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FOCUSING THE LENS on SIKH WOMEN

Announcing the 2013 SikhNet Youth Film Festival!

In the Sikh community all over the world women’s issues are heating up, and more and more Sikh women are emerging as leaders. Have you been inspired by this?  Now is your opportunity to share your voice. This year’s theme for the SikhNet Youth Film Festival is on “Sikh Women”.

Show us your documentaries, dramas, comedies or animations that shine a spotlight on women’s voices, women’s issues, women’s stories and the inspiration that a woman or women has brought to you. Now is the time to get your hands on a video camera and start working on YOUR film. You can bring more awareness, respect and humor to your faith, as well as inspiring others!!! Come on!  Now’s the time to get started.

It will be lots of fun, you can win CASH PRIZES and your film will be seen by thousands of people on SikhNet!

Some ideas to spark your imagination:

• What impact has the power of a woman had on you?

• The journey from girl into woman. Finding your own identity.

• The power of women working together.

• Do an interview with a woman who is important in your life.

• Women as sevadars, leaders and teachers

• Men through the eyes of a woman.

• Women through the eyes of a man.

• What does it mean to be a Kaur in the 21st century?

• What are women doing to support and help each other?

• Sikh Women, redefining their role in Sikh Culture.

• How Sikh women are responding to domestic abuse and violence in our community?

• The Feminine in Gurbani

• Women Wearing Dastars

• Female Sikh Athletes

• The wisdom of grandmothers

• How are Sikh women exerting bold new leadership in gurdwaras?

• What do you love most about being a Sikh woman?

• What does the future hold for Sikh girls and women?

• I am a sister – what it means to me

• I am a mother … how does the next generation depend on me?

• How I kept my brother from cutting his hair !!!

• Relationships through the eyes of a young Sikh woman … what we want!!!

• Unconventional Kaurs

• Kaurage in Action !!!

Submission Deadline: August 31st, 2013

Get Started

Prizes

Junior – Age 11-17

First – $500
Second – $250
Third – $125

Intermediate - Age 18-28

Best Long Film (>5 – 25 min.)- $1,000
Best Short Film (2-5 min.) – $1,000

Senior - 29 and up

Best Senior Film – certificate

+ non-cash awards may be given for categories like: best documentary, best comedy, best script, best production, best original music, users choice award, etc.

Judging

This year YOU are going to choose the top 10 films, and the judges will make the final decision.

Get it together and get started on your video! Use your time for something creative and inspiring, and compete for prizes. Join the Movement. Create Sikh Media. Let Your Voice Be Heard.

This Year…

• We’ve upped the age range for the intermediate group to 28.
• For Intermediates, we’ve eliminated  2nd and 3rd place cash prizes and created Best Short Film and Best Long Film.  

TWO Opportunities to Win!

When you make a great short film this year you also have the opportunity to enter it into the Tony Blair Foundation “Faith Shorts” Film Competition. You can find out the details here.  Why not submit your short film to BOTH the SikhNet Youth Film Festival and the Faith Shorts competition?

Read More About This Year’s Festival

Have you started your film yet? Get Started 

The SikhNet Youth Film Festival Directors Speak! “We did it. So can you!”

Some of the young directors describe how the film festival brought them together, changed their lives, opened their eyes to acting and directing and helped them have an impact on others.

This Year…

• We’ve upped the age range for the intermediate group to 28.
• For Intermediates, we’ve eliminated  2nd and 3rd place cash prizes and created Best Short Film and Best Long Film.  

TWO Opportunities to Win!

When you make a great short film this year you also have the opportunity to enter it into the Tony Blair Foundation “Faith Shorts” Film Competition. You can find out the details here.  Why not submit your short film to BOTH the SikhNet Youth Film Festival and the Faith Shorts competition?

Read More About This Year’s Festival

The SikhNet Youth Film Festival deadline is just around the corner… August 31st. Get it together and get started on your video asap! Use your time for something creative and inspiring, and compete for prizes. Join the Movement. Create Sikh Media. Let Your Voice Be Heard. Get Started

3rd place competition winner in 2012
for Junior age group (11-17)

Sikhs stand out because of their distinct appearance. Because Sikhs look different, they are usually bullied and made fun of. This video shows how all Sikhs can “Stand Out and Stand Up” for themselves by remembering how our Sikh Gurus sacrificed and persevered in the face of adversity.

