‘Dear Bradford’, a short but conspicuous film about acceptance in a foreign country was part of a line-up of incredible events at the Bradford Literature Festival this year.
Directed by Vivek Vadoliya and produced by the BAFTA and Academy award-winning Guardian Documentaries team, this short film talks racism South-Asian families faced after the 2001 riots and how things have changed now.
Visual journey of Farhaan Mumtaz, a British-Muslim teacher and director from Bradford who dealt with the struggles of having dual-heritage.
Farhaan illuminates us about life growing up in Bradford and how the city changed his views about racism.
Wanting to embrace his culture and learn more about it, he talks about the person he trusts the most.
He introduces us to ‘Amma’, his grandmother and how she helped him cope. Farhaan also profoundly talks about his late grandfather, who was a poet and how his grandfather’s poetry made him a stronger being.
Quoting his favourite phrase from his grandfather’s poetry he manages to spread across a strong yet thought-provoking message.
‘’Ungli pakarne ka saliqa nai tha, ap jaane ke liye baazu nikal liye’’
‘’Had no sense of holding hands, but look at you now, ready to grow arms and leave’’
He tells us how his grandfather, during his time, was terrified of moving to another country.
Abandoning his home, his family was a decision that many South-Asian families had to take at that time.
Mumtaz’s struggles with racism though less frequent, still had an impact on him.
‘’It was shocking to me that most of the racism was coming from people with Pakistani and Indian heritages’’, he said during a panel from Bradford Literature Festival.
Through the film, Mumtaz also shares how racism has been different for his generation as opposed to the generations before him.
‘’I am lucky to be here. I never felt like I did not belong here. All my neighbours respect me.’’, phrased by his grandmother.
For Mumtaz, keeping track of his heritage and owning up to his ethnicity was amplified by the people of Bradford.
Through this film, he pays tribute to the city of Bradford which has showered him and his family with love and acceptance.
Farhaan hopes to see more people be accepting of people like him, belonging to dual-heritages and being accepted as nothing but proud citizens of United Kingdom.
