Far From Home: An Afghan Refugee Story with filmmaker Ankita M. Kumar

KALW and the Society of Professional Journalists of Northern California are proud to host a screening of Far From Home: An Afghan Refugee Story with filmmaker Ankita M. Kumar as part of our series The Bay Agenda.

Samira Faizi and her family escaped to India from Afghanistan in 2021. She is now grappling with the possibility of being stuck forever, as slow asylum processes and the lack of a refugee law in India threaten her existence.

Far from Home, a story of Afghan refugees in India, was funded by the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting and the American Institute of Afghanistan Studies (AIAS). It’s the first documentary on Afghan refugees in India. The film stemmed from Ankita’s work as a graduate student at Northwestern University and was inspired by Ankita’s own grandmother, who was a refugee to India in 1947 after the country’s partition.

The documentary has received several awards, including Best Debut Film at the College Filmmakers Fest and Runner Up – Best Short Documentary at the Chicago South Asian Film Festival (CSAFF). The film was also a finalist for the prestigious Japan Prize. Far from Home’s success has been covered by several publications such as Outlook India, The Wire India and India Currents.

Ankita Mukhopadhyay Kumar is an award-winning Indian journalist and documentary filmmaker based in the US. Her directorial debut, Far from Home, was selected to over eight film festivals, including the Academy award-qualifying Tasveer Film Festival and the American Documentary and Animation Film Festival.

As a journalist, Ankita is the recipient of several prestigious awards and fellowships. She is currently a regional director at Society of Professional Journalists, the world’s oldest journalism organization. Earlier this year, Ankita was awarded the prestigious EB-1A by the US government, which is an employment-based, first preference green card for extraordinary individuals in the arts.

Dr. Sedique Popal is an Associate Professor in the School of Education at the University of San Francisco, where he teaches applied linguistics courses and coordinates the MA TESOL program. He also serves as the President-Elect of the California Association of Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages (CATESOL). Throughout his career, Dr. Popal has taught English and applied linguistics and has trained teachers in seven countries across four continents: Asia, Africa, Europe, and North America. He has presented at numerous national and international conferences, including TESOL, KOTESOL, AZTESOL, CATESOL, and the California Association for Bilingual Education (CABE). In 2021, Dr. Popal authored A Grammar Book for Teachers.

In addition to his academic accomplishments, Dr. Sedique Popal is the founder and president of the Noor Islamic and Cultural Community Center (NICCC), a nonprofit organization dedicated to serving the religious, educational, and social needs of the growing Muslim community in Contra Costa County and surrounding Northern California communities. Through NICCC, Dr. Popal has helped Afghan refugees secure housing and essential services and items needed as they resettle in the United States. Dr. Popal also started an after-school program for students in grades K–12 to provide youth-based support at NICCC. 

Your RSVP includes admission to Open Decks: Community Art in Motion, a collaborative art exhibition and cultural program featuring original art by 100 Bay Area artists on skateboard decks. Open Decks is on view from July 24 - October 31, 2025.

There is a $10 - $20 sliding scale suggested donation for this event. Nobody will be turned away for lack of funds.

Please become a KALW member today and receive your first drink on us at all 220 Montgomery events.

📍 220 Montgomery St., San Francisco, 2 blocks from BART/MUNI

🚪 Reception doors open at 6:00

🗣️ Program begins at 7:00

🆓 The event is free with an RSVP — and you are welcome to donate what you want

Please note:

• The event space is just to the left of the main entrance to the Mills Building at 220 Montgomery Street
• We recommend taking BART/MUNI, exiting at Montgomery, and walking two blocks north
• Ride-shares can drop off and pick up directly in front of the venue
• If you drive, there are several garages within two blocks of the event location; free street parking is available across from the venue at 7:00 pm

Host or Publisher KALW Public Media