SOUTH ASIAN DIASPORA Videos Gurinder Chadha, filmmaker of I'm British But... and other works.

Acting our age / an Umbi Film production for BBC Television.
   [S.l.] : Umbi Film ; San Francisco, CA : National Asian
   American Telecommunications Association, 1993.
      1 videocassette (29 min.) : sd., col. ; 1/2 in.
      UCB   Media Ctr VIDEO/C 3830
         With the assistance of the filmmaker, residents of London
         residing in a home for South Asian elderly, shoot their own
         video.  They interview a wide range of subjects...from people
         on the street to members of Parliament. This spirited video
         reveals generational attitudes, crosscultural values, and
         everyday problems.

The Bhanga wrap / Through the Looking Glass Productions.  San Francisco, CA
   : CrossCurrent Media ; National Asian American Telecommunications
   Association [distributor], 1994.
      1 videocassette (20 min.) : sd., col. ; 1/2 in.
      UCB   Media Ctr VIDEO/C 4180
	 An energetic documentary about a vibrant South Asian youth
         subculture that fuses hip hop, rap and Bhangra music. Based in
         Toronto, Canada and New York City, Bhangra is a mix of old and
         new, and is symbolic of universal cultural transformation for
         new generations.

Bhaji on the beach / First Look Pictures Releasing and Film Four
   International present an Umbi Films production. Culver City,
   CA : Columbia TriStar Home Video [distributor], 1995.
      1 videocassette (100 min.) : sd., col. ; 1/2 in.
      UCB   Media Ctr VIDEO/C 999:1331
         A comedy about a group of Indian women, living in England, who
         are brought together by a day at the beach. In the course of
         their day together , their ordinary lives become an
         extraordinary celebration. A unique look at female friendship.

Bittersweet / by Sanjeev Chatterjee. New York, NY : Cinema
   Guild, 1994. 
      1 videocassette (39 min.) : sd., col. ; 1/2 in.
      UCB   Media Ctr VIDEO/C 4184
        Interviews with East Indians living in the United States and
        with Americans of East Indian descent are intercut with
        fictional exchanges between members of an Indian-American family.

Bolo bolo : talking about silence, AIDS and gay sexuality / produced in
   conjunction with the Alliance for South Asian AIDS Prevention and Toronto
   Living with AIDS.  San Francisco, CA : National Asian American
   Telecommunications Association, 1990.
     1 videocassette (30 min.) : sd., col. ; 1/2 in.
     UCB   Media Ctr VIDEO/C 3829
        Through interviews, interspersed with images of gay sexual
        encounters, film explores responses to the AIDS crisis by
        members of the South Asian community of Toronto, Canada.

Burning Bridges. Directed by Premika Patnam. 10 minutes, VHS. Available from:
     Women Make Movies, 225 Lafayette St., Suite 207, New York, NY 10012.
        Interviews with Indian women who have been battered by their
	husbands. Film examines the difficulties immigrant women face when they
    	move to a new country. 

California people. East India, L.A. / Metromedia, Inc. ; executive producer,
   Ray Green ; producer, Gilda Franklin ; director, Al Footnick.  [1982-07-24].
     1 videocassette of 1 (VHS) (30 min.) : sd., col. ; 1/2 in.
     UCLA  Film TV   VA11232 T Study Copy.  Viewing on premises only. 
        Emmy Award nominee, Los Angeles area. One program from a 13-part series 
        which explores the many and varied cultures flourishing in Los Angeles. 
        This program deals with the East Indian culture and its influence on Los Angeles.
        Filmed at the Self Realization Fellowship's Gandhi Shrine in
        Pacific Palisades, host Judy Jernudd looks at meditation,
        Indian music, Indian dress and tourism in India.

The Colour of Britain, Director: Pratibha Parmar, England, 1994;
   San Francisco, CA : CrossCurrent Media ; National
   Asian American Telecommunications Association, 1992. 58 minutes 
      A landmark documentary that looks at the work of renowned artists who are 
      at the forefront of redefining British culture. Speaking candidly with 
      sculptor Anish Kapoor, choreographer Shobana Jeyasingh, and theatre director 
      Jatinder Verma, Parmar also provide exquisite samples of 
      their work and allows audiences to witness the driving forces behind
      these major influences in contemporary Britain. 

