This winter I collaborated with filmmaker Elayne McCabe and editor Perry Hallinan to score their feature-length documentary about war torn Kashmir. It was a great experience that opened my eyes to creativity in the midst of chaos and taught me immense empathy for the people of Kashmir.
About the film:
KASHEER: Art, Culture and the Struggle for Azadi explores the complexities of life in a disputed territory from the point of view of three local artists living in the Kashmir Valley — a conflict zone in the Indian Himalayas on the contested border with Pakistan.
Malik Sajad is a political cartoonist offering biting satiric commentary on regional politics. A middle-aged artist reflects on his childhood and the tragic changes the local insurgency brought to his neighborhood in abstract ink drawings. Gayoor Hassan’s vibrant spiritual paintings reveal his quest for inner peace in the midst of perpetual social turmoil. Lushly photographed, this observational documentary provides a human perspective, creating space for thoughtful debate amid deeply polarizing politics.