LOGLINE
A Sikh boy growing up in suburban New Jersey struggles with his identity after a family tragedy in the aftermath of 9/11.
SYNOPSIS
In the shadow of 9/11, Karandeep, a young Sikh boy, grapples with his identity and the weight of family tragedy, fighting to find his place in a world that sees him as different while searching for hope and belonging.
ARTISTIC STATEMENT
From writer/director Jaskaran Singh: JERSEY BOY is a project incredibly close to me, not just in growing my artistic expression, but its semi-autobiographical nature is the perfect evolutionary next step for my narrative work. It acts as a complete window into figuring out my insecurities growing up Sikh in North America. I grew up in New Jersey and was 12 when 9/11 happened. I remember how a Sikh man was murdered outside of his gas station afterwards. We were a Sikh family who had our own gas stations. My father wore a turban and had a beard. I remember being scared and having many questions. I was the only Sikh in my school. People mistook me for being a girl, or called me Osama's son. I contemplated cutting my hair but had so much guilt over what my parents and the culture would say, but I had no one to turn to for advice or support. Living through that time period, and feeling outcast from the two worlds I wished to be accepted by, ultimately became the inspiration for the film. I don’t want kids to feel the same way that I did. JERSEY BOY will have a wide-reaching impact for the sole factor of finally showing a community that is not often represented: South Asians, Sikhs especially, who have been a part of the North American story for over a century, but remain vastly underrepresented in media. It’s a film that will explore both the immigrant and first-generation issues common to all who live in this country. That’s what makes this so universal. It may be a South Asian and Sikh story, but anyone can see themselves in it. However, this is a film that will help to give a voice to under-represented members of the South Asian and Sikh community. I also hope that this will inspire young artists in these communities to see that there is room for their voices and experiences in the larger American narrative. With my work, I want to present an untapped authenticity in language, cultural practices, and appearances. In the last five years, a lot of my career’s success has been based on having the support of my Sikh/Punjabi/South Asian community which spreads across the globe and who feel they’ve been marginalized. Our culture doesn't prioritize the arts, so casting for my work presented a challenge, but it wasn’t impossible. My work shows there is a crop of wonderful performers eager for meaningful and powerful work if only they'd be given a chance to break free of their creative marginalization.
KEY CREW
Jaskaran Singh - Writer/Director/Producer
Jaskaran Singh is a Sikh-Canadian filmmaker who in the last four years has written, directed, and produced multiple short films exploring the space between identity and inclusion, all while cementing South Asian voices prominently on screen. His credits include: A TURBAN & A BEARD, a docu-drama highlighting Sikh hate crimes in America in the two decades since 9/11; ME|HER, a South Asian romantic dramedy about two friends reconciling their feelings after ten years; and COPELESS, a psychological drama about generational trauma, guilt, and grief. Jaskaran's feature script JERSEY BOY was a Quarterfinalist in The Academy Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting 2022, made The CAPE List 2021 (curated by The Black List), and was developed in the 2021 WFF Producers Lab after winning the 2020 WFF Power Pitch. In 2023, it entered production. Jaskaran has since wrapped filming and is heading into post-production, hoping for it to hit screens in 2025.
Pulkit Datta - Producer
Pulkit Datta is a producer, director, and film programmer, based in New York. Over fifteen years, he has worked on a wide range of scripted films, documentaries, commercials, short films, music videos and multimedia campaigns. His films have screened at festivals such as Toronto, Tribeca, Atlanta, Cinequest, Fantasia, LAAPFF, Cleveland, and OutFest. Key credits include: ISRAELISM (AppleTV, Kinema, Tubi, Amazon Prime), INVISIBLE, a feature documentary about fibromyalgia (Amazon Prime, Tubi), the gun-violence themed short documentary DO WE BELONG? (The Atlantic, 2018 IDA Doc Award shortlist), and upcoming climate activism doc series VS. GOLIATH (CNN Original Series + Film Independent Lab, Gotham Film Market) and fiction feature JERSEY BOY, which is the first independent and mainstream film centering the Sikh-American experience. He has also produced BEAST, a magic realism film executive produced by Lena Waithe's Hillman Grad Productions and Indeed, and co-produced COMING OUT WITH THE HELP OF A TIME MACHINE, which has screened at over 60 festivals, won several awards, and recently got licensed by Jio Cinema, one of India’s largest streaming platforms. Pulkit has been a Producing Fellow at Center for Asian American Media as well as Impact Partners. He is also active in the filmmaking community, having established initiatives that nurture underrepresented talent for careers in American film and television, building alternative strategies for distribution and impact, as well as programming and curating for film festivals. www.pulkitdatta.com
ACCOLADES
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