Conquering America with Bharati Mukherjee / a production of Public Affairs
   Television.  Alexandria, Va. : PBS Video, 1990.
     1 videocassette (28 min.) : sd., col. ; 1/2 in.
     UCB   Media Ctr VIDEO/C 1857
         Writer Bharati Mukherjee discusses her fiction and her
         experiences as an East Indian who immigrated to the U.S. in 1961.

Consecration of a temple / South Asian Area Center, University of Wisconsin.
   Madison, [Wis.] : Film Distribution Office, Center for South Asian Studies,
   [199-?].
     1 videocassette (25 min.) : sd., col. ; 1/2 in.
       UCB   Media Ctr VIDEO/C 3777
	The Sri Venkateswara Hindu temple in Pittsburgh, is consecrated
        in a traditional 5 day ceremony in 1977. This film documents
        the final stages of the consecration of the Hindu temple built
        by members of that city's Indian-American community.  Examines
        the temple's shrines and statues and their significance within
        Hinduism and discusses the community's efforts to preserve
	their language and culture in the face of pressures to be assimilated.

Corner store blues / producer, Michalene Milne ; written and directed by
    Kaizad Gustad.  New York, NY : K. Gustad : Third World Newsreel, c1993.
      1 videocassette (48 min.) : sd., col. ; 1/2 in.
      UCSC  McHenry   VT3312 Media Center
         A young man from India, running a newsstand for his uncle in the
         East Indian section of Jackson Heights in the New York City
         borough of Queens, is trying, without success, to break into
         the entertainment world as a blues singer incorporating
         elements of East Indian folk music into American blues.

Do you take this man? Pakistani arranged marriages.  San Francisco, CA :
    Elise Fried, 1989.
      1 videocassette (22 min.) : sd., col. ; 1/2 in.
         Portrait of three young Pakistani women from Los Angeles who are 
         considering arranged marriages, and their more traditional mothers.
       At UCB, located in Center for South Asia Studies video collection;
       inquire at 201 Moses Hall, UCB.

Flesh and Paper [on the work of Suniti Namjoshi]. Directed by Pratibha 
     Parmar. 26 minutes, VHS. Available from: Women Make Movies, 225 
     Lafayette St., Suite 207, New York, NY 10012.
        Gillian Hanscombe, Ritu, Lily, Rukhsana Ahmad, Carole Spedding.
	Suniti Namjoshi, Gillian Hanscombe, and others discuss Namjoshi's
	life and work between readings of her poetry.

Gimme somethin' to dance to! : what is bhangra? / produced, directed &
   edited by Tejaswini Ganti.  New York : New York University Program in
   Culture & Media, c1995.
     1 videocassette (18 min.) : sd., col. ; 1/2 in.
       UCR   Media Lib 1997 Video Tape

Home / a film by Michelle Taghioff ; Napean Sea Road
   Productions. San Francisco, CA : CrossCurrent Media ; National
   Asian American Telecommunications Association, 1992.
      1 videocassette (37 min.) : sd., col. ; 1/2 in.
      UCB   Media Ctr VIDEO/C 3236
         An East Indian American woman, who immigrated to the United
         States as a college student, returns to India ten years later
         to work through the conflicts she experienced with her family
         and to come to an understanding and acceptance of her Indian
         identity and heritage.
                                
I'm British but-- / BFI in association with Channel 4. [S.l.] :
   Umbi Films ; San Francisco, CA : National Asian American
   Telecommunications Association, 1989.
      1 videocassette (30 min.) : sd., col. ; 1/2 in.
      UCB   Media Ctr VIDEO/C 3827
	 Using Bhangra and Bangla music and the testimonies of young
         British Asians, the video uncovers a defiant popular
         culture--a synthesis--part Asian, part British.

Inbetween / Sankofa Film and Video and Channel Four Television ;
   written, produced and directed by Robert Crusz. New York, NY :
   Third World Newsreel, 1992.
      1 videocassette (40 min.) : sd., col. ; 1/2 in.
      UCR   Media Lib 1731 Video Tape
         An autobiograpical account of a Sri Lankan of Portuguese descent
         whose early identity is shaped by Western culture and
         Christianity. He immigrates to England to escape the political
         and social turmoil of Sri Lanka.  In England he discovers that
         he cannot deny the Eastern side of his identity.

