Migration, Refugees, and the Politics of Sanctuary Focus of Oct. Events at NYU’s A/P/A Institute

New York University’s Asian/Pacific/American Institute will host events in October centering on migration, refugees, and the politics of sanctuary: a screening of the award-winning documentary Out of State (October 25) and a celebration of the only known literary work written by an indentured laborer in the Anglophone Caribbean (October 29).

The events are free and open to the public; registration is required at apa.nyu.edu/events or by calling 212.992.9653.

Thurs., Oct. 25, 6:30-9:00 p.m.
Out of State and After Now: Screenings and Discussion
NYU’s Cantor Film Center
36 E. 8^th Street, Theater 200 (between Greene Street and University Place)

The event opens with a screening of After Now (26 min.), directed by Raechel Bosch and Thuy Linh Tu, a professor in NYU’s Department of Social and Cultural Analysis, in collaboration with NYU’s Prison Education Program. The documentary follows three New Yorkers as they rebuild their lives and relationships after incarceration.

It will be followed by a screening of Out of State (79 min.), an award-winning documentary. The film explores the intersections between colonization and mass incarceration through the stories of David and Hale—two Native Hawaiian men imprisoned in a private prison in the Arizona desert. 

The evening will conclude with a discussion featuring Out of State director and producer Ciara Lacy (via Skype), the University of Toronto’s Max Mishler, Earl Neal, an alumnus of NYU’s Prison Education Program, and Dean Itsuji Saranillio, a professor in NYU’s Department of Social and Cultural Analysis.

Co-presented by the Asian/Pacific/American Institute at NYU and the NYU Native Studies Forum. Co-sponsored by the NYU Native American and Indigenous Students Group, the NYU Prison Education Program, and Nā ʻŌiwi NYC.

Mon., Oct. 29, 6:30-8:30 p.m.
I Even Regret Night: Verses from Indenture
NYU's King Juan Carlos I of Spain Center, 53 Washington Square South, First-Floor Screening Room

I Even Regret Night: Holi Songs of Demerara (Kaya Press, 2018), originally published in 1916, is the only known literary work written by an indentured laborer in the Anglophone Caribbean. This reading and conversation features writer Gaiutra Bahadur (Coolie Woman), award-winning poet and translator Rajiv Mohabir, and Grace Aneiza Ali, a professor in the Department of Art and Public Policy at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts. At the event, audience members will be invited to record their own family histories of indenture and migration with the South Asian American Digital Archive.

Presented by the Asian/Pacific/American Institute at NYU. Co-sponsored by NYU’s Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies, the South Asian American Digital Archive, Rajkumari Cultural Center, Jahajee Sisters, Guyana Modern.com, and Asian American Writers’ Workshop.

Subways: R, W (8^th Street); 6 (Astor Place)