Arfat Sheikh, a U.S.-based Kashmiri filmmaker, set out to humanize the people of Kashmir through his first feature film, Saffron Kingdom. With a $1 million budget, Sheikh filmed the independent project around Metro Atlanta, delving into the complex Kashmir conflict and its impact on a family over decades.
The film, which spans the 1990s and reaches into 2019, follows Masrat and her son Rizwan as they navigate the trauma of their father’s abduction amid the political turmoil in Kashmir. The narrative also shifts to Atlanta, where the family seeks refuge. Sheikh’s personal connection to the story adds authenticity—his own father, renowned singer Ghulam Nabi Sheikh, disappeared in 2003, and his family believes it was an enforced police disappearance.
At its core, Saffron Kingdom offers a deeply human perspective on displacement and the immigrant experience. “It is a humanistic approach to displacement and the immigration experience,” said Sheikh. “The film looks at the emotional toll of violence and the experience of rebuilding a life in a foreign land.”
Filmed over 20 days across various locations in Metro Atlanta—including a home in Dunwoody and spots at Georgia State University—the film’s choice of setting was both a logistical necessity and a narrative decision. Sheikh, who studied film at Georgia State University, knew the city’s production resources were vital for the project’s success. Moreover, the ongoing political instability in Kashmir, where military control severely restricts filming and public speech, made it impossible to shoot there. Instead, a local production company covertly captured footage in Kashmir, which was then discreetly sent to the U.S.
The decision to set the story in Atlanta also felt personal to Sheikh. Having lived in various cities since leaving Kashmir, he considers Atlanta his American home. The city’s diverse, large immigrant population—ranking 11th in the U.S.—served as an ideal backdrop for the film’s themes of displacement and diaspora. “In the script, you see these people displaced… but where do they land in America? They land here in Atlanta,” he explained.
Rather than simply using Atlanta as a filming location, Sheikh integrated the city into the film’s narrative, with the story spending most of its time in the U.S. “The film only goes into Kashmir for 16 or 17 minutes,” Sheikh noted. “The rest is all in Atlanta; it’s a diasporic angle.”
To further emphasize the diasporic element, Sheikh reached out to the Kashmiri community in Atlanta, a tight-knit group of around 200 to 300 people. Despite the small size of the community, some offered to help, with one individual even offering his home as a filming location. The project, however, was not without risks. In a region where people face severe repercussions for advocating for Kashmiri rights, Sheikh knew that by telling this story, he may never be able to return home. “It was like, okay, we won’t be able to go back home,” he said.
This environment led Sheikh to cast non-Kashmiri actors, even though the film’s focus was on Kashmiri characters. The casting call was open to people from the Middle East and India. “Minorities came together to tell the story,” he said. The director assembled a diverse crew of Black filmmakers, Latinos, women, and LGBTQ+ members, underscoring his commitment to inclusivity.
A language coach helped actors with Kashmiri dialects, though Sheikh acknowledged the limitations of their efforts. “They’re not going to get it 100 percent correct, but I don’t care,” he remarked, highlighting his primary concern with authenticity rather than perfection. “I don’t know if Kashmir is going to get to see this anyway.”
Despite the challenges, Sheikh remains hopeful about the global appeal of Saffron Kingdom, emphasizing that its themes—trauma, colonialism, and control—resonate beyond Kashmir. “It speaks to universal experiences of oppression,” he said, drawing parallels to the struggles faced by countries like Sudan, Ukraine, and Palestine. Sheikh sees the film as an opportunity to raise awareness about Kashmir’s ongoing plight.
The success of Saffron Kingdom on the festival circuit has been overwhelming for Sheikh. The film has been selected for prestigious festivals, including the Rome International Film Festival 2024, ARFF Berlin International Film Festival, and Florida South Asian Film Festival. It also won awards at the LA Film & Documentary Awards and the Wake Forest Film Festival, and it has been a semi-finalist at numerous other events.
Looking ahead, Sheikh hopes to secure a distributor for a theatrical release. “I think people are ready to hear a lot of other stories,” he said. For now, he continues to celebrate the success of his film while also advocating for greater recognition of the Kashmir issue.
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