SIKH INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL 2009: CHILDREN'S
Gatka
Director/Producer: Sartaj Singh Dhami

Filmed in 2002 at Guru Gobind Singh Foundation’s weeklong Camp Gurmat, this short film demonstrates the Sikh martial arts form called Gatka. With Gatka teachers gathering from both the United States and Canada, the Gatka demonstration is the true highlight of Camp Gurmat.

This first film of Dashmesh Pictures captures the spirit, bravery, and pride of those Sikhs who practice Gatka. It offers a retrospect of how the way of life of previous Sikh generations still continues today, even in lands far from the Sikh homeland in Punjab.

Gatka was an underground smash hit in 2003 on the Internet. As news of this quiet storm travelled by word of mouth, the film spread inspiration within the Sikh community throughout the world with feedback from the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Australia, and Punjab.

Director's Bio:
Born and raised in the suburbs of Washington DC, Sartaj graduated with an electrical engineering degree from Virginia Tech.  He currently utilizes his engineering expertise to aide towards identifying solutions to complex technical problems with one of the largest engineering firms in the United States.

Aside from his professional life, Sartaj is an active member in the local Sikh community of Washington DC.  He is known to help by working closely with Non-Sikh organizations to strengthen community bonds, as well as being a principle organizer and facilitator for many Sikh youth activities.

However, Sartaj is also known to be an instrumental advocate for bringing educational awareness to society about Sikhism.  Whether in Blacksburg or Washington DC, he has aided in bringing attention to sensitive issues to many various Sikh advocacy groups.  Considering himself as one of the many “trench workers,” some of Sartaj’s silent contributions have been vocalizing misrepresentation of Sikhism in various media outlets (from video games to magazines), as well as co-organizing a youth lead memorial service for Sgt. Uday Singh of the US Army.  He has volunteered with the Sikh American Legal Defense & Education Fund, and played an active role in organizing the Sikh Council On Religion & Education’s Capitol Hill Heritage Dinner.

In 2000, alongside his friends, Sartaj started to experiment with the idea of filmmaking.  Several years later in 2003, he went on to release the underground smash hit “Gatka 1:  The Experimentation.”  This short film became an Internet viral video highlight among the Sikh community and was viewed throughout the world.  In 2006, his “Sikh on the Street” video project, which polled Americans on their perspectives on who Sikhs are by secretly disguising itself as an educational tool, was a worldwide success.  The filmed reached nearly 100,000 views on YouTube.com. 

His most recent project “turBAN,” co-created by and featuring the emerging Sikh hip hop group of G.N.E., tackles the turban ban issue being faced by Sikhs in France.  The short film is a music video featuring the music of G.N.E., and challenges the viewer to the Sikh perspective on this unnecessary and unjust ban on the Sikh turban.

After creating several more shorts, Sartaj formed Dashmesh Pictures as a creative outlet dedicated to portraying Sikhism in a positive manner.  Sartaj is passionate for creating this organization, which is open to all, so that the next Sikh “Steven Spielberg” can be found.