IN/DIGNITY: Documentary Films Screening with Ashish Kumar P

Mar 18, 2027 7:00pm-8:00pm

Bromeley Family Theater, Blaisdell Hall

March 18, 2027, 7pm
Free

IN/DIGNITY is a feature-length documentary that explores the enduring legacy of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar through the statues that stand across India as symbols of memory, resistance, and hope. More than monuments, these statues are living sites of identity, where Dalit communities celebrate their history, assert their dignity, and imagine more just futures.
Drawing on personal experience as a Dalit filmmaker, the film traces how Ambedkar's ideas continue to shape everyday life offering strength, self-respect, and a language of liberation across generations. Blending personal reflection with ethnographic observation, IN/DIGNITY asks what it means to live with dignity in a society still marked by caste, and how public memory and collective celebration challenge exclusion while affirming belonging.

More than a film about statues, IN/DIGNITY is a meditation on memory, justice, and the ongoing struggle to reclaim humanity through Ambedkar's vision of equality.
Ashish Kumar is a documentary filmmaker, interdisciplinary artist, and faculty member at the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford. His work explores memory, dignity, identity, and social justice through moving image, sound, photography, and installation. His practice is informed by his lived experience as a Dalit and is grounded in Ambedkarite thought—an ethical and political framework that envisions equality, self-respect, and collective liberation.