I Am Home

From the makers of the award-winning documentary Rooting for Roona comes I Am Home, a deeply personal and poignant film that delves into the universal human need for belonging while spotlighting India’s most vulnerable children, those who are abandoned, surrendered, or without families. As of 2024, India has an estimated 31 million surrendered, abandoned, or orphaned children, but tragically, only 4,000 are adopted each year. Directed by Pavitra Chalam and Akshay Shankar, and produced by Veerappan Murgappan and Curley Street Media, the film highlights the lives of these children and offers a message of hope and resilience, avoiding blame or negativity. I Am Home provides a powerful platform for their stories, urging viewers to see beyond the numbers to the individual lives affected by this crisis.

The film is deeply intimate, inviting the audience into the children's world, allowing them to experience life through their eyes. Using a narrative that blends empathy with cinematic creativity, I Am Home takes a fantastical approach to storytelling. Six distinct groups of children are featured, each with their unique challenges, ranging from those who are adopted, to children who are legally free for adoption but still waiting for families, to children in care homes, to street children living outside any formal care system. The film also highlights other vulnerable populations like HIV-positive orphans, and unwed pregnant minors, illuminating the multifaceted reality of child welfare in India.

Alongside the stories of the children, the film will shine a light on the unsung heroes of child welfare in India; social workers, caregivers, advocates, and institutions like the Railway Protection Force who are tirelessly working to create safe spaces for these forgotten children. After three years of comprehensive research, I Am Home seeks to inspire action and awareness, focusing on systemic challenges while offering a solution-based narrative. The film asks its viewers not only to see the children but to ask, “What can we do to help?” It is an exploration of belonging, resilience, and the power of community to create change.

For the past two years, our team has been deeply engaged in studying the experiences of Children in Need of Care and Protection in India. Through thorough exploration and meaningful conversations with both the children and experts in the field, we've gathered valuable insights, which we've compiled into a comprehensive research document. While the document is still a work in progress as we continue to gather new information, we aim to complete it by October. You can access the current version here.

Key Crew

Directors:

• Pavitra Chalam: Founder and Director of CurleyStreet Media, Award-winning director of Rooting for Roona, winner of the Women in Film Finishing Fund Grant at Sundance and recipient of the Asia Pacific Award for Outstanding Documentary Talent at DocWeek. Link to profile - here. Link to IMDB page - here.
• Akshay Shankar: Co-director and CEO at CurleyStreet Media. An award-winning director who pioneers key storytelling initiatives, bringing a focus on human-centered narratives. Link to profile - here. Link to IMDB page - here.

Produced by:

• Veerappan Murugappan: Founder of Coromandel Productions, a well-known South Indian industrialist, a key figure of the Murugappa group. Link to profile - here.
• CurleyStreet Media: An award-winning film and video production company based in Bangalore, India. A team of skilled and passionate storytellers. Link to our website - here.

Selling Points

• Directed by Pavitra Chalam and Akshay Shankar, the award-winning filmmakers behind Rooting for Roona.
• Chalam won the Sundance Women in Film Finishing Fund Grant. for Rooting for Roona.
• Indelible, another Chalam film, received the Asia Pacific Award for Outstanding Documentary Talent at DocWeek.
• 50% of the total budget for I Am Home has already been secured, ensuring strong financial backing.
• This is India’s first documentary focusing on adoption and orphaned children, making it a pioneering project with a built-in audience from the success of Rooting for Roona.
• Gaining access to Children in Need of Care and Protection, particularly for media involvement, can be challenging due to the risks it poses to their safety and vulnerability. However, through our team's dedication and unwavering commitment to telling their story responsibly, we have been able to overcome these barriers and have secured all necessary permissions to work with the children and individuals we aim to feature.