The Lascar

Many people do not know that at the end of the 18th century, hundreds of Indian sailors, known as lascars, worked amongst European sealing gangs in Aotearoa - often under gruesome working conditions. Our short film The Lascar shines a light on these forgotten individuals while diving into complex and tragic relationships with Pākehā settlers and indigenous Māori.

Story:

After being abandoned on the coast of Aotearoa by the East India Company, a sealing gang is shaken when their racist head honcho, Freddie, finds out his subservient lascar “pet”, Dasa, has been secretly trading with a Māori mother and son, Māia and Rui. The story comes to a head when Freddie finds out about Dasa’s betrayal and causes havoc in both Māia and Dasa’s life, pushing Dasa to finally stand up to his "master" and, with the help of Māia, resist the brunt of Freddie's terror.

Why this film?

Note from writer and director, Adi Parige:

As a storyteller of Indian descent, I have been privileged to spend the last decade as a globe-trotter, engaging with my diaspora. Despite lasting ties to the motherland, South Asia’s international reach has amounted to a lavish diversity of histories, third cultures, art forms, and economies. This has influenced my short films, music, anti-caste activism, and has fostered my ever-evolving cultural self awareness. After stumbling upon the history of lascars arriving in Aotearoa, I decided to return to my birthplace after 27 years to embark on telling this story. The history of lascars in New Zealand has long been lost to the decaying shipping logs of New Zealand’s archives. By bringing this short film to life, we can finally give face to the many men who have nearly been erased from the history books.

The Lascar presents us with a unique opportunity to explore the relationships Indian sailors might have had with their British superiors and the refuge they would have sought from Māori peoples. These relationships were often messy and imperfect. Such is the nature of colonialism. It is out of examining these scenarios in which glimmers of decolonization come to fruition.

We believe that intersectional cinema is the future of storytelling and are charging forward to engage with this uncharted space. Disrupting the status quo takes determination, but it also requires the support of our communities.

Our aim is to make a proof of concept short film that we can use to pitch a feature film version to streaming giants and larger funding bodies.

Who is involved?: 

The Lascar is produced by a team of Master of Fine Arts (Creative Practice) students from Te Herenga Waka, Victoria University of Wellington. This is the cumulative project of their year-long degree. 

Director and Writer Adi Parige is receiving mentorship from:

• Jess Charlton - Cinematographer 
• Tom Boniface-Webb - Producer
• Rob Thorne, M.A. (Ngāti Tumutumu) - Kaiārahi, Māori cultural advisor

Supported by:

Te Herenga Waka (Victoria University of Wellington), Miramar Creative Centre, Indian High Commission, New Zealand Indian Central Association, Auckland Tamil Association 

And we are excited to be collaborating with incredible talent such as:

• Tanea Heke (Waru, Cousins, The Justice of Bunny King)
• Mark Matthews
• Fred Pokai 
• Vinith Shiva 
• Mohammad Kunwar 
• Finn McCauley

Your support is needed: 

The Lascar is going into production in December.

We are looking for $5000 to go towards:

• Location hire
• Koha to cast 
• Catering 

Tax Credit:

Donations made by NZ income earners qualify for a 33% tax credit from the IRD with a receipt provided by The Arts Foundation.