Crossroads
Synopsis:
CROSSROADS looks at the FedEx mass shooting in Indianapolis that took place in April 2021, where the majority of workers and victims were from the Sikh community.
FedEx operates one of its largest US-based hubs in Indianapolis, where over 80% of the employees are South Asians/Punjabi. In April 2021, former Fedex worker Brandon Scott Hole opened fire, killing eight and injuring several others. While the Sikh community grieves the loss of four of its members, the police and FBI conclude their investigations by declaring the mass shooting not a hate crime. Many in the Sikh community question the transparency and findings, including why Indiana’s Red Flag Law was not pursued by the prosecutor’s office; the law could have prevented the shooter from purchasing more firearms. As the community rebounds from the tragedy, the local Gurdwaras continue to be a source of healing, strength and resilience for all.
CROSSROADS is the story of a community responding to an act of violence, and their right to be safe and treated equally, as Sikhs living in America.
Trailer
Director & Writer
Sarita Khurana : Sarita Khurana is an award-winning film director and cultural producer. Khurana’s feature film, A SUITABLE GIRL, world premiered in the 2017 Tribeca Film Festival documentary competition section, and won the Best New Documentary Director prize. Her most recent film, CROSSROADS (2022), was commissioned by Channel/PBS and the Asian American Documentary Network as part of their Asian American Resilience series. Khurana holds an MFA in Film from Columbia University’s School of the Arts. Her work has been supported by the Center for Asian American Media, Tribeca Film Institute, the IDA, NALIP-Diverse Women in Film, Art in General, the National Film Development Corp of India, Women in Film, New York Foundation for the Arts, A-Doc, New York Women in Film & Television, and Film Independent.
Sriyanka Ray is a Brooklyn based award-winning video journalist, storyteller and producer from Kolkata, India. She covers race, inequality, youth issues and the criminal justice system. Much of her work has been at the intersection of journalism, film and social change. Her work has earned her a 2018 NY Emmy, ten NY Emmy nominations and her investigative film The Sweatshop Of Wall Street was a finalist in the Outstanding Story by a South Asian Journalist in North America category at the 2017 South Asian Journalists Association Awards. Her work has also been supported by The National Endowment for the Arts, The Doris Duke Foundation, Lincoln Center and The Rockefeller Foundation. She got her M.A in Media Studies from The New School, New York City and her B.A in English Lit from Presidency College in Kolkata, India.