Kasheer explores the complexities of life in a disputed territory from the point of view of three local artists living in the Kashmir Valley — a conflict zone in the Indian Himalayas on the contested border with Pakistan. Malik Sajad is a political cartoonist offering biting satiric commentary on regional politics. A middle-aged artist reflects on his childhood and the tragic changes the local insurgency brought to his neighborhood in abstract ink drawings. Gayoor Hassan’s vibrant spiritual paintings reveal his quest for inner peace in the midst of perpetual social turmoil. Lushly photographed, this observational documentary provides a human perspective, creating space for thoughtful debate amid deeply polarizing politics.

Director Elayne McCabe is a filmmaker who splits her time between Boston and Belfast, Northern Ireland. She spent twenty months deeply immersed in the artist and artisan community of India-controlled Kashmir directing her first feature film Kasheer, which examines the complexities of life under military occupation from the perspective of three local artists. She has directed several short films in India and was also a Fulbright scholar to Jakarta, Indonesia where she studied Indonesian cinema. She is an alumnus of Boston College and recently began her PhD in filmmaking and conflict studies at Queens University Belfast in Northern Ireland.

Sponsored by the Forum for Scholars and Publics, the Duke Islamic Center, the Thompson Writing Program and the DHRC@FHI.