Center for Asian American Media

WHOSE CHILDREN ARE THESE? provides a gripping view into the world of three Muslim teenagers affected by post 9/11 domestic anti-terrorism security measures. One such program, 'Special Registration,' required male non-citizens - as young as the age of 16 and from 25 countries - to register with the U.S. government and resulted in the discriminatory deportation of many. This film introduces Navila - an honors student who fought to release her father from detention; Sarfaraz - a popular basketball player who confronts pending deportation; and Hager - a young woman who faces prejudice and is spurred into activism as a result.

“The strength of Thanjan’s film is its ability to give a face to the names of the hundreds of people affected by the sweeping and impersonalized federal policies put into place post 9/11.”

- Daily Californian

“This film is told with a lot of heart. The filmmaker does an impressive job. I now know more about the policy of Special Registration than I ever did before.”

- Albert Maysles, Academy Award-winning documentary filmmaker

“It truly had a profound impact on me. My only hope is that more people are able to see it and that it opens their eyes (as it did mine) so that this type of discrimination never happens in our country again.”

- Robin Leiby, sophomore at Hunter College

Awards
Best Documentary, 4th Annual Indian Diaspora Film Festival, New York
Best Documentary, Grand Jury Selection, Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles
Best Direction, Short Documentary, Brooklyn Arts Council Film Festival
Best Short Documentary, Tupelo Film Festival
Honorable Mention, Best Short Documentary, Urban World/VIBE Film Festival, New York

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