Events

Aashish Kumar is a Professor of Television and Immersive Media in the Department of Radio/TV/Film at Hofstra University’s Lawrence Herbert School of Communication. Kumar is an award-winning documentary filmmaker and social action scholar whose work turns a spotlight on issues such as emerging democracies, social stigmas, globalization, migration, civic engagement, and grassroots advocacy. His films have been shown in domestic and international film festivals, used in grassroots community advocacy, and distributed to academic institutions. 

Body, Home, World is an interactive web-documentary on the South Asian American LGBTQ+ community, its complex and rich bond with family, colonial history, and other communities of color.

How do we tell stories of displaced bodies, repressed sexualities, and diverse identities of color? South Asian queer journeys occupy a special place in the overall experience of the diaspora. We are building a virtual meeting-square where South Asian families, LGBTQ+ identifying individuals, and allies can begin a project of compassionate and vibrant dialogue on communities of color. Through our web-documentary we are looking to present a living history of migration, sexuality, family, colonialism, and gender, and how these co-exist in the lives of queer desis.

Body, Home, World features an original score by Brown University PHD candidate Ravi Krishnaswami who will be joining Aashish in talking about his creative process for this project.