Film/Stage

"Sweet Amerika"

An Interview with the Film's Director, RAJ PAUL SINGH DHILLON

 

This new, soon-to-be-released film will be showcased at The Spinning Wheel Film Festival in Toronto, Canada on October 10 - 12, 2008, and in Hollywood/California on November 14 - 16, 2008. [www.SikhWheel.com]

 

 

Q: How many films have you made so far?

Raj Paul Singh Dhillon ["Paul"]: Sweet Amerika is my first dramatic feature. I have made two documentaries - Saint Soldier (as producer) for Canada's CTV network and The Bhangra Generation (as writer/director/producer) - which made its broadcast premiere in Canada on September 3, 2008 on the Rogers OMNI stations. It features international Bhangra star Jazzy B. and others.

I have also produced for CTV a South Asian variety show called Planet Aaj, along with numerous music videos for both Indian and non-Indian artists in Canada, as well as commercials and educational videos. Most of my work has touched on the Sikh and South Asian immigrants in the Diaspora.

Q: Tell us something about the film Sweet Amerika?

Paul: I wanted to do a low budget film and this story really fit the bill. The film is about a Sikh grocery storeowner, Bobby Singh, who gets kidnapped by four American "patriots" who seek reprisals following the 9/11 attacks. The idea for the film came from Montreal-based Sikh-French writer Jessi Thind, who has authored a number of books, including one on the passengers of the doomed Komagata Maru ship called Lions Of The Sea.

I completely reworked Jessi's script into Sweet Amerika, which retains the spirit and flavour of the original script but is quite different - you could say much harsher. The world really became unhinged following the attacks and that's the perspective I wanted to give. I'm not sure that I succeeded but I gave it all that I had.

Q: Incidentally, why "Amerika" and not "America"? Any special significance?

Paul: The reason we put in a "K" instead of a "C" in the title is to distinguish it from the usual way of spelling it to draw interest and curiosity. Also the original title had three Ks in it like "Amerikkka" to give it the reference to the racist American organization known as the Ku Klux Klan in the Midwest. We decided to go with one K in the final title.

Someone also suggested that many non-English speaking immigrants from India pronounce it with hard K sound so it works on a number of levels.

Q: Why did you choose "Bollywood Badman" Gulshan Grover for the role? What about him made you feel that he would fit the bill totally?

Paul: We were interested in a number of Bollywood veteran actors like Om Puri, Kabir Bedi and so on but, in the end, Gulshan fit the character best and he has done a great job given our modest budget. He brought a real collaborative spirit to the project and helped me shape his character of Bobby who is a righteous, generous and easygoing individual who has been emotionally scarred from a personal tragedy. Sweet Amerika being my first film - it was great to have someone like Gulshan with his immense experience to make our rocky shoot somewhat smooth.

I also credit my friend and collaborator Kristopher Gee who has not only done a great job editing the film but has also done a great music score for the film. Kris and I, along with our friend Richard Ii, were a team on our second year Simon Fraser University short that went to the Montreal Student Film Festival. I'm glad that Kris and I had the opportunity to collaborate again.

Q: Why did you become a filmmaker and what drives you?

Paul: Filmmaking has been a passion and dream of mine since I was a child growing up in Punjab. My mom used to take me to watch films in the theatre. I remember watching these larger than life stories, thinking this is what I want to do with my life. It was only a dream, which I didn't take very seriously but some dreams have a way of coming true and with the release of Sweet Amerika - that dream has been fulfilled. I credit my family's move to Canada when I was ten years old for this.

Along with so many things that Canada has given me - it has given me the opportunity to pursue my passion and dream by going to film school and then take that knowledge and apply it to making films.

What drives me is my belief that I can make it happen even if the whole world seems to be ganging up on me. There were so many hurdles, so many setbacks, so many detractors, but I refused to give up. Completing Sweet Amerika and releasing it is truly Sweet Satisfaction for me.

Q: What's next for you?

Paul: Making Sweet Amerika has been a great education, learning A to Z of what it takes to get a film to market so that all the toiling and hard work can finally be seen and judged by the audience. And it certainly would be a shame if I didn't apply that knowledge to making more films. I have a number of completed scripts but I'm focusing on a project set against the backdrop of South Asian gangs in Vancouver.

While many people are working on gang theme projects - I believe my film will be a definitive film on what has certainly become an epidemic of lawlessness and bloody murder. My film is not necessarily a gang film per se, but a powerful family drama set against this violent backdrop. I hope this time it will be a much smoother sailing, but I'm prepared for the worst.

Q: How do you manage so many roles, that of a newspaper editor, screenwriter, film producer, director?

Paul: I have been working as a newspaper journalist in Vancouver, Canada since 1990. I began writing Hollywood/Bollywood movie reviews for the LINK and other newspapers when I was in my last year of University. I graduated from Simon Fraser University with a degree in Communications and a minor in Film.

It truly has been a hectic experience juggling journalism and film production work, but I love them both equally and have a great passion for them. Screenwriting and journalism complement each other as they both utilize and help develop my writing skills. I'm first and foremost a writer and director. The producer role is sometimes forced on the artist because by making a project happen - he is automatically thrust into the producer's role. I have learned to be an efficient producer, which in small budget productions is a must-have if you want to complete the project on time and on budget.

One of my film teachers told me long ago that I would make a good producer based on the work I created in film school, so I guess it was bound to happen. It's difficult juggling all these roles related to my film and journalism work, but if I didn't nourish it and enjoy it - I wouldn't do them.

 

www.sweetamerika.com

September 12, 2008

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