Knowing her place : a documentary / by Indu Krishnan.  New York, N.Y. :
   Women Make Movies, [1990].
      1 videocassette (40 min.) : sd., col. ; 1/2 in.
      UCB   Media Ctr VIDEO/C.2198
         An Indian woman looks at her life, her marriage, and her role in
         contemporary society both in India and the United States.

Khush / Hauer Rawlence Productions for Channel Four ; producer & director,
   Pratibha Parmar.  New York : Distributed by Women Make Movies, 1991.
     1 videocassette (24 min.) : sd., col. ; 1/2 in.
     VHS format.
       UCI             HQ76.25 .K48 1991 
          Asian lesbians and gays living in the west and India talk about
          being gay, their life experiences, coming out, homophobia, and racism.

Khush Refugees, Producer/Director: Nidhi Singh, 1991;
   San Francisco, CA : CrossCurrent Media ; National
   Asian American Telecommunications Association, 1992. 32 minutes.
      Rahul, an immigrant from India, and Dante, an ex-marine from suburban 
      Ohio, try to assimilate into San Francisco's gay culture only to find 
      that in a community of exiles, one is always a refugee. Singh has created a 
      sensitive docudrama that captures two individual coming-of-age stories 
      intertwined with mutual experiences as "outsiders." 

Lonely in America. Directed by Barry Alexander Brown. 94 minutes, 35 mm.
     Available from: Apple Productions, 205 West 95th St. Suite B, New York, 
     New York, 10025. 
	A romantic comedy about a young man from India who comes to New
|       York City in search of the American Dream.

Masala / [presented by] Divani Films Inc. ; a film by Srinivas Krishna.
   [New York] : Fox Lorber Home Video, [c1993].
     1 videocassette (105 min.) : sd., col ; 1/2 in. VHS.
       UCB   Media Ctr VIDEO/C 999:981
          A comedy about the god Krishna, summoned to earth by an
          old woman, a young ex-junkie named Krishna who is coping with
          the death of his family in a plane crash, and what happens
          when their paths cross. Set in the South Asian community of Toronto. 

Memory Pictures. Directed by Pratibha Parmar. 24 minutes, VHS. 
     Available from: Women Make Movies, 225 Lafayette St. Suite 207, 
     New York, NY 10012. 
	On the life and work of Sunil Gupta, a gay Indian photographer
   	who has lived in Canada and England. Focuses on themes of 
	racial and sexual identity.

A Migrant's heart / a BBC production for the Open University in
   association with the Annenberg/CPB Project at the Corporation
   for Public Broadcasting. So. Burlington, VT : Annenberg/CPB
   Collection, 1996.
      1 videocassette (27 min.) : sd., col. ; 1/2 in.
      UCB   Media Ctr VIDEO/C 4248
         An English actor who's parents came from India and then migrated
         to East Africa and finally England returns to visit New Delhi,
         India, to seek his roots, and to work through ethnic identity problems.
           
Mississippi masala / SCS Films Inc. presents, in association with
   Odyssey/Cinecom International and Film Four International ; a Mirabai Films
   Production, in association with MovieWorks and Black River Productions.
   [Burbank, CA] : Columbia TriStar Home Video, c1992.
      1 videocassette (118 min.) : sd., col. ; 1/2 in.
      UCB   Media Ctr VIDEO/C 999:1201
	 In this interracial love story, an African American businessman
         falls for a beautiful Indian immigrant who's family was
         expelled from Uganda under the reign of dictator, Idi Amin.
         As their love grows they must deal with  shock and outrage
         from both families.

My beautiful laundrette / Karl Lorimar Feature Film.  Irvine, CA : Karl
   Lorimar Home Video, c1986.
     1 videocassette (94 min.) : sd., col. ; 1/2 in.
       UCB   Media Ctr VIDEO/C 999:431
          Set in the Pakistani community in south London, the film focuses
          on two youths--Johnny, a working-class white, and Omar, a
          Pakistani. Together they operate a laundrette, which Omar
          inherits from his uncle.

