Moving personal narratives recount the impact of the events of 1947 on South Asia and its diasporas.
Event ticket includes General Admission.
Opening Celebration Thursday, April 17, 5–8 PM, Samsung Hall
Virtual Reality (VR) experience offered, Tateuchi Gallery
Through colorfully animated retellings of individual histories, Project Dastaan reveals the resilience of those who were uprooted and dispersed as a result of the events of 1947. Their stories emphasize the power of letters, food, and other shared experiences to foster reunion and healing in the wake of the largest migration in recorded history.
Dastaan (“story” in Urdu and Hindi) recalls the experiences of the 1947 Partition of India and Pakistan, one of the largest forced migrations in human history. “Child of Empire” invites visitors into an immersive experience of Partition through an animated virtual reality (VR) docu-drama. “Lost Migrations,” a three-part animated series, explores the legacies of Partition through the personal narratives of women and the stateless, and the broader experience of diaspora communities around the world.
Read more about Project Dastaan.
Sparsh Ahuja is the founder of Project Dastaan and an award-winning filmmaker and National Geographic Explorer specializing in animation and documentary. His documentary Birdsong premiered at SXSW and was shortlisted for the Grierson, IDA, and BIFA Awards before being acquired by The Guardian as a Vimeo Staff Pick. His VR experience Child of Empire was an official selection at the Sundance Film Festival. In 2024, Sparsh’s reporting on Indigenous land rights disputes was a finalist for the LA Press Club Award. Sparsh’s work has been showcased at institutions like the Victoria and Albert Museum, BFI Southbank, and ForumDesImages in Paris, and supported by the British Council, Australia Council for the Arts, Doc Society, and the Ford Foundation.
Sam Dalrymple is an award-winning filmmaker and historian. A Scot raised in Delhi, he graduated from Oxford University as a Persian and Sanskrit scholar. In 2018, he co-founded Project Dastaan, a peace-building initiative that reconnects refugees displaced by the 1947 Partition of India. His work has been published in The New York Times, Spectator and featured in TIME, the New Yorker and Economist. He is a columnist for Architectural Digest and in 2025, Travel & Leisure named him ‘Champion of the Travel Narrative’. His debut book Shattered Lands was a bestseller on the first day of preorders.
Image: Project Dastaan, Child of Empire, still.
Please note: the VR experience is available on a first come, first served basis. Please sign up in Tateuchi Gallery to secure your spot.
Content warning: the VR experience includes depictions of violence and is recommended for ages 10+.
Project Dastaan is generously supported by the Ford Foundation JustFilms program.
