What We Carry: A Short Film

What We Carry unfolds inside the quiet hum of a local aid center—paperwork, rice bags, fluorescent lights, laughter in the margins. Suriya, a South Asian woman with sharp wit and a deep well of empathy, runs the frontlines with grace and grit. Her colleague Marianna, grounded and perceptive, is the first to sense something is off when a well-dressed “researcher” from the city arrives. What begins as a polite visit slowly sharpens into something heavier. What unfolds is a quiet battle of wills, where care becomes resistance and silence holds more power than speech. Through a final flashback to Suriya’s childhood in India, where she narrowly escapes initiation into the Devadasi system, we gain a deeper understanding of her inner fire and her unyielding drive to protect the vulnerable.

What We Carry tells a story we rarely get to see onscreen—one where women of color lead with instinct, dignity, and quiet strength.  It centers moments of emotional truth that are too often invisible: a glance exchanged when words fail, a joke cracked in the face of tension, a decision made in silence that protects an entire community. I’ve witnessed these moments firsthand, working in both legal and creative spaces where care becomes a quiet form of protection. What We Carry honors the people who show up, hold space, and protect others in ways that are often unseen but deeply felt.

As a dancer, actor, and storyteller working across disciplines, I view this film as part of a larger conversation I’m engaging in through movement and live performance: about women’s agency, survival, and the power of community-based care. My research into the Devadasi system as part of a larger commission with Chicago’s Prop Thtr has deeply informed this project’s themes of bodily autonomy, caste, and the politics of “What We Carry”.

This film is a tribute to the work I’ve seen across Chicago’s nonprofit community, from legal aid to arts-based outreach. It’s shaped by my personal experience supporting a dedicated immigration lawyer, and by my time as a teaching artist working with refugee communities. What We Carry honors the people who show up, hold space, and protect others in ways that are often unseen but deeply felt.

What We Carry will be filmed in Chicago with a local, multi-disciplinary creative team. The film will premiere through festivals, community screenings, and educational platforms with facilitated conversation and engagement. Your contribution directly supports a BIPOC and women-led team of Chicago artists, helps us pay fair wages, and allows us to create a high-quality short film rooted in truth and artistry. By donating, you’re not just funding a film. You’re making space for stories like this to exist—with all their nuance, vulnerability, and heart. If you believe in the power of care, in women who protect without applause, and in the quiet resistance of staying present, this story is for you.

At its heart, this film is a love letter to the women who keep our communities intact, even when no one is watching.