The new Puritans : the Sikhs of Yuba City / written by Tenzing Sonam, Jeff
   Wagner, Ritu Sarin.  San Francisco, CA : CrossCurrent Media ; National Asian
   American Telecommunications Association, 1985.
     1 videocassette (28 min.) : sd., col. ; 1/2 in.
       UCB   Media Ctr VIDEO/C 1745
          This documentary gives the history as well as the present status
          of the Sikh population in Yuba City, California.

New view new eyes / by Gitanjali. New York, NY : Women Make
   Movies, 1993.
      1 videocassette (49 min.) : sd. col. ; 1/2 in.
      UCB   Media Ctr VIDEO/C 4254
         An East Indian Canadian travels to India to meet her father's
         family. She finds that India is in no simple way her "home",
         yet she also can't hide behind the tourist's camera. Western
         representations of India are challenged as we see India
         through a weave of location imagery, music, poetry,
         conversation and journal entries.

A Nice arrangement / [presented by] Film Four International in
   association with British Screen. [S.l.] : Umbi Films ; San
   Francisco, CA : National Asian American Telecommunications
   Association [distributor], 1991.
      1 videocassette (11 min.) : sd., col. ; 1/2 in.
      UCB   Media Ctr VIDEO/C 3814
         Set in the London home of an Indian family on the morning of
         their daughter's wedding, Menna, the young bride, changes into
         her traditional bridal gear with the help of her divorced
         friend, Sita. Together, the women discuss Indian marriagE customs.

On Shima Center. [Stockton, Calif. : San Joaquin Delta College, 1979]
      1 videocassette (20 min.) : sd., b&w ; 3/4 in.
      UCB   Media Ctr VIDEO/C 78
         Original film made in 1914 by a film crew from Japan.
         Documentary about life on George Shima Farm in the San Joaquin
         Valley; harvesting by East Indian laborers is are presented. The 
	 Shima family home in Berkeley is shown.

The Painted Bride. Directed by Susan Slyomovics and Amanda Dargan. 
     25 minutes, VHS. Available from: Queens Council on the Arts, 161-04 
     Jamaica Ave., Jamaica, NY 11432. 
	Documentary on the art of "mehendi" -- the decoration of women's hands and 
        feet with henna for weddings and other occasions, as practiced by Pakistani
        women in New York. 

Pilgrimage to Pittsburgh / produced for the Department of
   Religious Studies, The University of Pittsburgh. Madison, Wis.
   : Film Distribution Office, Center for South Asian Studies,
   University of Wisconsin, [1990?]
      1 videocassette (25 min.) : sd., col. ; 1/2 in.
      UCB   Media Ctr VIDEO/C 3382
         Documentary film of the Hindu community at the Sri Venkateswara
         Temple in Pittsburgh. In 1986 the community celebrated the
         10th anniversary of the establishment of the temple. Thousands
         of Indians from other U.S. cities traveled to Pittsburgh to participate. 

Sammy and Rosie get laid / Cinecom Pictures.  Irvine, CA : Lorimar Home
   Video, c1988.
     1 videocassette (97 min.) : sd., col. ; 1/2 in.
       UCSC  McHenry   VT1280 Media Center
          A South Asian father visits his son living in London, Sammy and his 
	  estranged wife Rosie. Generational issues as well as contemporary South 
	  Asian life in London are explored. 

Sari red / a film by Pratibha Parmar. New York, N.Y. : Women
   Make Movies, 1988.
      1 videocassette (14 min.) : sd., col. ; 1/2 in.
      UCB   Media Ctr VIDEO/C 3462
          A visual poem made in memory of Kalbinder Kaur Hayre, a young
          Indian woman, killed in 1985 in a racist attack in England.

Second Generation Once Removed. Directed by Gita Saxena. 19 minutes, VHS.
     Available from: V Tape, 183 Bathurst St. Toronto, Canada M5T 2R7. 
	Exploration of bi-racial identity by a Canadian woman. 
         
Simpsons (Television program). Homer and Apu.
     The Simpsons. Homer and Apu / Gracie Films ; Twentieth Century Fox
   Television. [1994-02-10].
       UCLA  Film TV   A2-601-11706 Research Copy.  Viewing on premises only.
       1 videocassette of 1 (30 min.) : sd., col. ; 3/4 in.
       "Apu is fired from the Kwik-E-Mart for selling spoiled food to
       Homer, who accompanies him to the home office--in India--to
       plead his case. Actor James Woods has a cameo"--TV guide.

