Connecting the Dots

Inside the 16th-century Rohtas Fort in Pakistan, a Gurdwara sits in various states of disrepair, largely unknown and rarely discussed. Pakistani architect Ravav has taken on the project of restoring it, navigating the practical and political complexity of preserving a Sikh sacred site in a predominantly Muslim country. The film follows his work and the thinking behind it, building a portrait of someone who believes that architectural heritage belongs to all of humanity, regardless of whose ancestors built it or prayed in it.

Connecting the Dots is a film about what happens when someone across a religious and cultural divide decides to act as a steward of someone else's history. Ravav's restoration work is not accompanied by grand declarations about interfaith understanding. He simply shows up, does the work, and believes the structure is worth saving. The film lets that quiet conviction speak for itself, suggesting that cultural memory can be shared across boundaries that politics has made it very hard to cross.