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Saldef meets Alan Ball in Warner
Bro backed dialogue
WSN Network
Washington: The
Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund (SALDEF), the oldest
and largest Sikh American civil rights and advocacy organization in
the United States, participated in a dialogue sponsored by Warner
Brothers on September 9, 2008 in connection with Towelhead, a
controversial film directed by Alan Ball and based on a novel by
author Alicia Erian.
The dialogue,
which was taped and made available on the website of Warner
Independent Pictures, featured Alan Ball, Alicia Erian, and Rajdeep
Singh Jolly, Legal Director of SALDEF.
While Ball and
Erian defended the film title as an effort to draw attention to
racism, SALDEF observed that Sikh Americans are often slurred ia
“towelheads” and expressed concern that the film title is a
marketing ploy.
During the
dialogue, Mr. Jolly suggested that a more principled and proactive
way for the film industry to combat racism would be to project the
voices and perspectives of Sikh artists and other minority groups.
Mr. Ball was receptive to this idea and expressed a willingness to
work with the Sikh American community to achieve more parity in the
film industry.
24 September 2008
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