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Continuous Journey is a multi-award-winning film that stunningly chronicles a long-forgotten historical moment, one that forever changed the immigration policies of the British Empire.

On May 23rd, 1914, the Japanese shipping vessel Komagata Maru, chartered by Sikh businessman Gurdit Singh, arrived in Canada's Vancouver Harbor. Aboard were 376 migrants of Indian origin, citizens of the British Empire who believed it their right to move and settle freely within its domain. Upon anchoring, however, the passengers were prevented from disembarking by local Canadian officials, whose decision reflected a growing nationwide resistance to non-white immigration. This refusal to allow the Indian passengers ashore galvanized the nascent Vancouver Indian community, fueling an outbreak of support for their countrymen trapped without provisions for over two months, aboard a ship anchored only a heartbreaking half-mile from shore.

Combining newly discovered archival footage, newsreels, poignant personal testimonials, and dramatically worked digital photography, Continuous Journey critically examines how today's global events are actually reflections of past Colonial strategies.

— Prasant Nukalapat

*Introduction by Professor Angana Chatterji from the Social and Cultural Anthropology Program at California Institute of Integral Studies*

 

 

Sponsors

Social and Cultural Anthropology Program at California Institute of Integral Studies

 

Co-presenters:
Project Ahimsa
NAATA
EKTA
Dholrhythms
Dhamaal
Asia Society Northern California
Global Exchange
Activism and Social Change Masters Program, New College of California