A history of Divided We Fall's screnings and media coverage since its world premiere in September 2006. Our favorites are in red.
Phoenix - World Premiere Thursday September 14, 2006
There was a red carpet. Four hundred fifty people. Press cameras. Hot food. Banners that read "United We Stand, Divided We Fall." A whirl of conversation that settled when the film began. And a standing ovation when it ended. It was the night of our world premiere in Phoenix, Arizona, and it officially launched Divided We Fall into the world.
The premiere was held on the eve of the five-year memorial of Balbir Sodhi's murder. Hosted by the Phoenix Sikh community, the event was a memorial for those who died on 9/11 and in its aftermath. The Sodhi family was there, and so was his widow Herjinder Kaur. Valarie's journey to make this film began with the story of the Sodhi family, and so we were deeply honored that the premiere of our movie would honor of the strength and resilience of this family and the larger Phoenix community.
Spinning Wheel Film Festival - New York Premiere Rubin Museum of Art
Tufts University - Boston Premiere Asian American Center at Tufts University
Illinois Wesleyan University (Bloomington, IL) - Illinois Premiere
Southern Illinois University (Carbondale, IL)
University of Illinois at Chicago - Chicago Premiere
Spinning Wheel Film Festival (Miami, FL) – Florida Premiere Spinning Wheel Film Festival - Florida
Jago Sikh Young Professionals Conference
3rd I South Asian International Film Festival (San Francisco, CA) - San Francisco Premiere
Sacramento, CA - Formal California Premiere
Lieutenant Governor Cruz Bustamante hosted the formal California premiere of Divided We Fall at the Secretary of State Auditorium, a few steps away from the state capitol. There were rows of plush red seats and a stage with blue curtains that parted for the movie screen. More than 300 people filled the seats, stood in the back, and sat on the steps.
The Lieutenant Governor took the stage to recognize the sponsors of the event and then give us a glowing introduction – he commended Valarie Kaur's courage for beginning the journey and Sharat Raju’s talent and vision as a filmmaker for finishing it. He then presented both of them with a Resolution he had passed on the floor of the legislature - one that formally recognized the film and its message.
George Washington University (Washington, D.C.) – D.C. Premiere Hosted by the Sikh Student Association at George Washington University
Co-sponsored by the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Program
BBC Interview How's this for starting the new year off with a bang? Just four months after Divided We Fall's world premiere in Arizona in September 2006, the BBC called, wanting to interview Valarie about the film.
Seattle Human Rights Film Festival (Seattle, WA) We are the opening night film! We are honored to kick off a festival sponsored by Amnesty International, Hate Free Zone Seattle and Gurdwara Singh Sabha of Washington.
Hastings College (Hastings, NE) At our Nebraska premiere, more than 200 people give us a standing ovation (pictured below, bottom) at a school of only 2000. The next day, Valarie opens up dialogue in classrooms (below, top) and discovers diversity in the Midwest. Chaplain David McCarthy, thank you for an inspiring visit.
Church of the Holy Spirit (Bellevue, NE) Invited by Father Bob Scott (below, middle), Valarie gives her first guest sermon at this Episcopal Church! She shares Balbir Sodhi's story as part of their Wednesday night Lenten study series and is moved to tears by the warmth and love of this Christian community. All thanks to our communications director, Tracy Wells (below, left).
Wellesley College (Wellesley, MA) Balancing
plates of dinner on their knees, Wellesley students gather for an
intimate screening and discussion as part of Asian American Month. Special thanks to Nan Chen.
University of Michigan (Ann Arbor, MI) Sharat
returns to his alma mater to show the film in his old Psych 111
auditorium! Special thanks to Amrik Singh of the Sikh Student
Association and the gang (pictured below, left) who treated us to a
great dinner.
Harvard Law School (Cambridge, MA) Sponsored
by the ACLU, Harvard students gather in a law school classroom to eat
pizza and talk about the movie, all thanks to second-year law student
Tejinder Singh.
University of North Carolina, Charlotte (Charlotte, NC) A
small intimate screening kicks off our Southern tour, and associate
producers Dolly and Judge Brar (also Valarie's parents) join
us! Special thanks to passionate UNC student Tavleen Kaur.
University of South Carolina (Columbia, SC) Our
South Carolina premiere is communications director Tracy Wells'
hometown screening, and the audience gives us a standing ovation! We are honored by the first Sikh woman State Rep in South Carolina, Nikki Haley.
The screening is co-sponsored by Partners
in Dialogue, a community interfaith organization. Special thanks to
Carl Evans for coordinating the screening and inviting us to
his class (pictured below). And thanks to Tracy's family for all their support!
Auburn University (Auburn, AL) Our
Alabama Premiere is an intimate screening hosted by the Auburn Asian
Association. Thanks to Gayatri Nayak and friends for a great night and
delicious dinner.
