#indiescreen

I reeeally like making music for movies. Especially amazing ones. This is a powerful, beautiful snapshot of a NYC we see every day but not on film. go! honored to be apart of it.

All our words from loose using have lost their edge - Hemingway.

Julian Schwartz, producer & Marco - founder of INDIESCREEN.

Alcohol may be man's worst enemy, but the bible says love your enemy. - Frank Sinatra

Tonight is the night! Bhopali, a documentary about the 1984 Union Carbide plant disaster, and how it continues to affect the people of Bhopal, premiers tonight at Brooklyn's IndieScreen Theater! As previously mentioned, MoviePass is reserving 10 seats for our members which will guarantee entry into tonight's premiere. It's first come, first serve. Just email [email protected] if you'd like us to hold a seat for you. 

Sanjay Verma is a survivor of the Bhopal disaster. He was only a few months old when he lost 8 of his family members, the most of any person affected by the tragedy. His older brother and sister were able to save him by wrapping him in a blanket and running towards safety. We had the opportunity to speak with Sanjay about his experiences.

How did you first get involved in the activist movement?

It was my brother, actually, who got involved right after the tragedy. When my sister and I moved out of the orphanage and started living with our brother, I found out he was involved in the campaign. I saw women and men in their 60s and 70s protesting in the streets everyday, so I started learning more about it. In the orphanage we didn't really know much about the tragedy. I started getting involved slowly over time.

What do you think is one of the most important things Bhopali accomplishes?

I think a lot of people think, 'this happened in 1984 so everything is good there now.' Bhopali is something that shows you the real face of Bhopal. It shows you that Bhopal isn't something that just happened in 1984, it's something that's happening now. People are struggling everyday. We have been fighting for the past 27 years.

What is it like for you to to be able to reach out to an American audience regarding Bhopal?

I spoke at MIT university on December 3rd and about 70 people who showed up. The auditorium was overcrowded, and the audience didn't know I was there for a Q&A, which they showed a lot of interest in. It was also good to see people there who knew about Bhopal and had been waiting for the documentary to come out. Its a long documentary, its about 89 minutes long, and people were still excited about it, and they stayed and watched all of it. It was a good thing.

What has this film meant for you?

For me, I'm doing something that my brother did years ago. He travelled a lot. He was in the states for the hearings... The similar thing between what he's done and what I'm doing is raising awareness among the people. It doesn't matter where you are, all that matters is that people are aware and getting to know more about Bhopal, so i feel good that I have been able to be apart of this documentary. I'm happy with what I'm doing because it's not for me, but at the same time it's for me as well, because i was supposed to die. I am one of them in Bhopal, and in a way, you know, we all live in Bhopal, because if you look around you can find chemical plants like the one in Bhopal in almost every city.

What is your advice for someone who has just seen the film and wants to do something to help? What could I do right now to help?