So far from India / Mira Nair Productions ; producer, director,
   Mira Nair ; writers, Mira Nair, Ann Schaetzel. New York, NY :
   Filmakers Library, 1983, c1982.
      1 videocassette (49 min.) : sd., col. ; 1/2 in.
      UCB   Media Ctr VIDEO/C 2169
         Describes the experiences of a recently arrived Indian immigrant
         in America, contrasting them with the traditional world of his
         new bride whom he left behind in India. 

Student films from Documentary Class, Spring 1993. 1993.
      1 videocassette (122 min.) : sd., col. ; 1/2 in.
      UCB   Media Ctr VIDEO/C 3278
         Produced by students enrolled in Documentary Film at UCB. One short, 
         "Comes Love," presents East Indian women students discussing their
         expectations of marriage and the conflicting expectations for
         women in their various cultures. 

Two homes one heart : Sacramento Sikh women and their songs & dances /
   producer/director/writer, Joyce Middlebrook.  [California?] : J.M.
   Middlebrook ; Marysville, CA : Distributed by Yuba Sutter Regional Arts
   Council, c1992.
     1 videocassette (26 min.) : sd., col. ; 1/2 in.
       UCB   Music     MUSI VCA29
          Sikh women who have emigrated to Sacramento, Calif. from India
          perform several traditional dances and songs and discuss their
          lives in their new country. Young Sikhs also perform dances,
          some of which blend traditional and Western styles and music.

Unbidden voices / by Prajnaparamita Parasher and Deb Ellis. New
   York, N.Y. : Women Make Movies, 1989.
      1 videocassette (32 min.) : sd., col. ; 1/2 in.
      UCB   Media Ctr VIDEO/C 3358
         A moving portrait of an Indian immigrant woman from Punjab,
         India, who works 12 hours a day in a Chicago restaurant.
         Emphasis is on exploitation of immigrant women, feminism, and
         contrasting cultures.

West is West / Rathod Partners.  New York, N.Y. : Milestone Film & Video,
   1988.
     1 videocassette (50 min.) : sd., col. ; 1/2 in.
     VHS.
       UCB   Media Ctr VIDEO/C 3216
          Adventures of an Indian immigrant student who arrives in San
          Francisco to find his host family has moved. He stays in a
          hotel in the Tenderloin District where he interacts with a
          variety of Americans.
 
What do you call an Indian woman who's funny?. [S.l.] : Umbia
   Films ; San Francisco, CA : National Asian American
   Telecommunications Association [distributor], 1994.
      1 videocassette (18 min.) : sd., col. ; 1/2 in.
      UCB   Media Ctr VIDEO/C 3758
         By looking at four East Indian women cabaret performers and
         comedians, film explores who sets the agenda for comedy.  Film
         questions if humor is culturally specific. Comedian's commentary centerd
         around the East Indian cultural experience in Great Britain.
         
Worlds apart / a Barraclough Carey production for BBC Television
   in association with Turner Broadcasting System. New York, NY :
   Ambrose Video Pub., c1992.
      1 videocassette (45 min.) : sd., col. ; 1/2 in.
      UCB   Media Ctr VIDEO/C 3195
         East Indians are the largest single population in Guyana and
         Trinidad. The influence of their strong cultural identity is examined.

1994 Eisner Prize winning videos.  1993.
      1 videocassette (105 min.) : sd., col. ; 1/2 in.
      UCB   Media Ctr VIDEO/C 3279
         A number of short films produced by students at the University of California,
         Berkeley. "All Dressed in White" is an intimate look at women's choices of 
         wedding clothes, reflecting changes in ethnic identity across three
         generations of an Indian Catholic family. 

Most video titles are available at UC Berkeley's Media Resources Center. Contact Gary Handman for more information. See also Asian, Pacific, & South Asian American Studies Videotapes and South and South East Asia and Oceania Videotapes in the Media Resources Center at UC Berkeley, and the Video Producers/Distributor's Site for video catalogs. The University of Wisconsin, Madison has a searchable database of their video holdings.

Compiled by Vanessa Tait. Suggestions welcome at ssea@library.berkeley.edu

Return to South Asian Diaspora page

Return to South Asia Resources page