اپنی آواز Our Voice
اپنی آواز Our Voice is a unique storytelling project that celebrates the personal histories and voices of a group of South Asian women who live in the West End of Newcastle. Together, the group explored personal stories of migration, identity, community, working-class experiences, and friendship, sharing the journeys that have shaped their lives. They captured and honoured these powerful narratives through group discussions, creative activities, and reflections, to create a short film and a collection of audio recordings. They were supported in this process by artist, writer and researcher Malya Bhattacharya. Together, they weaved their stories into a tapestry of shared experiences and memories, preserving them for future generations.
The film was produced by New Writing North in partnership with Search Newcastle, and was made possible by Jo Hislop (Programme Manager/Producer), Malya Bhattacharya (lead writer/facilitator), Julie Ballands (filmmaker), Lai Yee Tsang (Search programme leader), and Safia Iqbal (Search group leader).
This project was generously funded by the Paul Hamlyn Foundation and Newcastle Culture Investment Fund.
The film is currently on display at The Discovery Museum in Newcastle.
Extracts of Apni Aawaz, the Language between Us, an essay by Malya Bhattacharya
“They live through time, they live through places, and they live through languages. They are Pakistani as they are Geordies. They celebrate Eid in a Church. They drink Yorkshire tea spiced with cardamon and cloves. They know the snows of the seventies like they know all the road names today. They whisper family recipes of daal to you as they speak of the fabric-shop they had for years. They tell stories of this city that nobody else will tell you.
اپنی آواز ('Apni Aawaaz', Our Voice) is a glance at that story. It was made through several conversations, debates, tears, anger and laughter. It is a story about friendships, the friendships born when you bring a cup of chai to another, the friendship that blooms when you exercise together, remember together, and tell stories together. But it is also the story of friendship between the women and the filmmaker, the filmmaker and the writer, the writer and the producer.”
