The Absence of Origin — Part 1: India
A project in Kolkata, India by Richard Hosein009days
:
07hours
:
19minutes
Status: Active
A solo documentary tracing my family's journey from Raniganj to Trinidad. India shoot July 2026. The first of a three-part trilogy.
Backers: 21
Average Daily Pledges: $140 CAD
Average Pledge Per Backer: $147 CAD
Funding: $3,090 CAD of $4,900 CAD
Dates: May 23rd -> Jun 22nd (30 days)
Project By: Richard Hosein
Backers: 21
Average Daily Pledges: $140 CAD
Average Pledge Per Backer: $147 CAD
Funding: $3,090 CAD of $4,900 CAD
Dates: May 23rd -> Jun 22nd (30 days)
Project By: Richard Hosein
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Latest News
Two weeks in — and the people showing up surprised me 
June 8th - via: kickstarter.com
Two weeks ago I launched a Kickstarter for a documentary about my own family. The thing I didn't expect: most of the people backing it aren't my family — and a lot of them aren't even Trinidadian. The film follows one journey — my... (Read More)
The work the campaign does not show
June 8th - via: kickstarter.com
A campaign page is a flat surface. It shows what a project is. It does not show what gathers around it. In the last two weeks natural connections converged: a Trinidad-based genealogist coordinating archival work across two oceans. A paternal... (Read More)
The maternal line begins to speak
June 5th - via: kickstarter.com
Most of what I've shared here has followed one thread — Haroon Khan, the SYRIA, the 1876 certificate. That's my father's side. But this film's premise was always inspired by two crossings, and this week the other one came into focus. A handwritten... (Read More)
Trinidad Indian Arrival Day — May 30, 2026
May 30th - via: kickstarter.com
Today commemorates the 181st anniversary of the Fatel Razack's arrival at the Gulf of Paria with the first Indian indentured workers — the Girmitiyas — in 1845. The campaign you're backing exists because of what happened that day, and what... (Read More)
A document we didn't know existed
May 27th - via: kickstarter.com
Something significant arrived this week. A newly introduced paternal 2nd cousin Raffaic M. has shared an emigration certificate, retrieved from the National Archives of Trinidad and Tobago, naming my great-grandfather Haroon Khan. Raffaic obtained... (Read More)
50% milestone — halfway to our goal.
May 25th - via: kickstarter.com
50% milestone — halfway We crossed 50% of the goal this evening Vietnam time. Halfway in ~2 days. 14 backers — family, friends, community members, and a small but growing number of people I've never met but who connected with the work. Thank you,... (Read More)
30% in under ~20 hours — Thank You
May 24th - via: kickstarter.com
The campaign crossed 30% of goal this evening in Vietnam — just ~20 hours after launch. In Kickstarter terms, this matters because the platform now begins surfacing the project to people beyond my immediate network. The next 5–7 days of momentum... (Read More)
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