General Information
Duration: 1 hr 12 min 26 sec
Genres: Documentary
Language: Dubai
Country: United Arab Emirates
Submitted By: Fokiya Akhtar
Festival Rating 7.7
Revealing greater truths about the history and impact of immigration on the world that resonate today, this is the story of one man, John Footman, who left Ireland at the peak of the potato famine. However, unlike so many Irish immigrants who fled deprivation for the Americas, Footman found passage to India. The story traces a 7th generation Indian descendent of John Footman from his birth home in India to his Irish roots leading back to the very town in County Cork from which John Footman, was born, raised, and departed for his new life in India over 170 years ago.
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DirectorsFokiya Akhtar
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ProducersFokiya Akhtar
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ProducersIan Michael
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WritersIan Michael
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WritersFokiya Akhtar
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Film TypeDocumentary
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GenresDocumentary
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Runtime1 hours 12 minutes 26 seconds
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Production Budget50000 USD
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Country of OriginUnited Arab Emirates
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Country of FilmingIndia, Ireland, United Arab Emirates
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Film LanguageDubai
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Shooting FormatHD
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Aspect Ratio16:9
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Film ColorColor
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Student ProjectNo
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First-time FilmmakerNo
Indian World Film Festival
India
Hyderabad
03/08/2020
Indian
Best Director
Picasso Einstein Buddha International Film Festival
India
Rishikesh
11/21/2019
Best Documentary Film
Indian Film Festival of Ireland
Ireland
Dublin
11/15/2019
Irish Premiere
Best Director
Indian Cine Film Festival
India
Mumbai
09/08/2019
Indian
Best Documentary (Jury)
Tagore International Film Festival
India
Kolkata
Indian
Outstanding Achievement Award
Virgin Spring Film Festival
India
Kolkatta
Best Documentary (Gold Award)
White Unicorn International Film Festival
India
Kolkata
Grand Winner
Jodhpur International Film Festival
India
Jodhpur
Official Selection
Crownwood International Film Festival
India
Kolkata
Official Selection
Director's Biography
Fokiya Akhtar has over two decades of combined experience as a teacher-scholar and filmmaker. Professor of Film and Video at College of Communication and Media Sciences at Zayed University, Dubai, UAE. She has worked as a Freelance Producer/Director and has produced educational documentaries and instructional television programs for University Grants Commission countrywide classroom in New Delhi. Ms. Akhtar has produced and directed independent documentary films and also produced documentaries, live shows, game shows, current affairs programs for various production houses in India and Oman and UAE.
Her documentaries have won official selections and best film nominations at Mumbai International Film Festival; Golden Gate Fiction and Documentary Film Festival; San Francisco Film Festival; International Children’s Film Festival and Delhi International Film Festival which include Children of God, a documentary on special needs children in Dubai (2011) and All Alone and Lonely, a documentary on the widows and orphans of Kashmir (2009).
Director's Statement
Four years ago, I realized I had to make An Gorta Mór: Passage to India when I met Ian Michael who had researched his ancestor John Footman, an Irish who left Ireland during the peak of the potato famine in 1847. As I was listening to his fascinating research findings, my mind was creating visuals that looked very real in front of my eyes. I knew I had found a topic for my next documentary film project.
An Gorta Mór - Passage to India traces the migration of the Irish population during the Great Famine that took place between 1845-52. The film weaves together a compelling story of John Footman, who started the Footman family in India. The co-producer of this film Dr. Ian Michael is a descendant of the Footman family who takes us through the story of migration during the Irish famine. Most Irish went to North America (USA & Canada), UK and Australia, and a minority sailed to India most of them joining the British East India Company as army recruits and other army units like the Irish and Scottish Fusiliers.
Looking back at the journey of Irish roots and talking with Footman descendants all over the world, I never would have thought that the historical events in Ireland that prompted John Footman to leave everything he ever knew and loved to seek a better life in India would find its analog in the contemporary stories of migration today. Like John, the flood of Irish immigrants to America during the Famine years were economic refugees only seeking the opportunity to have a future… Because John Footman found his destiny in India, it represents the continuation of his dreams for a better life for descendant’s he would never know.
An Gorta Mór: Passage to India was edited from 90 hours of original footage shot in Ireland (Clonakilty, Dunbrody, Dublin) India (Hyderabad, Chennai, Mumbai). The film (overall budget approximately $50,000) is financially supported by RIF grant from the Zayed University, UAE.