Sindhustan

synopsis

Sapna Moti Bhavnani tells the story of her ancestral community, the Sindhis, through personal stories and illustrations on skin— tattoos. Forced by the Partition of 1947 to either convert to Islam and remain in Sindh, Pakistan, or migrate to India and assimilate to its dominant culture, Sindhis have experienced the slow death of their culture and language. Inspired by a personal conversation with her grandmother, Bhavnani begins to ink her legs using one art form from Sindh (Ajrak) and one from India (Madhubani), to tell the story of a land carried on the shoulders of its people and not rooted in any soil. This is the story of the largest migration of a culture in history, told through ink.

about the director

Sapna Moti Bhavnani is an actor, spoken word artist, hair stylist, writer, director, producer, and change-maker. In 2016, she was awarded a SAVVY I Believe Felicitation and the Fempowerment Award for starting a free hair academy called Pathshala to train former sex workers. Bhavnani is currently writing a book tentatively titled Chapter One. Sindhustan, her directorial debut, was picked as one of the 24 films to pitch at Docedge Kolkata, where it won the Griffith Film School Award.