio Showoff

Special thanks to all of our incredible Kickstarter and DVN backers who made this film possible.

Follow the Film Here:
www.americansikhfilm.com/
Instagram: @americansikhfilm
TikTok: @americansikhfilm
Facebook: @americansikhfilm
Twitter: @americansikhflm
Kickstarter: kickstarter.com/projects/westra/american-sikh

World Premiere - Tribeca Festival 2023
Sidewalk Film Festival 2023 - Best Animated Short Jury Award
San Diego International Film Festival 2023 - Best Animation Award
Tasveer Film Festival 2023 - Best Documentary Short Award and Grand Jury Award
The Chicago International Film Festival 2023 - Special Mention Animated Short Film
Tallgrass Film Festival 2023 - Honorable Mention
Bend Film Festival 2023 - Official Selection
HollyShorts Film Festival 2023 - Official Selection
LAShorts International Film Festival 2023 - Official Selection
Show Me Shorts Film Festival 2023 - Official Selection
Rhode island International Film Festival 2023 - Official Selection
Vishavjit Singh became the first ever Sikh director to be Oscar-qualified

How was the film made?
Vishavjit Singh and Ryan Westra began working on American Sikh in 2018 as a followup project to Red, White & Beard, a live action documentary they created in 2014 about Vishavjit’s cosplay work as Sikh Captain America. Singh and Westra teamed up with Studio Showoff a year later to fundraise and begin the animation process. The short animated documentary took 3.5 years and $180k to complete. To make it possible, more than 600 individuals donated to the project on Kickstarter and DVN. Since premiering at Tribeca in 2023, the film has been featured on Good Morning America, Variety Magazine, Forbes, Yahoo!, CNN, NPR and many more. To learn more and see press coverage, visit americansikhfilm.com.

Why was the film made?
Outside of India, there are very few Sikhs seen in the media. Due to the lack of representation and the statistically small global population of Sikhs as a whole, the vast majority of Americans and the world at large know almost nothing about Sikhs. Lack of knowledge is not only an education and awareness issue, but historically is the root of many issues such as xenophobia, intolerance, racism and violent hate crimes. According to FBI statistics, Sikhs are often the most likely Americans to be targets of hate crime.

What little knowledge people may have about Sikhs most often boils down to two things: a turban and a beard. It’s no secret that this surface-level in Western media is often depicted in films as the villain or the clown. This is the image that needs to be transformed - and that’s exactly what Sikh Captain America is set out to do.

What next?
American Sikh has teamed up with educators to create lesson plans for middle and high schoolers. Courses and resources can be found at _______
Sikhism, the 5th largest and youngest of the world religions. A religion that preaches about love, peace, and the equality of humankind, but also asks it’s followers to carry swords. Sikhism originated in the Punjab area of India and Pakistan, 500 years ago. The Punjab, the land of five rivers, is one of the most historically and culturally dense areas on Earth. Today there are about 25 million Sikhs. They make up about 2% of India's population but about 60% of the Punjab's. The Sikh diaspora is spread out across the world with concentrations in the UK, Canada, The US, East Africa, Australia, and Malaysia. Sikhs interestingly enough make up almost 1.5% of Canada's population which is second only to India.

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