Afghan Refugee Doc ‘Far From Home’ Adds Indian Thespian Naseeruddin Shah as Executive Producer in Oscar Push
‘Far from Home’ a short documentary on Afghan refugees in India, is currently on a vibrant Oscar run for Best Short Documentary. The film is generating significant buzz ahead of its wider theatrical release in the US. ‘Far from Home’ is directed by award-winning director and journalist Ankita M. Kumar, produced by Emmy-winning Producer Brent E. Huffman and Bollywood thespian, Naseeruddin Shah (“Monsoon Wedding”) is the Executive Producer of the film. This film marks Shah’s debut as an Executive Producer in the documentary space.
“I’ve always believed the most important function of cinema is to act as a record of its times. Since it is the only medium that can do that I consider documentaries to be of more value for posterity than features,” Shah said after joining the film.
Here is your first look at the film…
“I am so proud to be part of ‘Far from Home’ a powerful and vital documentary chronicling issues facing refugees and immigrants in India, Afghanistan, around the world. Ankita Kumar is a brave new voice in documentary film who is tirelessly working to spread awareness about the plight of people like Samira and her family to help their harrowing situation,” Brent E. Huffman, Emmy-winning documentary filmmaker, director of the Netflix documentary, ‘Saving Mes Aynak,’ winner of 40+ awards and broadcast in over 70 countries.
Kumar, a seasoned journalist who has won awards from organizations such as the SF Press Club, marks her directorial debut with ‘Far from Home’. She completed this project after receiving funding from the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting and the American Institute of Afghanistan Studies. She is now leading a grassroots effort to get the film noticed among Academy voters.
‘Far from Home’ is the story of Samira Faizi, an Afghan refugee who came to India in 2021 after Afghanistan’s fall to the Taliban. The film showcases her struggle in setting up base in India, whose political environment has changed and is no longer welcome for refugees. The film sheds light on the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), that excludes Muslim refugees from a pathway towards citizenship and its impact on Afghan refugees, who have no country to go back to.
The documentary showcases that Samira is in a permanent limbo – she is unable to begin a new life in India as rules forbid her to do so, nor is she seen as a viable candidate for resettlement to another country. This is the first documentary on this topic and the filmmaking team faced numerous challenges in completing the film.
“Refugee rights is a tricky topic in India and given the current political scenario, refugees are scared to talk or come forth in public. I am proud of Samira for her bravery in telling her story and bringing awareness across the world about the situation of Afghan refugees in India. When one thinks of refugees, they usually visualize them on a boat going to Europe or on the US-Mexico border. But rarely do we talk about refugees who are in parts of the world where there is no framework to integrate them,” said Kumar.
‘Far from Home’ was a finalist for the prestigious Japan Prize and winner in the Best Short Documentary category at the Chicago South Asian Film Festival (CSAFF). ‘Far from Home’ has screened at multiple film festivals, including the Oscar-qualifying American Documentary and Animation Film Festival and Tasveer Film Festival.
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