Nutkhut presents
Girmit
An immersive untold story of indentured labour
When disinformation was rife, when a fingerprint offered access to an unknown world and freedom was lost in translation, welcome to the word of ‘Girmit’.
Hand-painted using virtual reality
Award-winning immersive design
Bronze and People's Lovie Award 2021: 360 Degree and Virtual Reality category
Girmit
Girmit is an illustrative 360° short film, painted entirely by hand in virtual reality. It was premiered at Mozilla Festival 2021and has since toured many film festivals worldwide.
Girmit is the proud winner of the Bronze and People's Lovie Award 2021: 360 Degree and Virtual Reality category.
An Immersive Untold Story of Indentured Labour, 2021
'Girmit' is derived from the English word 'agreement'. It refers to the contract between people, mainly from South Asia, who signed an agreement written in a language they didn't understand, to undertake 'indentured labour' in the 19th and 20th century. The people who took on these contracts came to be known as 'Girmityas'.
Most people have heard of slavery. But the term ‘indentured labour’ is widely unknown. When slavery was abolished in 1833, the indentured labour system was created by the British and other European powers as a way to source cheap labour. Between 1828 and 1917 the indentured labour system facilitated the movement of 1.2 million Indians from their homes to Fiji and other colonies, thousands of miles away. Here they cultivated sugar, cocoa, rubber and other products. This was a legitimate but enforced mass migration of people to work on behalf of others.
Surprisingly, the word 'Girmit' does not exist in the Dictionary. The story of the Girmityas has become an untold story, one that despite affecting tens of thousands of people over the 90 years it was enforced, is not commonly known.
Experience in VR
Follow the link below to watch using a VR headset
Launch the YouTube app by clicking the button below and rotate your device for a complete 360° experience.
Wear headphones for the best experience.
Experience in 3 ways
Virtual reality, mobile device, desktop
Virtual reality: follow the link below to launch the Youtube app and then convert the video to VR view mode by clicking the headset icon.
Mobile device: Launch the YouTube app by clicking the button below and rotate your device for a complete 360° experience.
Desktop: use your cursor to drag the video in 360° whilst it is playing.
Always wear headphones for the best experience.
Girmit.World
Explore and experience the complex narrative of indentured labour through different lenses on Girmit World. Discover immersive artworks, interactive stories, multi-dimensional heirlooms, sounds of sugarcane, educational plug & play activities and more.
