American Sikh is, at times, a difficult but honest look at the struggles some have with keeping their identity. Ryan Westra and Vishavjit Singh’s film challenges you as much as it uplifts you, becoming a required viewing.
The true and unlikely story of an American-born, turban-wearing Sikh man, Vishavjit Singh, who finally finds acceptance in a superhero costume after a lifetime of facing prejudice, self-doubt, and violence.
The story of Vishavjit Singh is one that was perfectly made to be an animation. The moving comic book-esque styling suits it right down to the ground and, in fact, brings an extra charm and poignancy that it might have missed if it was simply a standard animation. By bringing this style to the fore, the story is allowed to take more of a grip on its audience. Rightly so as this excellent film’s themes of feeling prejudice just for your skin colour and for wearing a turban, of being so filled with doubt that you feel it is necessary to divert away from your own culture so that you feel safer so that you can fit in with the world around you is heartbreaking.
For a film just under 10 minutes, American Sikh packs a hell of a lot in. Pulling its audience through a multitude of emotions before giving us something we can take positively with us while also not letting us forget how some attitudes can cause chaos in a person’s mind. It is a constant reminder that instead of pushing down, we should be lifting up, and with such a story that keeps you captivated, it is a sure-fire winner of a film.
Several impressive aspects of American Sikh have you stand up and pay attention to it. Be it the fact that Co-Directors Westra and Singh do not hide away from showing us some quite shocking violence when we witness the violence that happens at the Mosque and to Muslims in America after the 9/11 attacks. Even now, over 20 years later, you are dismayed that this is how specific groupings in societies reacted to members of their own country.
Add to this, when slurs are thrown around, you are surprised they appear, yet we never hear them as they are in written form. By not sugarcoating what happened to Singh and people like him during this time period, we are forced to look within as a society and ask if there is something we could have done more to help those needlessly impacted. For Americans and even here in the UK, it is difficult to accept how much racism took over during those years and even now still creeps its way into society. So, for those short minutes, American Sikh feels much more akin to a horror film.
As American Sikh continues, you feel the compassion and sense of humanity begin to rise. Yes, there is still prejudice around Singh. Still, with this new confidence of knowing exactly who he is and how proud he is to be Sikh and wear his Turban, he can get through those challenging times and relay his message of positivity to a broad audience. You become overjoyed when we see Singh proudly striding around in his costume, singing posters. For those moments, people do not see skin colour; they do not see that Turban; they see Captain America. These moments uplift you from the darkness of that opening half of the film.
Not only is American Sikh a film about finding empowerment with your identity and having that confidence to be yourself, but it is also about finding and being accepted in a world that has a prejudicial leaning. Ryan Westra and Vishavjit Singh’s film is full of honesty and, most importantly, hope. With an animation style from Studio Showoff that perfectly encapsulates the story being told, American Sikh ends up being a fantastic animated short.
★★★★ 1/2
The 19th HollyShorts Film Festival is running between 10th – 20th August with in person and digital screenings available through the 10th to 27th August.
For more information go to www.hollyshorts.com
Coverage of HollyShorts Film Festival 2023:Sevap/Mitzvah
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