Under the Open Sky

An intimate portrait of nomadic camel-herding in the desert lands of Western India

Under the Open Sky Ahmed and his family, nomadic camel-herders from India, face an existential dilemma: to continue their traditional way of life or to adapt to a rapidly modernising world. The film traces their quiet but powerful struggle to hold onto their ancestral way of life as they are increasingly displaced by industrialisation, climate shifts, and economic pressures.


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Festivals and Awards


Laurel Divvy Film Festival | Official Selection
Laurel London Migration Film Festival | Official Selection
Laurel Cuzco Underground Cinema Festival | Winner
Laurel ECOCINE International Environmental and Human Rights Film Festival | Official Selection
Laurel Muslim Film Festival | Finalist
Laurel Matsalu Nature Film Festival | Official Selection
Laurel International Film Festival of Shimla | Official Selection
Laurel DC South Asian Film Festival | Official Selection
Laurel Perspectives on Pastoralism Film Festival | Official Selection
Laurel Montevideo World Film Festival | Official Selection
Laurel Smaragdni Eco Film Festival | Official Selection
Laurel FICCSUR Chile | Official Selection
Laurel Pasturas Argentina Film Festival | Official Selection
Laurel Kolkata People’s Film Festival | Official Selection
LaurelSomeplace Else – Living Lightly Film Festival | Official Selection

Reviews and More

"An absorbing portrait of a threatened way of life” – The Guardian

"The film acts as a keeper of community memory for the Fakirani Jats… it tells us, the lands may have been taken, but the horizon is not foreclosed” – ASAP | art

"The film is simultaneously a testament to a way of life that is fast vanishing, and a critique of the corporate-state nexus that encroaches on lands, dispossessing populations” – Geographical Magazine

The Producers


Sonum Sumaria – Director

Sonum Sumaria is an award-winning British-Asian filmmaker and has been making films with marginalised communities for the past twelve years. She read Spanish and Russian at Cambridge University, and studied at the Cuban film school EICTV, going on to complete an MA in Cinematography at MetFilm School in London. She has a deep interest in indigenous and nomadic communities and is particularly drawn to the themes of identity and belonging.


Sienna Beckman – Producer

Sienna Beckman is a queer producer based in London, committed to supporting female-identifying filmmakers and underrepresented storytellers around the world. Working in LA for 10 years, Sienna produced content for NBCUniversal, Scott Free Productions, Verizon go90, Esquire TV, Refinery29, Prettybird Entertainment, Astronauts Wanted, and Disney Maker Studios, among others. Sienna is a frequent mentor with different organizations, such as Global Girls UK, Girls Club, #StartWith8, and Group Effort Initiative.


Christopher Hird – Executive Producer

Christopher Hird is the founder of Dartmouth Films, and has been one of the pioneers in independent documentaries in the UK for more than 15 years. He has produced films that have premiered at Sundance, Sheffield Doc/Fest, Hot Docs, Berlin and others. He was chair of Sheffield Doc/Fest and Doc Society as well as a trustee of the Grierson Trust, of which he is now a patron. In 2023 Dartmouth won the Screen International Award for the best documentary film campaign in British cinemas.

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