Safar (Journey), directed by For Us, By Us fellow Priyanka Suryaneni, is premiering at the United States of Asian America Festival. The event will include a live dance performance by choreographer Joti Singh and her team, panel discussion, and audience dialogue.
🙏 Opening Grounding Session — a guided wellness experience led by Manpreet Singh, MSW
📖 Poetry Reading — Gursewak Musafir and Sonia Dhami read the poetry of Avtar Singh Pash
🎶 Live Dance Performance — Joti Singh and Duniya Dance & Drum Company
🎬 Film Premiere — SAFAR (Journey), a poetic short documentary exploring South Asian histories at Angel Island
🎤 Panel Discussion — Priyanka Suryaneni, Joti Singh, and Edward Tepporn, Executive Director of AIISF, moderated by Moazzam Sheikh
💫 Closing Community Reflection — inviting personal stories and shared experience
Sunday, June 14, 2026
3:30–5:30 PM
Creativity Theater, Children’s Creativity Museum, Yerba Buena Gardens
Tickets
Safar is a poetic short documentary that explores the overlooked history of South Asians at the Angel Island Immigration Station. The film follows Oakland-based choreographer Joti Singh as she retraces the life of her great-grandfather, Bhagwan Singh Gyanee — a poet, organizer, and possible detainee at Angel Island. Through site-specific performance and re-enactment, Safar examines migration, colonial oppression, and racial exclusion through a deeply personal diasporic lens.