Divided We Fall: Americans in the Aftermath
An award-winning film by Sharat Raju & Valarie Kaur
2008 | 90 min | Color | U.S.A.
Divided We Fall: Americans in the Aftermath from New Moon Productions is the first feature-length documentary film about hate violence in the aftermath of Sept. 11, 2001. The film weaves together a personal journey and cross-country road trip with an authoritative examination of race, religion, and American identity in the ongoing aftermath of Sept. 11, 2001.
Synopsis
Valarie Kaur was a 20-year-old college student when she set out across America in the aftermath of 9/11, camera in hand, to document hate violence against her community. From the still-shocked streets of Ground Zero to the desert towns of the American West, her epic journey confronts the forces unleashed in a time of national crisis – racism and religion, fear and forgiveness – until she finds the heart of America… halfway around the world.
Production
Stanford undergrad Valarie Kaur began production one week after Sept. 11, 2001 when she left school to document hate violence against Sikhs, Muslims, and Arabs with her 18-year-old cousin Amandeep S. Gill as cameraman. She continued to capture unreported stories
as a student until she joined writer-director Sharat Raju and his team in 2004. With grassroots donations, the team retraced Kaur’s steps in 2005, revisiting her original interviewees and speaking with scholars and lawyers about the larger historical and political context.
Tour
Divided We Fall premiered in Phoenix, Arizona in Sept. 2006 on the five-year memorial of the hate murder of Balbir Singh Sodhi. On an international tour, the filmmakers have been invited to 200 cities across the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and India.
Release
The success of the tour inspired the Divided We Fall Campaign – film screenings and community dialogues in 80 cities in the U.S. during the Sept. 11th anniversary in 2008.
Filming Locations
Filmed on location in California (Clovis, Fresno, Los Angeles, San Diego, Mojave Desert, San Jose, San Francisco; Oakland/Berkeley, Sacramento, Yuba City, Palo Alto); Arizona (Phoenix, Mesa); New York (New York City); Connecticut (New Haven); Washington, D.C.; and India (New Delhi, Punjab).
Technical Details
Total Running Time | 1:32:00
Sound | Stereo, LT/RT
Shooting Formats | Still Photography, Hi-8 Video, Mini-DV Video, DV Cam Video, Super 8mm Film, Super 16mm Film, HD Video. (NOTE: includes archival film footage and television news footage.)
Aspect Ratio | 1:1.85
Showcase Formats | Digital Betacam, DVCam, DVD
Film Stock | Kodak Vision 2, Super 16mm and 8mm gauges
Edited On | Avid Media Composer Adrenaline
Website | www.dwf-film.com
Production Facts
Valarie Kaur began the journey to make Divided We Fall on Sept. 15, 2001 in response to the murder of Balbir Singh Sodhi, a turbaned Sikh American her family knew.
Balbir Singh Sodhi was the first of at least 19 people murdered in post-9/11 hate crime.
More than 130 hours of footage was shot over five years for DWF.
Valarie interviewed approximately 100 people during the production.
Nearly the entire crew worked without pay.
Much of the crew was in their twenties when making the film.
Funding for the initial stages of production was raised entirely through grassroots donations. Panavision Camera’s New Filmmakers’ Grant provided a free film camera package to the production. Eastman Kodak donated nearly half of the film stock.
On tour since Sept. 2006, the filmmakers have led two-day dialogue programs around the film at universities, colleges, schools, and communities around the world.
New Moon Productions is named after Valarie’s grandfather’s village in Punjab, India.