Topic – Use of film to further the understanding of Sikh Identity
Moderator – San Grewal : San Grewal was born in Lusaka, Zambia to Punjabi parents with Indian and British backgrounds. He was raised in the Canadian prairies and has lived in the GTA for the past two decades. In his early 20s he launched the Gen X national magazine Diverge which published till the mid-‘90s, garnering numerous awards for cultural and political coverage. After graduate school he spent two decades in the mainstream media and was named the Toronto Star’s outstanding journalist in 2015. He has received numerous awards including a recognition from former Ontario premier Dalton McGuinty for excellence in journalism and recognition as a finalist for the Canadian beat reporter of the year. He founded The Pointer, a subscription-based online news platform, last year.
Panelist – Rapinder Kaur : Rapinder Kaur is a Registered Psychotherapist and Art Therapist, who uses stop motion animation in her sessions to help her clients tell their stories. Rapinder has produced an animation short and sits on the Sikh Arts and Letters Forum Board of Directors.
Panelist – Kulbir Collin Singh Dhillon – Kulbir Colin Singh Dhillon is the Chair of the Sikh Heritage Museum of Canada and a documentary film maker. His 2017 film, ‘The Lion that Lost its Roar’ told the story of Prince Victor Albert Jay Duleep Singh, the first of Sikh origin to live in Canada; He is also actively involved with charitable and community-led initiatives. His day job is Chief Technical Officer of Canada’s Automotive Parts Manufacturers’ Association, helping to launch connected and autonomous vehicles in Canada.
Panelist – Sarbjeet Singh Arora
Panelist – Asis Kaur
Panelist – Sumit Judge : Sumit Judge is a short filmmaker, whose second short will be premiering at IFFSA 2019. He is a co-host on the People of the Community podcast. He’s currently working on a documentary on Sikh weddings in the GTA.
Panelist – Gurjeet Kaur Bassi – A recent recipient of the Harold Greenberg Shorts to Feature fund, Gurjeet Kaur Bassi graduated from the American Film Institute with an MFA in Producing.
Gurjeet hopes to bring awareness to social issues with her work while focussing on minority communities. Her most recent work, a short film she produced, UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN, is set to hit the festival circuit later in 2019.