Many of the difficulties documentary filmmakers encounter—in collaboration, in the fraught ethics of representation, in distribution—are often framed as problems of production. But could many of these difficulties begin much earlier, in who is chosen to be a part of our documentaries, and why? Director Sarvnik Kaur has built a filmography of films featuring protagonists whose lives, relationships, and situations embody contexts much beyond their individual selves. In this workshop, she will first share her philosophy of mutual recognition and surrender that leads her to subjects who are co-authors of their own stories, carrying truths larger than they yet realize. In the second half, Kaur will then guide selected audience members through a "stripped-from-the-headlines” exercise to help strengthen our casting muscles and build our storytelling instincts.
Facilitator: Sarvnik Kaur (Against the Tide)
Moderator: Brigid O'Shea (Documentary Association of Europe)
Biographies (submitted by the speakers):
Sarvnik Kaur is an award-winning Mumbai-based documentary filmmaker whose solo directorial debut, Against the Tide, premiered at Sundance 2023, where it received the Special Jury Award for Verité Filmmaking. The film went on to screen and win awards internationally, earning nominations for Best Director at the IDA Documentary Awards, Best Documentary at the Gotham Awards, the Cinema Eye Honors, and the Critics Choice Awards, alongside the Best Documentary award at the Asia Pacific Screen Awards. A Chicken & Egg Films, Hot Docs, and Sundance Institute alum, Sarvnik’s immersive, long-term observational practice explores the intersection of personal lives, political realities, and ecological change. She is currently building an elemental series—from sea to land—continuing her exploration of land, identity, climate, and community through ethics-led, deeply collaborative storytelling.
Many of the difficulties documentary filmmakers encounter—in collaboration, in the fraught ethics of representation, in distribution—are often framed as problems of production. But could many of these difficulties begin much earlier, in who is chosen to be a part of our documentaries, and why? Director Sarvnik Kaur has built a filmography of films featuring protagonists whose lives, relationships, and situations embody contexts much beyond their individual selves. In this workshop, she will first share her philosophy of mutual recognition and surrender that leads her to subjects who are co-authors of their own stories, carrying truths larger than they yet realize. In the second half, Kaur will then guide selected audience members through a "stripped-from-the-headlines” exercise to help strengthen our casting muscles and build our storytelling instincts.
Facilitator: Sarvnik Kaur (Against the Tide)
Moderator: Brigid O'Shea (Documentary Association of Europe)
Biographies (submitted by the speakers):
Sarvnik Kaur is an award-winning Mumbai-based documentary filmmaker whose solo directorial debut, Against the Tide, premiered at Sundance 2023, where it received the Special Jury Award for Verité Filmmaking. The film went on to screen and win awards internationally, earning nominations for Best Director at the IDA Documentary Awards, Best Documentary at the Gotham Awards, the Cinema Eye Honors, and the Critics Choice Awards, alongside the Best Documentary award at the Asia Pacific Screen Awards. A Chicken & Egg Films, Hot Docs, and Sundance Institute alum, Sarvnik’s immersive, long-term observational practice explores the intersection of personal lives, political realities, and ecological change. She is currently building an elemental series—from sea to land—continuing her exploration of land, identity, climate, and community through ethics-led, deeply collaborative storytelling.
