Resisting Casteism in Australia, a 61-minute documentary directed by filmmaker and academic Dr Vikrant Kishore, will screen at the Melbourne Documentary Film Festival on Sunday, 19 July 2026, at Cinema Nova. The film follows Dr Kishore in conversations with academics, community leaders, doctors and Indian-Australian residents on topics of caste, migration, identity and belonging.
The documentary highlights personal accounts ranging from school experiences and social encounters to family life and community efforts. It presents these reflections without reducing them to case studies, emphasising the dignity of individual voices.
Dr Kishore stated that the work focuses on careful listening rather than using experiences as evidence. Contributors share varied professions and memories, with importance placed on being heard on their own terms.
The film examines recurring everyday situations such as questions about surnames, separate plates at meals or shifts in friendships when caste is mentioned. These moments are shown as distinct rather than identical.
Academic Dr Rupali S. Bhamare describes caste as a fixed structure that influences judgments in migrant settings through surnames and family backgrounds. She notes persistent microaggressions that follow people quietly.
Community member Neeraj Ramteke recalls public identification by caste in school and invisible boundaries in friendships that affect belonging.
Advocate Dr Haroon Kasim calls for institutions to listen to those affected and convert testimony into policy, stressing that progress requires affected voices to lead.
Doctor Dr Prashant Khobargade recounts an incident involving a separate plate framed as vegetarian preference but evoking earlier segregation practices.