ReelWorld Film Festival, Toronto (Toronto, Canada) We win Best International Documentary!
Valarie and Sharat give their first acceptance speech at a classy award
ceremony (pictured below), just a day after Valarie accepts the Seva Award for service from Canada's Sikh Centennial Foundation.
Shrewsbury Public Library (Shrewsbury, MA) Thanks
to Saran and Navjeet Singh, we have a nice small gathering at a
community library with local Sikh families and neighbors to view and
talk about the movie.
University of Delaware (Newark, DE) Our
Delaware premiere is a success, complete with cupcakes for the
filmmakers! Thank you Director of Multicultural Programs Kasandra Moye
and her staff.
Swampscott High School (Swampscott, MA) A
highlight on our tour, this is the first-ever screening organized
entirely by high school students! Eleventh graders in an American
Studies class (pictured below) at
Swampscott High School share the film with their school and community
in a former synagogue. The students are earnest and open, the energy
high, the emotion deep. Thank you Marisa Jackson-Hedges, Holly Tatum,
and students. (Marisa has joined our dialogue team!)
Yuba City Punjabi American Festival (Yuba City, CA) Outside,
a colorful fair with Punjabi food and Bhangra. Inside, our movie on
the big screen! In the city with the oldest largest Sikh community in
America, the Punjabi American Heritage Society hosts the film and
presents Valarie with the Service Award. Thank you Dr. Jasbir Kang.
Clovis Unified School District (Clovis, CA) Valarie
returns home! City hall gives her the keys to Clovis (not literally,
but nearly). Our most celebrated and emotional stop on the tour, our
Clovis premiere fills the audience with former teachers, friends, and
family - including our film stars: Peg Bos, Saburo and Marion Masada,
Toshi and Bob Sakai, Aiko and Tom Uyeoka, Valarie's parents Judge and
Dolly Brar and grandfather Captain Gurdial Singh.
We accept official
commendation from the city of Clovis, and even before the standing
ovation, Valarie is in tears with gratitude. Thank you Carole and Jon
Smoot, Ginny Boris, Gary Giovanni, Maren Nielsen, and especially Rob
Darrow for creating this once-in-a-lifetime memory! "Home is where
your story begins." (Above: Valarie recognizes her former teachers at the Clovis premiere.)
Interfaith Academies for Religious Leaders (Kansas City, MO) We screen at a forum where diverse religious leaders come to talk, really talk. Thank you, Bud Heckman, for featuring us in this interfaith dialogue.
The Sister Fund - Faith and Feminism Dialogues (New York, NY) In
a circle of women from different religious faiths, Valarie is invited
as the guest speaker, sharing the invisible stories of Sikh women for
the first time. The dialogue that follows is rich, tearful, and
inspiring. We are grateful to Julia Cato.
Germany's Bollywood and Beyond Film Festival (Stuttgart, Germany) This
is our Germany Premiere! Germany, as in Europe! We wish we could have
been there, and we thank the festival for featuring our film.
North American Interfaith Network (NAIN) (Richmond, VA) Our communications director Tracy Wells shares our film and her work in the interfaith world with this diverse network.
KUSI's San Diego People - 30 Minute News Magazine A CNN affiliate features Divided We Fall on San Diego People after catching us on the Paula Zahn show. The half-hour news magazine broadcasts clips from the film and talks with Valarie and Sharat as well as film interviewees Swaran Bhullar and Nitasha Sawhney. Our most compelling media feature yet, click the image below to watch the show.
Boston loves us, and we love Boston! Special thanks to L. B. Gratun.
Dallas Video Festival (Dallas, TX) After
we meet at a conference in Switzerland, Bart Weiss features us in his
festival! Thanks to Amrit Kaur for representing us at the festival.
Queensborough Community College (Queens, NY) On
the eve of September 11th, New York Assemblyman Rory Lancman hosts a
screening and discussion for an audience of New York City teachers,
firefighters, city officials, and local Sikh Americans.
Reed College (Portland, OR) At
our Oregon premiere, Valarie's intellectual discussions with Reed
students continues over several days in classrooms, through lunch, and
over tea as they explore racism in the body. Thank you Lisa Moore!
Tamejavi Cultural Festival (Fresno, CA) Associate
Producer and one of the film's stars Judge Brar (also Valarie's father)
presents the film for the first time in his hometown museum!
Global Peace Film Festival (Orlando, FL) Students
at Rollins College fill our audience to watch and engage in deep honest
discussion after our film in this fantastic festival, thanks to the
care of Nina Streich!
South Asian International Film Festival (New York, NY) Usually
question-and-answer periods don't last more than a few minutes in movie
theaters, but ours lasted more than an hour, thanks to the high energy
of this audience! A big smile to Valarie's New York friends and her
cousin Simran for making this night so much fun!
