Filmmaker Sarah Singh on her documentary “The Sky Below”
In 2006 Sarah Singh – a New York City based Indian American filmmaker set out to direct a documentary on the partition of Pakistan from India. Singh’s journey along the western border of India with Pakistan – from Kutch all the way to Kashmir, then takes her to both the countries. She travels in Punjab, Delhi, Karachi to the North West Frontier Province, where she talks to ordinary folks, intellectuals and people in the arts.
Singh’s film – The Sky Below has played at film festivals, as well as other gatherings in India and also recently in Pakistan. Here Singh talks about her experiences in making the film, the regional dynamics of what is happening in Afghanistan, Kashmir and in the Indo-Pakistan relations, and how all of it is co-related to the line that was drawn out between the two neighboring countries in August 1947.
Noted Nepali journalist Kanak Mani Dixit says the following about The Sky Below: “One of the best films on Partition I have ever seen.”
The following video can be viewed in High Definition. First hit the play button in the center of the screen, then click the triangle in the bottom right corner of the screen. You will see the “HQ” option. Click that to play the video in “High Quality”.
Part I: Sarah’s inspiration and motivation for “The Sky Below”:
Part II: Deep emotions on both sides of the border:
Part III: Reactions to the film in the Indian Subcontinent
i have seen this film and the extraordinary achievement with which it symbolizes and it’s timely relevance…….i would have liked to have heard the very breadth of its scope both in production (as a one-person crew) and topic (travelling over dangerous terrain).
[...] The Sarah Singh interview has now been posted here. [...]