2008 Sikh Arts and Spinning Wheel Festival

Sikh Art, Film, Culture Showcased at Festival Nov 14, 2008, BEVERLY HILLS, CA

Sikhs from all over North America and the U.K. came together on Nov. 14 at the Writer’s Guild Theater here to celebrate Sikh film and culture at the 2008 Sikh Arts and Spinning Wheel Festival. Over 750 attendees participated in the Maharaja-Maharani gala opening which also included representatives of the film industry, critics and supporters of the arts.

Following an elaborate buffet spread in the foyer of the auditorium where striking exhibits by leading Sikh artists were prominently displayed for sale, the gathering moved into the theatre for the official commencement of the festival. Opening remarks were made by charming Chair of the festival, Ravin Kaur Kohli and was then joined by Bobby Kohli, who after an amusing stand up routine assisted in emceeing the proceedings.

Co-Founder and Chairman, Board of Trustees, Spinning SWFF Intl Inc. Dr. Birinder Ahluwalia who had flown in from Toronto to participate in the event congratulated the festival’s local President, Bicky Singh and volunteers for their leadership in putting up its 5th Festival in a row.

Supporter and well wisher Dr A.S.Marwah took the gathering briefly back into the history of the Sikhs who first arrived in the US and had shown great courage and fortitude in overcoming several legal and communal injustices which has now led to the good life they enjoy today. He hoped that one day one of the community would follow the footsteps of African-American President-elect Barack Obama and make their way into the White House.

Sardar Harbinder Singh presented an interesting introduction to the Sikhpoint 2009 calendar which was released at the event. Titled “A Walk Through History,” each month in the calendar is dedicated to a location that demonstrates aspects of Sikh history.

Heritage Awards were presented by Sumita Batra of Ziba Beauty to leading Sikh artists who have contributed significantly to Sikh research and art. Amongst the Heritage Award receivers were Julius Bryant, Michael O’Keefe from the British Library, Jagdip Jagpal for his contribution to the Wallace Collection, Surnjit Bahia for his contribution to Sikh military history during World War I in France, Amrit and Rabinder Singh for exposing Sikh art in public and private houses, Gurprit Basran for his invaluable contribution to the Anglo Sikh Heritage Trail, and Amarjit Khalra for his contribution to the Spirit Born movement.

Filmmakers were appreciated for their significant contribution with the Creative Media Award. Among the Filmmakers awarded were Jaswinder Singh, Future Computing India/ Sikhpoint, Raj Singh for Pantee 35, Amrit and Rabindra Singh for The Making of Liverpool, Sandeep Singh for Cultural Safari, Angad Singh for Roots and Wings, Paul Dhillon for Bhangra Generation and Sweet America, Michael Singh for Prisoner’s Song, Minu Singh for Chillianwala, Baljit Sangra for Warrior Boys, and Greg Cote for Kabaddi Cops. Presentations were made by personalities from the film industry, political leaders, sponsors and supporters.

Three films were presented on the night of the reception. Sikhs in America, American made, and the North American Premier of Unraveling. After the presentation of the films the Sikhpoint 2009 calendar was officially released and distributed.

The program on Nov. 15 saw over 2,000 people attend the all-day event. Full of four clusters and 17 filmmakers, community members, volunteers, and critics congregated to watch the documentary and feature films. Question and Answer sessions concluded each of the four clusters as attendees had the opportunity to directly ask the filmmakers themselves about their work.

On Nov.16, the final day, the Spinning Wheel Film Festival showcased Sikh Art Lectures for the very first time. Despite the fire and freeway blockages, there were almost 700 attendees at the sessions spread throughout the day.

Sarinjit Singh lectured about the Anglo-Sikh Wars and described the causes and consequences of the tumultuous period between 1839 and 1845. The Singh Twins, Amrit and Rabinder Singh, explored some of their most well-known paintings housed in major public collections around Britain. One of their collections included The Iqbalnama Series which focused on the Scottish Sikh Relations figure.

Julius Bryant lectured about the life of Maharajah Duleep Singh by examining 15 images of his lifestyle.

In another session Jagdip Jagpal discussed the Wallace Collection of Sikh Arms and Armour.

Harbinder Singh lectured on the Epic of Saragarhi. Harbinder’s discussion led to a positive crowd reaction as all attendees commended him on his work. Cluster six finished with Michal O’Keefe’s lecture on the Biritish Library and an overview of Sikh artifacts and paintings at the British Library.

The final session “Creative Sikhs “ moderated by Bandana Kaur ,the first of its kind, created a platform dedicated to showcasing Sikhs in the Visual, Audio, and Entertainment Industries. Among the panel were Guru Singh, an actor and director, Jagmeet Singh, an emcee and Hip Hop Musician, Jas Ahluwalia, a professional tabla player, Laura Kim an executive in the entertainment industry, Mandeep Sethi, a Hip Hop musician, Minu Singh a singer and filmmaker, the Singh Twins the artists, Sri Kartar Kaur Khalsa. an artist of Sikh and non-Sikh art, and Tanya Moni, an artist. The eager audience participated and interacted animatedly with the panel in discussions on various aspects of their specialty. Mandeep Sethi, Jagmeet Singh, Jas Ahluwalia and Gunjiv Singh Bhasin performed live for the audience.

The events were followed by parties at the Tanzore and Nirvana Restaurants in Beverly Hills.

President Bicky Singh termed the festival as an unqualified success. He believes the right decision was taken in bringing the festival to Hollywood as it automatically raises the profile of the event, Hollywood being what it is. He was delighted at the response the SWFF Hollywood received for screenings, an impressive figure of 156 and it was a monumental task to prune it down to the 22 shown. He was also happy to see that mainstream America was getting an exposure to Sikh culture, evidenced from the fact that 50% of the attendees on the opening night were sections of people of American origin. He attributed the major part of the success of the festival to its Chair, Ravin Kaur Kohli who, he said, had spearheaded the function.