Baseera Khan: By Faith

 

Treatment for a television pilot:

Baseera Khan is an artist who has lived in Crown Heights for 10 years. Early this spring, Baseera finally moved furniture into the space, cleaned up clutter, and felt motivated to cultivate a social life, maybe even evaluate intimacy issues, and perhaps start dating. It’s been 4 years since they were divorced. Then the pandemic hit and “shelter in place” put a wrench in that for the foreseeable future. Now, Baseera is prone to talking to their kitchen knives and vegetables, prone to nodding off and daydreaming that they are hanging out with friends: eating, walking, sleeping at the beach. 

Baseera's success has always felt like “failing upwards” instead of innately earned. They are haunted, questioning their own legitimacy, if they deserve not just a seat at the table, but their own dining room table. This feeling, a systemic issue, is often felt in the BIPOC artist communities. Achieving love and balance seems like a radical act, instead of just striving for a “normal” life. However, because everyone in the world is isolated now, is Baseera somehow doing better during this pandemic, uprising, and economic crisis? As we see Baseera preside over their apartment, we start to understand that the world we are experiencing is all in their head.

In Residence at Queenslab: September 11–October 11, 2020

Livestream Rehearsals: September 11–13 and 18

Livestream of Film Shoots: September 19–20 and 25–27

Rough cuts of selected scenes to be released after September 27


Featured performers: Brandon E. Burton, Vaginal Davis, Lia Gangitano and T De Long, Rico Gatson, Logan Jardine and Ethan Weinstock, Baseera Khan, Munira Lokhandwala, Amy Sillman

During a residency through The Kitchen at Queenslab, Baseera Khan will begin work on a pilot for a television show. In collaboration with a community of close friends, Khan will stage, direct, and perform scenes based on intimate, real-life conversations and situations. By creating a modular film set that replicates their own apartment, Khan cultivates comfort amongst their performers/friends and collapses the parallel realities of the often-lonely domestic life and abundant online social life that many are experiencing during the COVID-19 pandemic.  

The process of creating the pilot will be made public from the rehearsal phase through to the filming and editing of scenes. Online audiences are invited to tune in to rehearsals from September 11 through 13 and September 18. Livestreams will capture the rehearsals as they unfold in real time with unmediated dialogue via surveillance-style, silent footage in order to maintain the privacy of the performers as they freely share personal opinions. Following this period, Khan and Director/Producer Ethan Weinstock will create scripts based on the extemporaneous conversations. Khan and Weinstock will film these scenes with the performers and cinematographer Chris Wairegi from September 19 through 20 and 25 through 27, and these shoots will be livestreamed from the vantage of the on-set cameras. The residency culminates with Khan editing this footage and releasing rough cuts of selected scenes online between September 27 and October 11.

Curated by Lumi Tan.

Rough Cuts of Selected Scenes

By Faith is now in post-production as Khan edits footage from the film shoots to create rough cuts of selected scenes. The first set of rough cuts are available above, featuring rehearsal footage with Vaginal Davis, Munira Lokhandwala, and Logan Jardine and Ethan Weinstock. Additional clips will be made available later this week. For announcements directly to your inbox, sign up for our mailing list.

Production Credits

Director/Producer: Ethan Weinstock

Director of Photography: Chris Wairegi

Associate Producer: Akshay Jain

Lighting Designer: Abby Hoke-Brady

Lighting Assistant: S. Stolnack

Audio Supervisor: Drew Weinstein

Stagehand: Joe Wakeman

Camera operators: Sofia Tasa and Omar Guinier

Boom operator: Niko Manogalas

Commentary from Cast and Crew

During a residency with The Kitchen at Queenslab, Khan has been at work on a pilot for a television show titled "By Faith." In collaboration with a community...

Click here to read the full transcript of the By Faith Wrap Party.

Baseera Khan gives a walkthrough of the set for "By Faith," an experimental television set Khan has worked on during their residency as part of The Kitchen at Queenslab. To learn more, visit https://onscreen.thekitchen.org/baseera-khan.

Rehearsal Footage

During a residency through The Kitchen at Queenslab, Baseera Khan has been at work on a pilot for an experimental television show titled By Faith. In collaboration with a community of close friends, Khan staged, directed, and performed scenes based on intimate, real-life conversations and situations. This recorded livestream footage is of a rehearsal on September 13, 2020, featuring Baseera Khan with featuring Lia Gangitano and T De Long. This footage was livestreamed without sound in order to maintain the privacy of the performers as they freely shared personal opinions. To learn more about the project, visit https://onscreen.thekitchen.org/baseera-khan.

Click here to view more materials from By Faith, including rehearsal footage and behind-the-scenes images.

Film Shoot Footage

To learn more about Baseera Khan, "By Faith," visit The Kitchen OnScreen at onscreen.thekitchen.org.

Click here to view more film shoot footage from By Faith, along with rehearsal footage and behind-the-scenes images.

Behind-the-scenes Documentation

Click here to view more behind-the-scenes documentation.

Images and Videos: 1) Baseera Khan, By Faith backdrop, 2020. 2) Munira Lokhandwala and Baseera Khan in Baseera Khan, By Faith, 2020. Rough cut of Scene 4. 3) Logan Jardine, Ethan Weinstock, and Baseera Khan in Baseera Khan, By Faith, 2020. Rough cut of Scene 5. 4) Munira Lokhandwala and Baseera Khan in Baseera Khan, By Faith, 2020. Rough cut of Scene 6, part 1. 5) Vaginal Davis and Baseera Khan in Baseera Khan, By Faith, 2020. Rough cut of Scene 6, part 2. 6) Lia Gangitano, T De Long, and Baseera Khan in Baseera Khan, By Faith, September 13, 2020. Rehearsal footage at Queenslab. 7) Rico Gatson and Baseera Khan in Baseera Khan, By Faith, September 27, 2020. Film shoot footage at Queenslab. 8) Behind the scenes walkthrough of Baseera Khan, By Faith, September 27, 2020. 9) Rico Gatson and Baseera Khan, Baseera Khan, By Faith, September 27, 2020. Performance view at Queenslab. Photo by Ariana Sarwari. 10) Baseera Khan, Baseera Khan, By Faith, September 11, 2020. Behind-the-scenes view at Queenslab. Photo by Ariana Sarwari. 11) Baseera Khan, Ethan Weinstock, and Logan Jardine, Baseera Khan, By Faith, September 26, 2020. Performance view at Queenslab. Photo ©2020 Paula Court. 12) Baseera Khan, Baseera Khan, By Faith, September 26, 2020. Performance view at Queenslab. Photo ©2020 Paula Court. 13) Rico Gatson, Baseera Khan, By Faith, September 27, 2020. Behind-the-scenes view at Queenslab. Photo by Ariana Sarwari.


Baseera Khan: By Faith is made possible with commissioning support from Marta Heflin Foundation; annual grants from Lambent Foundation Fund of Tides Foundation, Howard Gilman Foundation, and The Cowles Charitable Trust; and in part by public funds from New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council and New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature.