SPARSH AHUJA
Sparsh Ahuja is an award-winning filmmaker and National Geographic Explorer working primarily in animation and documentary. His work explores themes of migration and belonging, and has featured in MUBI, The New Yorker, TIME, The BBC, Al Jazeera, NOWNESS ASIA, NOEMA and The Economist.
Sparsh’s documentary short, “Birdsong”, premiered at SXSW 2023, was shortlisted for the Grierson, IDA and BIFA Awards, and was acquired by The Guardian as a Vimeo Staff Pick. His VR Film, “Child of Empire” - financed through the Venice Biennale Gap Financing Market - premiered at the Sundance Film Festival 2022, played Sheffield DocFest, and MIFF, and won the inaugural XR History Award from the Korber-Stiftung Foundation in Hamburg. Sparsh is currently in development on his directorial debut, “Fear and Loathing in Kathmandu”, funded by VicScreen.
In 2023, Sparsh was one of the 12 factual producers selected for VicScreen and Screen Australia’s “Originate Factual” incubator. In 2024, his reporting on Indigenous land rights disputes was a finalist for the LA Press Club Award.
Sparsh’s work has toured institutions such as The Victoria and Albert Museum, BFI Southbank, and ForumDesImages in Paris, and has been supported by the British Council, Australia Council for the Arts, Doc Society, Ford Foundation, Ian Potter Cultural Trust, and the CatchLight Fellowship amongst others.
Sparsh currently works as a Development Producer for Dreamchaser Entertainment in Melbourne, Australia.
Read More
Case Studies
Instagram
sparshahuja9@gmail.com
BACK | OFF THE RECORD
Commisioned by StoryFutures (led by Royal Holloway, University of London), in partnership with the BFI and BBC.
Official Selections:
Belfast XR Festival
“Off the Record” is a VR archival exploration celebrating British South Asians and their rich musical heritage, mapping the meteoric rise of Bhangra from the 1970s, to The Asian Underground and Punjabi Garage at the turn of the century. The experience depicts the early migration of South Asians to the UK, contrasting their struggle to integrate with the defiant self-expression of the second generation.
StoryFutures (led by Royal Holloway, University of London) commissioned us to use and reinterpret archival material from the BBC and BFI archives, to tell a lost story from British history. In three acts, users interact with the archive in a completely new and three dimensional way, and eventually find themselves plunged into a rave to the tunes of London's contemporary Daytimers Collective.
Designing an experience with the musical journey at its heart was a new and exciting challenge. With a heavy emphasis on the use and exploration of spatial sound design, this time the visuals played a supporting role to the audio landscape. From re-mastering of the archive, to a complimentary UI soundscape, and finally into the rave, the goal was to lay on a sensational 360 immersive audio experience.
In an effort to bring immersive formats to a wider public audience, “Off The Record” travelled to 15 towns in the UK as part of the UNBOXED festival. Between July and October 2022 this showcase, which ran under the name StoryTrails, offered local communities a deep dive into our collective history and offered many their first encounter with virtual reality.
Production Company:
No Ghost/Riverpunch Films
Countries of Production: United Kingdom