In Rajan Gill and Reaa Puri’s hybrid-documentary short, Harvest Party At Camp Two, the exploration of a unique bash organised by a Punjabi-Sikh farming community in California becomes an entry point for the filmmakers to chart out its journey—from hardships, struggles, racism, and discrimination to respect, assimilation, belonging, and prosperity. This is a film about how the initially alienating Yuba City, once described as the worst city to live in the US, became home for the immigrant families.
One of these households of peach farmers is Rajan’s own, and an early record of the epochal event is a rare picture of his father Kashmir “Kash” Gill (the first Sikh to be elected mayor in the US, that too for two terms) from younger days, dancing away with abandon. The personal film weaves together family photographs and archival footage with formal interviews, good-natured, playful conversations, and recreated moments to bring the admirable, resilient community alive, with creative robustness and affection.
Rajan Gill
Rajan Gill is a professor, historian, and farmer who grew up in the agricultural fields of California. Rajan has a deep connection to the land and a passion for telling the stories of those who have worked it. His screenwriting aims to capture the authentic and unique experiences of immigrants in California. Rajan was 2023/24 Resident Filmmaker at SFFILM and winner of the 2023 Netflix x Tasveer Film Fund. His short, Channel Bibi (2024), premiered at Hollyshorts and Tasveer.
Reaa Puri
Reaa Puri’s films explore themes of trauma and belonging, and have screened at Sundance, SXSW, and the London Asia Film Festival. A YBCA100 honoree, Reaa is a recipient of two Cannes Lion awards and the Roselyn Schneider Eisner Prize. Previously, Reaa served as Director of Photography and Editor for Nike’s 2019 Black History Month campaign and assistant director on the feature Mary Kom (Netflix). Reaa is a 2020 and 2021 artist-in-residence at the San Francisco Filmhouse, a 2020 UnionDocs’ Summer Documentary Lab Fellow, and a recipient of the Bay Area Video Coalition’s Doc-Filmmaker Development Program.
