Following the news that Oscar winner Guneet Monga Kapoor and chef/filmmaker Vikas Khanna have boarded as executive producers, American Sikh has made its online debut on its official website (americansikhfilm.com). The Oscar-qualified animated documentary short will be available to watch for free for a limited time during awards season.
The comic-book styled 2D film animates the true and unlikely story of an American born, turban-wearing Sikh man, Vishavjit Singh, who after a lifetime of facing prejudice, self-doubt and violence, finally finds acceptance in a superhero costume.
American Sikh has won best short animation at Sidewalk Film Festival in Birmingham, Alabama, best animation at San Diego International Film Festival, the grand jury award for best short documentary at and the audience choice award at the Tasveer Film Festival in Seattle, a special mention at Chicago International Film Festival and an honorable mention at Tallgrass Film Festival.
The film is directed by Singh — a Harlem, New York City-based illustrator, writer, performance artist, TEDx speaker, DEI advocate and creator of sikhtoons.com — and documentary filmmaker Ryan Westra. It was animated by Studio Showoff, a Melbourne-based production house founded by Ivan Dixon and Sean Zwan that has produced work for Childish Gambino, HBO and Cartoon Network.
Singh got his spark for cartooning in the aftermath of the 9/11 tragedy when Americans with turbans and beards became the targets of hate crimes. For the past few years he has been traveling across the U.S. with his Sikh Captain America persona armed with a turban, beard and humor to tackle fear, anxiety, bigotry and intolerance. Singh hosts talks & keynotes in schools, universities, government agencies and companies including Google, Apple, Amazon, NASA & Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus. He is currently working in the FDNY Office of Diversity and Inclusion.
Westra’s career has seen him tackle challenging topics on film. He has traveled the world to document Sikh genocide, indigenous activism against oil companies in Montana, HIV/AIDS outreach in Mozambique, para-athletics, Himalayan monastic mindfulness, re-housing at-risk people in Los Angeles, and has contributed to many other important stories. American Sikh is the sixth film he’s worked on about Sikhs and Sikh issues, and the second film he’s worked on with Singh, following Red, White and Beard. The duo have collaborated for almost four years to craft Sikh Captain America’s origin story.
Watch American Sikh online in full for a limited time at americansikhfilm.com. Check out the official trailer below.
