Category: projects

more wonderful friends and fam at the film premiere of ‘return to sender: women of color in colonial postcards & the politics of representation’ at @cinema_arts on oct 1st.

before the film premiere last sunday, there was the opening of an art exhibition at Huntington Historical Society’s history & decorative arts museum (the exhibition ‘return to sender’ will be on display until oct 15).

i gave an artist talk there in which i quoted palestinian american poet suheir hammad.

return to sender: women of color in colonial postcards & the politics of representation – film premiere at Cinema Arts Centre:

what a day yesterday! sharing a film with the world for the first time after months (sometimes years) of work, collaborations, and non-stop revisions, is something remarkable, a high that’s hard to describe. and then being surrounded by family, friends and community, to feel that love and engagement, is beyond thrilling. there are many many thanks, as always, but i want to start with the young people who attended the film screening and added so much color and depth to the conversation that went on for 1 1/2 hours. i am constantly impressed by the knowledge, thoughtfulness, and bold imagination of our young people. it’s something electric to be in their company and think together. here are some of the beautiful young folx in the audience yesterday. thank u!

tomorrow is the big day my friends! come to the premiere of a brand new film about colonial postcards and representation at cinema arts centre in huntington, 2-4pm. the screening will be followed by a discussion with nia adams, farhana huda islam and madeline del toro cherney. earlier, 12-1pm, join us for the opening of an art exhibition at huntington’s history & decorative arts museum. i will give an artist talk there. the huntington art walk will be on tomorrow and it will be a sunny day. get out of the house and join us!

tested the film at Cinema Arts Centre today with the wonderful allie zalewski.

it’s always an overwhelming experience for me to see my films on the big screen. the footage for ‘return to sender’ was shot in 2019. i’ve been working on editing and post production almost all of 2023. to then see the product of that labor, in all its glory, on a huge screen with gorgeously clear sound, is incredibly emotional to say the least. how i love what i do.

thank u Urvashi, Sumayia and Fatimah for being the voices of south asian women in this film. thank u dylan and boris for shooting such stunning footage. thank u Rajesh for the beautiful rich colors and Darien for the amazingly well fine-tuned sound.

filmmaking is teamwork and one is only as good as one’s team. proud of what we’ve created together!

come and watch the world premiere in huntington on oct 1 at 2pm. there will be a post screening discussion led by farhana islam, nia adams, and madeline del toro cherney. don’t miss it!

Friends, as we approach the big day (Return to Sender film premiere at Cinema Arts Centre on Oct 1st), I wanted to give a shout-out to the amazing panelists who will be leading a post screening discussion along with yours truly. Here’s a little more about these remarkable women:

Nia Adams is a community organizer in the Long Island/metro-NY area. As a self-identified liberationist & pan-Africanist, her work is rooted in a multidisciplinary and intergenerational approach to end the carceral system. She is co-director of training at the Advocacy Institute and a Chapter Leader with the Working Families Party, Nassau County Chapter.

Madeline del Toro Cherney is a lecturer in the anthropology department at Stony Brook University. Her research centers on Native and contemporary Latin American culture and its effect on gender identification.

Farhana Huda Islam is a pharmacist, the Digital Strategist and Creative Director of Muslims for Progress, the chair of the Long Island Progressive Coalition, and the creator of a cooking series called Binyskitchen.

You can buy your tickets now from Cinema Arts Centre here.

This project is made possible with funds from the Statewide Community Regrant Program, a regrant program of the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature and administered by The Huntington Arts Council, Inc.

I am thrilled to announce that A THIN WALL, my film about the partition of India, co-produced by Surbhi Dewan, will be screened at Westbury Arts on October 13 at 7:00 PM. The film has been screened all over the world, most recently in London (just this past month). I will be there to lead a discussion afterwards and my mother will be present too. Her stories about this important chapter in human history, and those of other remarkable South Asian women, animate the film. This will be the first time she’ll be at an official screening of the film. Means everything to me. You can register now and buy tickets for reserved seats – pls click here. Hope to see you there!

with the brilliant stephanie godard, executive director of the huntington historical society at the end of my presentation today. there were some technical glitches but we pulled thru, due to the strength of the material and gorgeous artwork. at the end of the talk, i gave separate questions to each table and asked them to discuss and respond. the result was vigorous engagement and hopefully some questioning of how we view the ‘other.’ this was at matteo’s of huntington. i will be giving another talk at the conklin farmhouse and barn, 2 high street, huntington, on sept 27, 6-8:00pm. this one will be more cozy and even more interactive. pls register at huntingtonhistoricalsociety.org and join us!

