Rhythm of Dammam is the first narrative feature film to explore the distinct cultural identity and historical struggles of the Siddi community in India—descendants of Bantu peoples brought to the subcontinent centuries ago as captives.
The film centers on twelve-year-old Jayaram Siddi, who becomes haunted by his late grandfather’s spirit, pushing his family toward ancestral rituals and the spiritual energy of Dammam music for guidance. The filmmaking itself is notable for its sensitive, immersive quality, carefully avoiding exoticization while establishing a visually rich, rhythmically structured world that elevates the music from mere backdrop to a core cinematic and spiritual force.
The director, an award-winning filmmaker with a deep familiarity with the community, expertly frames the haunting not just as an individual crisis, but as a metaphor for the burden of intergenerational trauma and the communal quest for healing.
As a work that bridges spiritual fiction with documentary realism, Rhythm of Dammam offers rare insight into the African diasporic presence in South Asia, celebrating the Siddi people’s unique devotional music as both a source of identity and a path toward profound spiritual restoration.
USA/India, 2024, 92 mins, drama in Kannada, Urdu (with English subtitles), Jayan Cherian, dir.
About director Jayan Cherian
Jayan Cherian is an internationally acclaimed filmmaker and poet known for his socially and politically committed work. A graduate of Hunter College and The City College of New York, his cinematic focus consistently addresses the complexities of marginalization and post-colonial identity. His previous features, which include the award-winning Papilio Buddha (2013) and Ka Bodyscapes (2016), have screened at prestigious events such as the Berlin International Film Festival. Cherian's films often blend fiction with ethnographic realism, cementing his reputation for creating formally ambitious works that challenge cinematic and social conventions.
"Jayan Cherian's film blends realism with surrealism to produce a strikingly vivid image of the Siddi community's intergenerational trauma." ~ The News Minute
“A mesmeric journey through the Siddis’ past and present.” ~ Swaroop Kodur, The News Minute
“An exceptionally evocative, visually arresting film … Hitting all the right notes.” ~ Saibal Chatterjee, NDTV
“A beautiful attempt in surreal documentation of a marginalized community.”~ Amartya Acharya, High On Films
