neelumfilms

[neelumfilms]

I am excited to announce that you can now buy tickets to the premiere of ‘Return to Sender: Women of Color in Colonial Postcards & the Politics of Representation’ at Cinema Arts Centre in Huntington, NY, on Oct 1st at 2pm! Tickets are inexpensive because we want to include everyone. Reserve your spot now and pls share with friends and fam.

The film will be followed by a panel discussion led by three brilliant women. More about the panelists soon. Here is a film synopsis:

Return to Sender: Women of Color in Colonial Postcards & the Politics of Representation is a short, experimental film directed and produced by Mara Ahmed. It pushes the documentary medium in unexpected ways by opening with three contemporary South Asian American women who recreate British colonial postcards from the early 20th century. Dressed in lavish traditional attire and jewelry and shot exquisitely in a darkened studio, the women emulate the awkward poses of the postcard women, only to subvert the colonial male gaze and acquire autonomy by choosing an action of their own. This symbolic ‘returning’ of the Orientalist gaze is layered with discussions about Eurocentric beauty standards, representations of South Asian women in media and culture, stereotypes, othering, identity and belonging. The film hopes to create community by facilitating conversations about erasure and the politics of representation.

𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘫𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘧𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘸𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘊𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘙𝘦𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘗𝘳𝘰𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘮, 𝘢 𝘳𝘦𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘮 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘕𝘦𝘸 𝘠𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘚𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘊𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘤𝘪𝘭 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘈𝘳𝘵𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘖𝘧𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘎𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘕𝘦𝘸 𝘠𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘚𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘓𝘦𝘨𝘪𝘴𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘥𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘏𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘵𝘰𝘯 𝘈𝘳𝘵𝘴 𝘊𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘤𝘪𝘭, 𝘐𝘯𝘤.

[neelumfilms]

Hey everyone, I'm thrilled to be featured in this new exhibit at RMSC. It's called 'The Changemakers: Rochester Women Who Changed the World​' and it highlights stories of women visionaries and trailblazers from Rochester. It’s opening at the Rochester Museum and Science Center on November 20. You can visit the exhibit in person (no worries, there will be safety protocols in place). It's a historic representation of woman power.Learn more about The Changemakers: RMSC.org/changemakers #BeChangemakers

[neelumfilms]

#beautiful #dances #choreographed by Rosalie M. Jones and #performed by Alaina Olivieri and Rosalei herself at #durandeastmanpark . #inspired by #native #american dance and #traditions . #filmed by Rajesh Barnabas and #directed by Mara Ahmed . for #TheInjuredBody: a #film about #racism in #america

[neelumfilms]

The gorgeous (and brilliant) Tonya Noel, of Flower City Noire Collective, captured so beautifully, so tenderly by the gorgeous (and brilliant) Erica Jae. For The Injured Body: A Film about Racism in America. So many incredible women in our community 💕 #Rochester #NY

[neelumfilms]

I will be screening A Thin Wall at this RIT conference (March 28th, 1pm, Center for Campus Life, Room 2050) and talking about 'Borders, Nationalism and the Construction of the Other: Lessons from the Partition of India.' Hope to see u there.

[neelumfilms]

#beautiful #shoot this #morning at #georgehall #dance #studio in #rochesterny our #ballerina was the stunning María José Rodríguez-Torrado

the piece #choreographed by Mariko Yamada is meant to #subvert #ballet’s #restrictive #technique by introducing #freer #movement and more #perceptible #breathing

it also references María's #puertorican #roots and #culture

shot by Rajesh Barnabas and directed by Mara Ahmed for The Injured Body: A Film about Racism in America

[neelumfilms]

This is a piece I wrote last year for a reading at Rochester Spoken Word. It talks about all the places, languages, sounds and smells, light and music that are a part of me - infinite fragments of memories and sensations that come together in mystifying ways and make us who we are. It's kind of stunning to think of how much diversity there is on our planet, how many worlds within worlds. So much to discover and share. Thank you Darien Lamen for the brilliant sound design on this, my first audio story. Pls listen if you have a few minutes and don't forget to "like" or comment if you can.

[neelumfilms]

presented my work at a class on #black #bodies: intersecting #intimacies at the #university of #rochester. the students have been reading #citizen: an #american #lyric" for their class and claudia rankine's work has also inspired #TheInjuredBody: a #film about #racism in #america (a work in progress).

i shared clips from the #interviews we've filmed so far and showed them #pictures shot by #photographer erica jae. i also shared footage i edited for a #multimedia piece that was presented at the #fringe in 2016, in which we combined #dance and film.

i talked to them about a project i am working on with 6 other #artists based in #england, #france and #turkey, which has to do with #orientalist #representations of #women from the #colonies in the 19th century.

i ended with a recent article by teju cole titled "when the #camera was a #weapon of #imperialism (and when it still is), pointing out the right to #opacity as advocated by edouard #glissant.

it was a long lecture but the students asked some wonderful questions. perhaps the loveliest feedback was from a young woman from #taiwan who said that her parents had seen my film #AThinWall in #taipei and were v excited for her to meet me! what a small #world it is. glissant would approve :)

[neelumfilms]

The beautiful Lauren Jemison photographed at #Ganondagan State Historic Site by the brilliant Erica Jae. Lauren was interviewed for #TheInjuredBody: A #Film about #Racism in #America and will also be part of a #photography exhibit that highlights the work of #women of #color. More in 2019!

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visited rosalie jones/daystar’s stunning studio yesterday and talked about collaborating on #TheInjuredBody: A #Film about #Racism in #America. honored to highlight dance, music and words that represent #native #american culture and beauty.

[neelumfilms]

Second group shoot for #TheInjuredBody: A #Film about #Racism in #America at #EricaJae's studio in #Rochester, #NY, with Tianna Mañón, Mercedes Phelan Mike and Erica Bryant. Photograph by Erica Jae.

[neelumfilms]

Our first photo shoot with members of a group discussion filmed for #TheInjuredBody: A #Film about #Racism in #America: the brilliant Marcella Davis, Luticha A Doucette and Khadija Mehter, photographed by the equally brilliant Erica Jae, at the Liberty Pole in downtown Rochester, NY.

[neelumfilms]

Off to a #conference on "Weaponizing People: Militarization and Armed Conflict in Asia" at #BinghamtonUniversity​. Will be screening #AThinWall​ tomorrow evening and talking about the #partition of #India.

[neelumfilms]

Am so very moved by and thankful for E.C. Salibian's attentive, honest, and profound writing about my work. Published in the first issue ever of the Rochester Beacon (a group of veteran journalists and others with deep ties to the Rochester community providing local news coverage and analysis), the article quotes/mentions so many people I love and am grateful for. This gives me more pleasure than anything. 

[neelumfilms]

#gorgeous #dance #shoot at #tryonpark today in #rochesterny for #TheInjuredBody: a #film about #racism in #america

a #prelude to a #ballet #performance that #celebrates the #fall

#inspired by the #work of #artist #maimounaguerresi

#performed by María José Rodríguez-Torrado

#choreography by Mariko Yamada

#cinematography by Rajesh Barnabas

#directed by Mara Ahmed

[neelumfilms]

with #students at @HWSColleges in #genevany where i presented a #retrospective of my #activist #film and #art #work today. thx for inviting me donna davenport 💕

[neelumfilms]

A retrospective of my work, tomorrow October 10th from 1:25 to 2:50 p.m. at Hobart and William Smith Colleges, the Fish Screening Room of the Gearan Center for the Performing Arts.