Do We Belong?

An Indian immigrant in Kansas is shot and killed in a senseless hate crime, leaving his wife to grapple with the question of whether America is truly her home.

In February 2017, just weeks after President Trump’s inauguration, Adam Purinton walked into a bar in Olathe, Kansas and shot Srinivas Kuchibhotla, a 32-year old Indian engineer who worked at Garmin.  The senseless murder was preceded by a verbal attack, during which Purinton shouted “get out of my country” and referred to Kuchibhotla as a terrorist. 

Now, the victim’s widow, Sunayana Dumala, struggles to piece her life back together and find a message of hope as she moves forward.

Days after her husband’s death, while Sunayana was en route to India for his funeral, she wrote a post on Facebook that gives this short documentary its title.  In it, she shared the journey that she and Srinivas took together, their hopes and dreams, and, ultimately, the tragic way in which all of that was cut short.  And then she wondered aloud if America was still the place that she and Srinivas had dreamed of, asking “do we belong here?” 

Sunayana’s post cuts to the heart of what has been on the minds of many as of late – both immigrants, as well as other marginalized groups.  And I think it provides more than just the title of the piece: it’s also a question for those who may be grappling with the same question.  Sunayana arrives at her own conclusion.

“From the beginning, from the very first conversation with Sunayana, I knew that the piece would be firmly rooted in her voice, and that it would center completely on her memory and experience of events, both in the content and the visual presentation. Also, that we would really try to get a sense of who Srinivas was. He’s still so much a part of Sunayana – the way she talks about him is incredibly vivid and full of emotion — and so we set out to make him a central presence in the film. And then, finally, the house they built together, is the anchor and an important symbol of home and belonging that helps frame the larger story.”

— Sofian Khan, Director

This film has had a long festival run, starting in the fall of 2018, and an online release with The Atlantic Selects and NBC Digital.  We’ve had the opportunity to partner with the state of Iowa to do a series of screenings in rural townships around the state, and one of the highlights of its nationwide screening tour was a slot at the Nantucket Project, where Sunayana took part in a taped conversation with one of the event’s founders.

It was also our first chance to have the team together at a screening, with producer Pulkit Datta joining director Sofian Khan with Sunayana in Nantucket.

The complete film is available to stream for free on The Atlantic.

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