Description:
A
young, modern Sikh family travels the globe meeting with diverse
communities of Sikhs to explore their roots and identity in Sikhism,
the world’s fifth largest religion. ‘What makes me a Sikh?’
This question posed by nine-year-old Zara Garcha starts a family’s
journey to learn about their religion. The Garcha family explores
Sikhism, by visiting diverse Sikh communities around the world.
Visiting with maharaja’s, cheesemakers, fashionistas, farmers and
scholars to glean a better understanding of the world’s fifth
largest religion. Their journey begins in Parma where they meet Sikhs
who have a hand in creating Italy’s iconic Parmesan cheese. From
there the Garcha family heads east traveling to The Golden Temple in
Sikhism’s holy city, Amritsar, learning about the historical
foundations and social history of the religion. Lived experience
blends with academic insight as the family travels to the United
Kingdom, Argentina, Canada and America gaining a better understanding
of these modern Sikh communities and the fundamental aspects of this
often misunderstood religion.
Biography: Michael
Rogers is a founder and director of Persistent Productions. Mike has broad
international experience working as a director and cinematographer
with numerous production companies including National Geographic
Television, Discovery Networks, Dog Eat Dog Films, TLC, Beach House
Pictures and The Smithsonian Network. In addition to working with
major broadcasters, Mike has been the cinematographer on a number of
independent films like Up
the Mountain Down to River,
a character led retrospective of the Chinese Cultural Revolution,
HBO’s Ghosts
of Abu Ghraib, Moxie
Firecracker’s, Thank
You Mr.President and Michael Moore’s Fahrenheit
911.
Meghan
Shea,
co-founder and director of Persistent Productions, is an award
winning documentary film producer. Meghan began her work in film at
Washington Media Associates researching for Peter Jennings—reporting
on Guantanamo, the first long-form television investigation into the
Bush administration’s detention and interrogation policies. From
these beginnings, Meghan has continued to work on research and
cause-based media programming and pair that with her background in
the arts. This work has had Meghan working with foundations, artists,
and brands to bring stories to the screen. Most recently Meghan
produced the series Recovery
is Real on mental health and addiction for the 50th Anniversary of President
Kennedy’s Community Mental Health Act. The films were presented by
Rep. Joseph P. Kennedy in Massachusetts.
