"Continuous Journey" Documentary Screening April 24, 2005

Chingari and Diasporadics proudly present...

***The DC premiere of "Continuous Journey"***
A feature documentary about
the history of South Asian immigration to North America
by filmmaker Ali Kazimi

Sunday, April 24th, 2005
4.00 PM to 6.00 PM @ the Lindner Commons (Elliot School, GWU)
1957 E Street, Room 602
Admission is FREE!
*** Please RSVP to samip@chingari.org (seating is limited) ***

Closest to Farragut West & Farragut North Metro Stations
Directions: http://www.gwu.edu/~elliott/directions.html

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About "Continuous Journey"...
In 1914, Gurdit Singh, a Sikh entrepreneur based in Singapore,
chartered a Japanese ship, the Komagata Maru, to carry Indian
immigrants to Canada. On May 23, 1914, the ship arrived in Vancouver
Harbour with 376 passengers aboard: 340 Sikhs; 24 Muslims and 12
Hindus. Many of the men on-board were veterans of the British Indian
Army and believed that it was their right as British subjects to
settle anywhere in the Empire they had fought to defend and expand.
They were wrong...
Continuous Journey is an inquiry into the largely ignored history of
Canada's exclusion of the South Asians by a little known immigration
policy called the Continuous Journey Regulation of 1908. Unlike the
Chinese and the Japanese, people from British India were excluded by a
regulation that appeared fair, but in reality, was an effective way of
keeping people from India out of Canada until 1948. As a direct
result, only a half-mile from Canadian shores, the Komagata Maru was
surrounded by immigration boats and the passengers were held in
communicado ­ virtual prisoners on the ship. Thus began a dramatic
stand-off which would escalate over the course of two months, becoming
one of the most infamous incidents in Canadian history.
[More at http://www.socialdoc.net/kazimi/ali_html_pages2/1AK2Cont.html]

About filmmaker Ali Kazimi...
Raised in India, Ali Kazimi began his career as a self-taught
photographer. In 1983, he emigrated to Canada to study cinema at York
University in Toronto. Since graduating in 1987, he has worked as a
cinematographer on several Canadian and foreign films.
Filmography: "Narmada: A Valley Rises" (1994), "Shooting Indians"
(1997), "Passage from India" (1997), "Some Kind of Arrangement" (1998)
[More at http://www.socialdoc.net/kazimi/ali_html_pages2/1AK2Home.html]

About Chingari...
Chingari (meaning "spark") is a forum for discussion, reflection and
action on social, political and cultural issues concerning the South
Asian diasporic experience in North America.
We equally value the rich histories and diversity within the peoples
of the diaspora and support democratic ideals and social justice in
all societies.
Our goal is to foster positive social change and we invite anyone
excited by the possibilities of such a forum to join us.
[More at http://www.chingari.org]