Private Project

No Vacancy

An Indian mother-daughter duo illegally crosses into the USA with a group of Mexican immigrants when an unexpected incident separates them from the rest of the group and strands them in the desert.

  • Rishabh Thakkar
    Writer
  • Akshita Namjoshi
    Writer
  • Rick Das
    Producer
  • Dhruval Joshi
    Producer
  • Vijey Mohanraj
    Cinematographer
  • Apoorva Sankar
    Editor
  • Karthik Mohan
    Sound
  • Dazzy Shah
    Production Designer
  • Rishabh Thakkar
    Director
  • Project Type:
    Short Script
  • Number of Pages:
    17
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Language:
    Hindi
  • First-time Screenwriter:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
Writer Biography - Rishabh Thakkar, Akshita Namjoshi

Akshita Namjoshi

Ever since childhood, Akshita has been a storyteller. From doing theatre and improv in school to writing for United Nations’ Voices of Youth, she has used different mediums to use her voice and talk about things that matter to her. After getting her bachelor's degree in engineering from Delhi, Akshita decided to switch gears and get in touch and reconnect with the storyteller in her by pursuing a Master's degree in Screenwriting from Dodge College of Film and Media Arts. Throughout her Masters, she combined this American education with her Indian roots to create stories and characters uniquely Indian but with a universality that could resonate with any audience. She continues to explore the expansive world of storytelling with a special interest in bringing Indian characters to the fore.

Rishabh Thakkar

A Student Academy Finalist, Rishabh graduated from Chapman University with an MFA in Documentary Film. When he got bored of Engineering, he and his few friends started making films eight years ago. Since then, Rishabh has produced and directed Documentary projects in India, France, and the USA. He is drawn towards stories of triumph and artists. From his first documentary about scarp, art, and a city; he has been exploring individuals who inspire or make you dig deeper into yourself. He is inspired by people around him and tries to find stories in the ordinary everyday man. Slowly, he is also trying his feet into narrative non-fiction with "No Vacancy".

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Writer Statement

"No Vacancy" is a story about an Indian mother and a daughter who want to create a better life for themselves. They are looking for a minimum of a house, a respectable job, and good education. Illegal immigration from India has increased in the last few years. Desperate people spend around $40,000 - 50,000 to come through these illegal routes for a better life. Many of them, if lucky, are caught and sent back; some die and a handful of people reach the states safely.

Immigration has become a global issue in the last few years; studies estimate that migration will increase as more and more people try and look for a better life for themselves. From political migration to environmental migration, people migrate for various reasons. We are not trying to say if illegal immigration is wrong or not. We are trying to put a face to people who have lost their lives in the last few years searching for a better life. More than 75,000 migrant deaths have been recorded globally since 1996, and with immigration laws getting stricter and stricter, more will be lost in the coming years. This film tries to tell their stories.