This 10th episode of the podcast focuses on the important role of films and filmmakers as cultural ambassadors and storytellers. The medium of film can be powerful in helping us understand other histories, cultures, and narratives. Many of us form our early impressions—often incorrect or incomplete--of the world around us through films, but it is also films that subsequently open our eyes to the nuances of different cultures and countries. Today’s guest is Kavery Kaul, an award-winning director, whose films reframe who “we” are and who tells that story. With a lively, refreshingly nuanced approach, her documentaries illuminate the complex human themes at the heart of belonging in the world of today. Born in India and brought up in the US, Kavery’s films have spanned a wide cultural and thematic landscape, covering Cuba, Trinidad, India, New Orleans and many other places. She has won multiple awards and fellowships for her work, including a Fulbright to India. About filmmaking, Kavery herself says: “A film can open a window onto a world we’ve never seen before; and at the same time, a film can hold up a mirror in which we face ourselves.”
Episode Themes:
Kavery’s journey to becoming a film director, and what it meant to make such choices as an Indian American immigrant
The important role that films play in bridging divides and differences across cultures and people
The importance of exchange programs like Fulbright in fostering cultural and mutual understanding. How the Fulbright opportunity enabled Kavery to research a part of American and Indian history that was previously undocumented
Kavery’s new documentary film The Bengali, which reveals the previously unknown and shared history of African Americans and Indian immigrants in New Orleans in the late 1800s, and that follows the Indian- and African-American author, Fatima Shaikh, as she heads to India to discover her family’s Indian roots
Why women film directors, particularly those of color, continue to be under-represented in the film industry
Who and what inspires Kavery’s work as a documentary filmmaker
Resources from this episode:
Kavery's TedX talk: When Stories Connect People, Films Break Down Divides
Check out these other resources!
My book: America Calling: A Foreign Student in a Country of Possibility
Newsletter: www.rajikabhandari.com
LinkedIn: @rajikabhandari
Instagram: @rajika_bhandari