Rutgers University (New Brunswick, NJ) At
this intimate screening, Sharat and Valarie field astute questions and
make some new friends. Thank you Sangeetha Subramanian (and Valarie's
uncle Jas for taking care of us).
Flimmer Film Festival (Norrköping, Sweden) Our Sweden Premiere! We hear it was fantastic and wish we could have been there!
St. Edward's University (Austin, TX) Valarie bonds with the women of St. Edward's Unity Coalition (pictured below),
screens the film for a packed audience, teaches in classrooms, explores
Texan history, waits for bats at the bridge, and brainstorms her next
project. A fantastic visit, thanks to Natalia Leal!
James Madison University (Harrisonburg, VA) At
our Virginia premiere, more than 500 students fill the audience! The
next day, Valarie leads an intense workshop for students going on a
Near East experimental learning weekend. All thanks to the women at
the Center for Multicultural Student Services.
Northeastern University (Boston, MA) Valarie
leads a series of discussions after screening at Northeastern, despite
almost losing her voice. We appreciate the warmth of the Asian
American Center, thanks to Celia Ho and director Delia Hom.
Spinning Wheel Film Festival (Beverly Hills, CA) In a celebration of Sikh films, Divided We Fall screens next to One Light, a film by visionary 13-year old Angad Singh (pictured below with Valarie).
The audience is a sea of Sikh families, plus our friends, crew, and
associate producers Tonse and Vidya Raju (also Sharat's parents).
Sharat and Valarie are honored with a stunning award at the festival.
And the night before, the Sikh Center of Orange County give Valarie the
Seva Award for her service to the community. Thank you Bicky Singh for all your support!
Atlanta Indo-American Film Festival (Atlanta, GA) Our
communications director Tracy Wells, now relocated to Atlanta,
represents the film and leads a discussion that
spills into the lobby after the theater is closed. Among the audience
is our research assistant Rekha Radhakrishnan! Many thanks to
Ani Agnihotri for showcasing Indian film in Atlanta.
University of Minnesota (Minneapolis, MN) After giving the plenary at a day-long conference on post-9/11 hate crimes hosted by the Minnesota Advocates for Human Rights,
Valarie presents the film to more than 300 people who brave the cold to
join us. The discussion continues in classrooms the next day. Thank
you Ann Thiesen for organizing a remarkable gathering.
University of Michigan (Ann Arbor, MI) We screen as part of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Symposium. The screening is sponsored by the School of Information, the University Library, the Bentley Historical Library, Information Technology Central Services, the Law Library, and University Housing. Thanks to Helen Look.
Wayne State University (Detroit, MI) Sponsored by the Sikh Student Organization. South Asian Awareness Network (SAAN) Conference (Ann Arbor, MI) Valarie is a speaker at this national conference.
Academy of the Sacred Heart (Bloomfield Hills, MI) Valarie screens the film for a Catholic all-girls high school as part of their "Diversity Day" programming.
Pomona College (Claremont, CA) Valarie and Sharat present the film at Pomona College in Claremont, Calif. on Friday night; then the film plays at the university theater all weekend.
Emory University (Atlanta, GA) Professor of Religion Richard Martin, the first professor to invite Valarie to speak publicly as an authority on the 9/11 backlash (in 2003, before the film was even made!) brings Valarie back for a public screening and to lead one of his senior seminar classes on religion after 9/11.
Minneapolis Public Schools (Minneapolis MN) After seeing the film at the Minnesota Advocates for Human Rights screening in December, Mary DeLuny arranged to screen the film for the public school district where she works.
Furman University (Greenville, SC) Five years after graduation, DWF communications director Tracy Wells returned to her undergraduate alma mater with Valarie and jump-started a series of thoughtful discussions on religious diversity on this historically conservative Christian campus. One of the highlights of the visit was seeing the 9/11 memorial the class of 2006 had given the the university as their graduation gift (9/11 was the first day of class on their freshman year at Furman.)
Yale Law School (New Haven, CT)
New York University (New York, NY) As part of Sikh Awareness Week, the Sikh Student Association at NYU sponsored a screning of DWF and visit with Valarie Kaur.
Casey Family Services Conference (Manchester, NH) This conference on building skills for dealing with diversity included a screening of DWF as part of their conference program.
Bryn Mawr College (Bryn Mawr, PA) Our Pennsylvania premiere and the first time DWF has screened at an all-women's college.
How's this for starting the new year off with a bang? Just four months after 
At our New Jersey premiere, we win another award for Best Documentary! Thanks to our communications director Tracy Wells who represents the team.
Hundreds
of local families enjoy Indian food in a beautiful dinner-theater as
they watch our film on the big screen. 
