Kavery Kaul

Kavery Kaul’s engaging documentary traces the history of calypso and soca music from their birth in the African-East Indian traditions of Trinidad and Tobago through its worldwide diaspora, including its popularization in the 1950s by Harry Belafonte and the new independent distribution networks that arose to serve the expatriate community in the 1980s.

In the 1900s, Indian men immigrated to Louisiana, often intermarrying with African American women. Fatima, a descendant of this practice, journeys from her New Orleans home to Kolkata, seeking her long-lost forbears. Armed with a handful of faded documents, she struggles with language and suspicion, but the lure of family and the kindness of strangers make her quest worthwhile. Vibrant, colorful scenery provides the backdrop for this easy-paced, feel-good tale of finding your roots.

A profile of Philippines-born artist Pacita Abad.

Kavery Kaul’s engaging documentary traces the history of calypso and soca music from their birth in the African-East Indian traditions of Trinidad and Tobago through its worldwide diaspora, including its popularization in the 1950s by Harry Belafonte and the new independent distribution networks that arose to serve the expatriate community in the 1980s.

Kavery Kaul’s engaging documentary traces the history of calypso and soca music from their birth in the African-East Indian traditions of Trinidad and Tobago through its worldwide diaspora, including its popularization in the 1950s by Harry Belafonte and the new independent distribution networks that arose to serve the expatriate community in the 1980s.

In the 1900s, Indian men immigrated to Louisiana, often intermarrying with African American women. Fatima, a descendant of this practice, journeys from her New Orleans home to Kolkata, seeking her long-lost forbears. Armed with a handful of faded documents, she struggles with language and suspicion, but the lure of family and the kindness of strangers make her quest worthwhile. Vibrant, colorful scenery provides the backdrop for this easy-paced, feel-good tale of finding your roots.

In the 1900s, Indian men immigrated to Louisiana, often intermarrying with African American women. Fatima, a descendant of this practice, journeys from her New Orleans home to Kolkata, seeking her long-lost forbears. Armed with a handful of faded documents, she struggles with language and suspicion, but the lure of family and the kindness of strangers make her quest worthwhile. Vibrant, colorful scenery provides the backdrop for this easy-paced, feel-good tale of finding your roots.

A profile of Philippines-born artist Pacita Abad.