Shot with Canon 550D/ T2i
Lens: Canon 50mm 1.4 USM
Location: Gurdwara SGSS Havelock Road, Southall (UK)

Wednesday, 26th October 2011

Shot & Edited by myself.

2012 “Heartstrings Award”

Its the story of a girl, the blind choices she made in her life and because of those choices was on a blind journey.

There are millions of Sikhs living in the central and southern states of India, in the similar or even poorer conditions. Their children want to go to school and study but they have no monetary help to turn their dreams into reality. This is awake up call to all Sikhs to share and help their less privilege brothers and sisters because Guru clearly reminds us on Page 15 of SGGS Ji – “Nanak Tin Kai Sang” - Nanak Stands in solidarity with needy and oppressed…

2012 “Sant Sipahi Award”

The film “Satguru Khotion Khare Kare” reveals that when a person practices Gurbani, he/she becomes more & more Humanitarian & dedicated social worker. He/she gets rid of personal & social evils, like; drug addiction, female foeticide. Dowry etc, Because Gurbani makes him/her a fully satisfied person, then he/she becomes able to help others to be good human being.

“eih lok sukhiye parlok suhele”
“nanak har prabh aape mele”

“He is at peace in this world, and happy in the next”
O Nanak, the LORD unites him with HIMSELF”

The story is based on a father – son relation. How a son values a gift from his father and lives upto his expectations.

Our sole aim is to invoke the conscience of Sikh nation. Our aim is that the Sikhs, especially the young ones, develop the curiosity to find out why the said subject is so life-important. If they end up reading Bhai Ram Singh’s article on the subject,we are sure a few conscientious efforts will definitely follow. Surely, a few hearts would thus move.

Special thanks to S. Mandeep Singh for his spending his after office hours profusely editing the video. Also, without his equipment and tech know-how, that video would not had come out this well. Guru Sahib shall bear fruit to his labours is our ardas.

This is an effort to uncover ugly face of Indian Constitution. This presents the truth of 1984 massacre, in respect of one individual family. Story is based on true events in a village near Delhi. I am Jarnail Singh,22 yrs. old and I belong to Patiala, Punjab. I completed my 10+2 in Patiala only and then i went to Chandigarh to get diploma in 3D Animation. After completing that, i joined Punjabi University to get diploma in Videography. Meantime, i started my work rather my passion for direction in films. I did a short film which was actually an assignment for me named ‘Drowning Punjab’. I got very much encouraged with the terrific support i got from people. Then, by completion of my diploma, i made another movie named ‘A Night out with Life’ and, yet again i got unbelievable response. Thereafter, it was a very daring task to even think of presenting Massacre and Injustice of 1984 in form of electronic media. My uncle had a newspaper cutting of a victim of 1984 who was crippled for 24 years but was still fighting for justice. He, my family and my conscience empowered the courage to present truth in front of the whole world. And our message was to the entire mankind that if they don’t stand against the cruelty and injustice, they would be the victims one day.

In order to raise awareness of the Turban and inspire young people to take pride in the way they look, #MyTurban captures the stories of men and women who tie all types of Dastaars – from Damalla to Double Patti to ‘Kenyan’.

This montage film captures prominent and famous British Sikhs speaking about their Turban identity – and was first shown in London during Vaisakhi 2012.

This footage was captured by filmmakers Jay Singh-Sohal and Juggy Rehnsi – and has inspired a whole host of #MyTurban video contributions from Sikhs all over the UK.

2012 “Emotional Wisdom” Award

A soldier returns home from Iraq and is having trouble adjusting with post tramautic stress syndrome. He regrets that he had left his best friend behind and he will never see him again.

This film is part of a class taught at Houston Sikh Youth Camp to show the campers the importance of Art and Sikhi. The campers came up with story lines and as a group translated the idea into a film with the guidance of Harjus Singh. This allowed them to learn the process of making a film from concept to editing. This film from start to finish was completed in less than 5 days.

2012 “Laugh and Learn” Award 

Singh vs Singh is the story of two youths meet and preet. Preet falls
into wrong kind of friend circle and starts to neglect what being a
Sikh stands for on the other hand meet is regular gurdwara sahib going
guy who knows what sikhism is and tries to live up to its true sense.