In a certain sense the past is far more real, or at any rate more stable, more resilient than the present. The present slips and vanishes like sand between the fingers, acquiring material weight, only in its recollection.
― Andrei Tarkovsky
about ME
I am a British-Indian film curator and audio-visual archives researcher based in England, with a deep and evolving interest in colonial & post-colonial screen narratives. My practice is focused on researching, curating and screening moving images that reflect, provoke or inspire discourses on the themes of shared histories, heritages and memories. My other film interests include, Black-British cinema, Francophone African Cinema, Post-war Japanese Cinema, Indian Classic and Parallel Cinema, Eastern European Cinema, and Iranian New-wave Cinema.
Past Continuous was born out of a life-long yearning, a need and the desire to re-engage with, and deep-dive into two of my favourite ruminations, history and cinema, and find a way to share this love with like-minded and like-hearted individuals. Since 2021, I’ve been curating film-based events in venues and festivals across England. My aim is to combine film screenings with live performances, workshops and talks, and allow audiences to connect with, explore and discover (or re-discover) the past through the lens of history and cinema. I’m especially interested in audience engagement, representation and collaborating with emerging talents to create programmes that are both entertaining and insightful, and celebrate shared histories, heritages and memories.
I’m also a work-in-progress landscape photographer and in my spare time, I can be spotted scouting the length & breadth of the British coast and countryside, chugging along my bulky tripod & camera in search of the perfect light, and I just can’t seem to get enough of it!
projects
18 july - 26 August 2023
Co-curator, South Asian Heritage Season
the Garden Cinema, London
www.thegardencinema.co.uk/season/south-asian-heritage-month
Co-curated and co-hosted a successful season of South Asian film screenings, talks and live performances at London’s leading independent cinema in central London.
6 June - 30 June 2023
Co-curator, Windrush Caribbean Film Festival
IN VENUES UK-WIDE AND ONLINE
www.windrushfilmfestival.com
Curated and programmed a collection of archive shorts, docs and classic features in UK-wide venues to mark the 75th anniversary of Empire Windrush.
5 may 2022 - 30 March 2023
MARKETING & PARTNERSHIPS MANAGER
In-house designer & Editorial Contributor,
KLASSIKI
www.klassiki.online
Built long-term partnerships with cultural venues, film festivals and talents across UK & Europe to establish Klassiki as a curated streaming service offering the best of cinema from Eastern Europe, The Caucasus and Central Asia. Organized regular in-venue film screenings, and contributed to the online editorial journal and wrote programme notes for new and classic releases.
1 June - 28 August 2022
Curator, Programme Advisor and Marketing assets Designer
Thurrock Film Festival
ESSEX ENGLAND
Curated a collection of archive shorts, docs, features and talks as part of the ‘Our Screen Heritage’ strand at the 2022 Thurrock Film Festival to commemorate 75 years of India’s Independence, partition & birth of Pakistan, and the 50th anniversary of Ugandan Asian exodus. Also designed all marketing assets for the festival.
30 october 2021 - 8 december 2021
curator, organizer, marketing & partnerships manager
bfi japan 2021 film and culture festival
biscuit factory cinema, reading
Organized a six-week long Japanese Film & Culture Festival at Reading’s newly-open independent cinema, Reading Biscuit Factory. The programme included a rich & diverse line-up of classic & contemporary films, panel discussions and workshops in collaboration with the BFI, Dept of Film, Theatre & Television, University of Reading, Queer East Film Festival, The Japan Society, London and The Postwar Japan Moving Image Archive (PJMIA), Tokyo.
photography
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