Filmmaker Statement

Smack-Man is a film that was born through my discovery of the Dotbusters, a racist hate group from New Jersey active in the 70s to the early 90s. They came back after 9/11 and then again in 2010. The group targeted South Asians by finding generic names like Patel and Shah from phonebooks. They would track South Asians down, stone their homes, beat them with bricks into comas, and sometimes shoot their victims to death. Since I learned about this group, I have asked several people about them, and almost everyone had no idea about their existence. Therefore, Smack-Man is a project that hopes to bring its attacks to light. At the same time, it is a fictional take on the events, where an Indian man trains to become a superhero to take them down. Inspired by classic 2000s comic book-style superhero films like Spider-Man and Kick-Ass, I wanted to try to create a pulpy, entertaining, action-packed piece that gives power back to the South Asian community.