The Bengali – Watch the trailer for Kavery Kaul’s new documentary

Dada Films announced today that they will release The Bengali, from award-winning filmmaker Kavery Kaul (Cuban Canvas, Long Way from Home), in UC cinemas this September. An official selection of DOC NYC 2021 and the New Orleans Film Festival, among other festivals, Dada will release the film at the Quad Cinema in New York on September 9, 2022 and at the Laemmle Royal in Los Angeles on September 16, 2022.

THE BENGALI follows an unlikely quest that takes Fatima Shaik, an African-American woman from New Orleans, across deep divides of culture to India, in search of her family’s past. Her journey sparks a boldly different encounter between East and West. As she searches for the truth in the tales she grew up with, a surprising story unfolds of the first South Asians in the U.S. who married African-American women. Tempered with hope, fear, and unexpected encounters between strangers, THE BENGALI reaches across seemingly insurmountable cultural divides to reclaim timeless themes of family.

“The making of THE BENGALI was an incredible adventure,” shares filmmaker Kavery Kaul. A story that brings together people who appear to be strangers to each other – what more can a filmmaker want.”

“Kavery and her team beautifully capture Fatima’s journey from New Orleans to Kolkata to the Bengali countryside,” says MJ Peckos, President of Dada Films. “Through nuanced and intimate storytelling, they capture one family’s story in the greater legacy of global migration. Dada Films could not be more proud and excited to share this incredible film with the world.”

THE BENGALI, a RiverFilms production, was edited by Lucas Groth with cinematography by John Russell Foster and animation by Maya Edelman, and was executive produced by Deborah Shaffer and produced by Kavery Kaul and Lucas Groth, and written and directed by Kavery Kaul. Music was composed by Nainita Desai. Veronique N. Doumbe and Margot Edman served as associate producers.