United States of Asian American Festival Event

SAFAR

A Journey of Recollections

SUN | JUN 14 | 3 PM

Creativity Theater, Yerba Buena Gardens, SF

An immersive afternoon of dance, film, and community dialogue exploring South Asian histories at Angel Island.

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EARLY BIRD ENDS MAY 31

THE FILM SAFAR centers on Oakland-based choreographer Joti Singh, who honors her great-grandfather Bhagwan Singh Gyanee, a member of the Ghadar Party, an anti-colonial movement, and an early South Asian immigrant who likely entered the US via Angel Island under a false name to escape surveillance.

Drawing from her dance-theater work Ghadar Geet, Joti reenacts his story at the Angel Island Immigration Station itself — moving through spaces her great-grandfather may have endured, reviving a lost history through site-specific performance.

A community screening:

Opening Grounding Session — arrive and settle with a guided wellness experience

Live Dance Performance — Joti Singh and Duniya Dance & Drum Company

Film Premiere — SAFAR (Journey), a hybrid short documentary by Priyanka Suryaneni

Panel Discussion — post-screening conversation

Closing Reflection — a structured community reflection inviting audience participation

ABOUT THE USAAF FESTIVAL

We are deeply honored that SAFAR (Journey) has been selected as part of the United States of Asian America Festival (USAAF) — a beloved annual celebration of the arts and artists who make San Francisco's Asian American and Pacific Islander communities so vibrant and vital.

This year's festival theme, Common Ground, feels like it was made for this moment. At its heart, SAFAR is a film about reclaiming a story that was almost lost — and finding in it something that belongs to all of us. We believe that when we recover our histories, honor our ancestors, and share our truths across communities, we build something that cannot easily be taken away.

To be in community with the artists, storytellers, and change-makers of USAAF this year means the world to us. We can't wait to see you there.

See the full line up here