Johnny Aroha

Tales of the Diaspora is the debut film from xxiivanu productions, and was conceived as a love letter to Pasifika youth around the world, as they navigate the sometimes tumultuous waves of finding and retaining cultural identity whilst growing up away from their homelands.

Yung Singh and Ministry of Sound present: The Birth of Punjabi Garage  The documentary has a wealth of unseen archive footage showing exactly how it was in the garages and studios of the young Bradford and Manchester lads from the beginning, to the events, weddings and festivals that marked their success. The documentary is bookended by Yung Singh and his infamous and iconic Boiler Room, giving credit to the elders who paved the way for the continuation of South Asian presence in British dance culture.  This documentary was produced in tandem with Yung Singh and is the first documentary to explore the genre. Documentaries have covered Bhangra, the 80s Daytimers and the Asian Underground but the South Asian diaspora’s involvement in the early 2000s Garage scene has never been covered and we are therefore proud to bring this to you!

The Feminist Library: A Short Film was made in support of the Save the Feminist Library Campaign, documenting a crucial moment in the library's herstory as it fights for its very survival. Shortlisted for the Women's History Network Community Prize, the film revisits the story of the library's inception and emphasises why feminism remains essential today.

Found footage: California in the 1950's and 60's. A young Indian couple enjoys their personal American dream come true in their home somewhere in the suburbs of San Francisco. In great detail they pose with their newly achieved wealth in front of their Super-8 camera. Just like postcards, they would send these film rolls to their joint families back in India. Around the same time, an American missionary couple visits the city of Calcutta to shoot a Christian propaganda film. The drastic reality with poverty and famine in the streets of the Indian metropolis fits perfectly into their wicked plan: To promote the faith in Jesus by showing the misery that pagan believers are doomed to suffer from.

Tales from Arab Detroit is a video documentary offering a fascinating glimpse into the lives and struggles of the Arab American community in the Detroit tri-county area.

An exclusive, festive behind-the-scenes look at the iconic London Zoo, as they prepare for the most wonderful time of the year and make the holiday magic happen.

The vivid and inspiring story of British film icon Michael Caine's personal journey through 1960s swinging London.

An overview of the people, lifestyle, and traditions of Samoa, as well tourism and other economic changes on the Samoan islands.

This film weaves across sound, image, time, rhythm and place and is made up of a number of layers both sound and visual layered on top of one another, talking to and informing each other. It is made using digital transfer versions of c90 tape compilations I made between 1992-1995, juxtaposed with moving image footage of me in 2018 and 2020 and a typeface font graphic ‘See Me’ that I designed in 2005. The c90 cassette on screen is the cassette compilation that I still have from 1994. The film also includes drawings and photographs and other artworks from my personal archive as an artist from the last 25 years.  As I walk down the streets that were so important in shaping my life as a young gay man living in London, I revisit the gay bars and pubs that have been my safe spaces for the last twenty years and more, spaces that are now closed.