Filmmaker Statement

When we look at films about the South Asian diaspora, we often see the same recycled ideas: cartoonishly strict and traditional parents; nerdy children caught between cultures; romantic comedy as the default tonal backdrop. So one of my goals as a filmmaker has been to help broaden the story of the South Asian diaspora, which is now the world’s largest community of immigrants. Our experiences are extremely diverse and our stories need to reflect the nuances between the lines. That’s why I was so gratified when Executive Producers Kunal M. Patel and Ria Bhowmick brought me their friend Naveed Khan’s script for SALTWATER. Here was a story not about romance or cultural divides but about the universal struggles of familial relationships, grief, and the steady, inexorable march of time. Yet it was still filtered through an unmistakably South Asian lens. In other words: a story that we needed to bring to life, because our community is ready for something different.