Experiencing Interruptions?

Witness

This short is a window into the lives of those affected by the Muzaffarnagar riots of 2013, when over 100 people died and nearly 50,000 people were displaced. Over the past seven years the documentation of this region in India has been annual, with complete access to the local madrasas and villages. The communities hope that through this project their collective story can be told, and that communities outside will be moved to provide assistance for the development of their region. I share that hope, and thus present this humble short for review. All of the children presented are students from the local madrasas, and have been photographed by me since 2013.

  • Halim Ina
    Director
  • Halim Ina
    Producer
  • Halim Ina
    Director of Photography
  • Halim Ina
    Editor
  • Project Type:
    Short
  • Runtime:
    9 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    December 27, 2020
  • Production Budget:
    60,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    India
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    17:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - Halim Ina

Halim Antonio Ina, Jr. is born in Managua, Nicaragua on June 17th, 1968 to parents of Lebanese descent. At the age of 5 and as a result of an earthquake, his family leaves for their ancestral home and lives in Zahle, Lebanon for the next five years. At the age of 10 his family leaves for the United States due to the hostilities associated with the Lebanese Civil War beginning in 1975.

From his birth through his formal university education, he adheres to the principles laid down by his upbringing, following through with his training as a dentist and establishing a dental clinic. It is when he is instructed to purchase a camera for the documentation of his professional work that his passion for the image is discovered. This, coupled with visits to his childhood home, allows him to have access to people from his imagination. Thus the photographer is born within the professional.

He proceeds to travel around the world, documenting the people in his path as an anthropologist takes notes. It is his time in India that transforms his photography. While working with a foundation in Old Delhi, he is shown to an alley. It is in this small space that he realizes the potential for his work, it is here that he is shown its meaning.

From this point forward, he uses his photography as a tool for raising awareness. His images are displayed and printed in order to show the public the good works being done in the various communities, in order to gain funding for the projects from which the very subjects in his portraits benefit.

He returns to each country over the years, provides subjects with their own prints from the previous visit and proceeds to make their portraits once again. The single portrait is transformed into a study over time. It is this approach that fuels his desire to continue.

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Director Statement

With the making of this short it is my intention to shed light on a region of the world almost forgotten. Since 100 deaths and 50,000 refugees were produced with the riots of Muzaffarnagar (Uttar Pradesh, India) in 2013, the government's response has been far from adequate. Instead, the nearby population of Shamli District took it upon itself to provide its own materials and land to construct temporary housing for those displaced. Over the past seven years I have made annual trips to document the stories photographically. In addition I have made a visual record of their experiences. Having gained the trust of the religious leaders, full access has been provided to the local madrasas as well as the various villages. We have had extensive conversations with the headmasters of the madrasas and have a plan of development in place. My hope with this short is to produce a level of interest which may finally bring some solace to the refugee community of this region, and to help the next generation realize its true potential.