KEVIN LEE
Director/Producer

Kevin Lee is a filmmaker based in New York City. He is an honoree of the 2004 Berlinale Talent Campus, 2004 IFP Project Involve and 2005 Film/Video Arts Artist Mentor Project.  His work has been screened on PBS Television and the Museum of Modern Art, as well as festivals in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Manchester UK, Hawaii, and Singapore.  His award-winning documentary DASTAAR: DEFENDING SIKH IDENTITY depicts the Sikh community's resistance to hate crimes and discrimination in the United States.  TAKE A LOOK shows the effects of 9/11 on New York City's Chinatown community.  His prize-winning project ON GUARD, depicting the day in the life of a security guard, was shot, edited and completed in 72 hours.  He is currently producing and directing a full-length documentary on Sikh religion and culture in the United States and India.

PERSONAL STATEMENT

I first contacted the Sikh community in New York in 2004, when I filmed a "Diversity Day" event at a Long Island high school. The Sikhs, eager to remedy the discrimination and violence they suffered after 9/11, took extreme care in preparing a classroom to share their cultural identity to everyone. But few people would venture inside. The sight of men at the door wearing turbans deterred many families. My eyes were opened to the challenge of the Sikh community to break through society's misperception of them.

I produced a 13-minute documentary: "DASTAAR: Defending Sikh Identity." It gives an overview of the discrimination and acts of hatred suffered by Sikhs in the U.S. The film premiered at the first-ever Sikh American Film Festival and is now circulating in festivals around the country. I established relationships with community groups including the Sikh Cultural Society and the Sikhs of New York, advocacy groups such as the Sikh Coalition and the Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund, and Sikh gurdwaras (temples) in Richmond Hill, Ozone Park, and Flushing.

In early 2004, when I decided to expand my work to encompass a feature-length documentary, I undertook several months of preparation and research.   I attended a Sikhism class at Hofstra University taught by Professor Arvind Mandair.   I identified several key subjects whose lives I would follow: American Sikh Kevin Harrington, young student of Sikhism Radhika Kaur, and prominent community leader and hate crime victim Rajinder Singh Khalsa.   After several months of building a significant relationship with Mr. Khalsa, I was fortunate to accompany him on a three week trip to India where I was able to document Sikh life and culture in Punjab, Uttaranchal and Delhi.  

Last summer I was selected for the Film/Video Arts (www.fva.com) Artist Mentorship Program, a six month program that provides equipment, training and consultation with a mentor filmmaker to further develop my project.   As a result of the program, I completed a 20 minute trailer for WARRIOR SAINTS which I am now using as a fundraising vehicle among foundations and individual supporters.

I also received a $7,000 development grant from the Funding Exchange Paul Robeson Grant, which supports art projects that serve the needs of underrepresented communities.   I am using this money to sustain production activity, while also expanding my outreach efforts.   I am developing a Warrior Saints website which will provide extensive details about the project, provide the trailer for online viewing, and also serve as a valuable online information resource about Sikhism.  

I have also been nominated for the New Voices Fellowship, which, if I am selected, will allow me to work full-time as a media advocate for the Sikh Coalition to document Sikh civil rights issues across the United States.   It is my hope that this work will feed into the Warrior Saints project in terms of further deepening my relationship with the Sikh community.  

The response of the Sikh American community to WARRIOR SAINTS has been nothing less than enthusiastic - they feel a great need for their stories to be told so that Americans understand who they truly are. They have shown appreciation of my ability to be culturally sensitive to their experiences as a sympathetic outsider. As a non-Sikh, I offer a fresh perspective that does not take their cultural uniqueness for granted.   More importantly, upon witnessing and reflecting on the beliefs and personal struggles of Sikh Americans, I have grown immensely through my journey with them, not just as a filmmaker but as a human being.   It is my hope that WARRIOR SAINTS reflects this spirit of growth and discovery.

MATTHEW LUDVINO

Editor