This project is made possible with funds from the Statewide Community Regrant Program, a regrant program of the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature and administered by The Huntington Arts Council, Inc.

my upcoming talk on sept 7th at 12pm at matteo’s of huntington is in the huntington patch.

spent the whole day at the library yesterday writing my talk and organizing beautiful images and videos.

i will be sharing radical art and the work of malek alloula, ramon grosfoguel, laura mulvey, jean paul sartre, john berger, edward said, gilles teulie, frantz fanon, lalla essaydi, and aida muluneh.

we will be talking about the male gaze, the colonial lens, orientalist postcards, and ways of subverting or ‘returning’ that gaze. pls join us and be a part of the discussion.

u can register at huntingtonhistoricalsociety.org – hope to see u there!

This project is made possible with funds from the Statewide Community Regrant Program, a regrant program of the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature and administered by The Huntington Arts Council, Inc.

I am excited to announce that you can now buy tickets to the premiere of Return to Sender: Women of Color in Colonial Postcards & the Politics of Representation at Cinema Arts Centre in Huntington, NY, on Oct 1st at 2pm! Tickets are inexpensive because we want to include everyone. Reserve your spot now and pls share with friends and fam.

The film will be followed by a panel discussion led by three brilliant women. More about the panelists soon. Here is a film synopsis:

Return to Sender: Women of Color in Colonial Postcards & the Politics of Representation is a short, experimental film directed and produced by Mara Ahmed. It pushes the documentary medium in unexpected ways by opening with three contemporary South Asian American women who recreate British colonial postcards from the early 20th century. Dressed in lavish traditional attire and jewelry and shot exquisitely in a darkened studio, the women emulate the awkward poses of the postcard women, only to subvert the colonial male gaze and acquire autonomy by choosing an action of their own. This symbolic ‘returning’ of the Orientalist gaze is layered with discussions about Eurocentric beauty standards, representations of South Asian women in media and culture, stereotypes, othering, identity and belonging. The film hopes to create community by facilitating conversations about erasure and the politics of representation.

This project is made possible with funds from the Statewide Community Regrant Program, a regrant program of the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature and administered by The Huntington Arts Council, Inc.

I will be talking about my upcoming film ‘Return to Sender: Women of Color in Colonial Postcards & the Politics of Representaiton’ at the @huntingtonhistoricalsociety’s Lunch & Learn on Sept 7th at Matteo’s of Huntington. Pls join us. Tickets at HuntingtonHistoricalSociety.org

Best known for her non-linear interdisciplinary work, filmmaker Mara Ahmed produces documentaries, soundscapes, and artwork that trespass political borders and challenge colonial logics. Mara was born in Lahore and educated in Belgium, Pakistan, and the US. Her art practice reflects these displacements and multiplicities. Her documentaries have been broadcast on PBS and screened at international film festivals. She is currently working on The Injured Body, a documentary about racism in America. Mara will make a multimedia presentation about her NYSCA-funded project, Return to Sender: Women of Color in Colonial Postcards & the Politics of Representation.

She will provide some historical context for this project including the decision to focus on colonial postcards from the early 20th century, the construction of women of color as a phantasm, the male gaze and the objectification of women, as well as decolonial ways to challenge stereotypes. The presentation will include video, images, and literary excerpts. It will be designed to encourage a vibrant discussion.

Pricing: Members: $50, Non-Members: $60 [Includes three-course meal + wine + dessert]

When: Thursday Sept 7th, 12-2pm

Where: Matteo’s of Huntington, 300 W Jericho Turnpike, Huntington Station, NY

Register at HuntingtonHistoricalSociety.org

This project is made possible with funds from the Statewide Community Regrant Program, a regrant program of the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature and administered by The Huntington Arts Council, Inc.