The “Destination S” program provides Chapman graduate students and alumni the opportunity to travel to make Sikh-themed films. They provide the “domain” knowledge to make these films successful. In the past they have traveled to the UK, India, Canada, Africa, Nepal, Malaysia, and various European locations. “Destination S” is typically in production on four to eight films at any one time.

During our 2019 Sikh Arts and Film Festival we premiered seven new Sikh-centric films. Although each film was a success in its own right, they were not without their challenges. The biggest challenge is the timely funding of each film project. Each year we are presented with many film opportunities. Whether an opportunity becomes a film is largely a function of timing and funding. We have had to pass on several good opportunities because there was a limited window to “act” and there was insufficient time to raise funding for the specific film. We decided to create a

“Destination S” Fund so we could draw money from the fund as film opportunities arose. Filmmaking is expensive and our goal was to “seed” this fund with $150,000 from sponsors who could commit to a continuous multi-year donation. These “founders” would be recognized in the end credits of each film.

Each year the “Destination S” fund provides seed money for four to six films. The remainder of the budget is acquired through Sikhlens general fundraising efforts. The donor will have his name prominently displayed amongst the 2021 patrons at the end of the films produced through this fund.

You can find all the films related to this project on our Youtube channel: http://www.youtube.com/sikhlens