Surrey gang-prevention filmmaker Manbir Amar killed in neighbour dispute

Filmmaker and activist Manbir Amar, known for his anti-gang work in B.C.'s South Asian community, died after a violent dispute with a neighbour in Surrey.

Surrey filmmaker and anti-gang activist Manbir Amar mourned after fatal neighbour dispute

Friends, family and fellow activists are pledging to continue the work of Surrey filmmaker Manbir Amar, who died Wednesday following a violent altercation with a neighbour, Vancouver Sun Crime reports.

Police found Amar with fatal injuries just before 2 p.m. at a home on 61 Avenue near 141 Street in Surrey. Sgt. Timothy Pierotti of the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team said the death stemmed from a dispute between two neighbours that escalated.

"This was an isolated incident between two neighbours. Tragically this situation escalated to a point where a life was taken," Pierotti said.

A suspect was arrested at the scene Wednesday. As of Friday, no charges had been laid. Investigators have released few additional details about the circumstances of Amar's death.

"A large void" in gang-prevention work

Karen Reid Sidhu, executive director of the Surrey Crime Prevention Society, said Amar's death has left a significant gap in efforts to steer South Asian youth away from gang involvement.

"We have an obligation to carry on his legacy," Sidhu said. She worked alongside Amar for close to a decade on a youth mentorship program.

Sidhu recalled a story Amar once shared with her — one that had profoundly shaped his understanding of the stakes involved. He had sat in a teenager's bedroom while the boy's mother quietly retrieved an empty glass of milk from a bedstand sitting next to a 9-millimetre handgun, seemingly without alarm.

"This really shocked him," Sidhu said.

Three films, dozens of interviews, one mission

Amar produced three films over his career: a short film, a feature and an award-winning 2009 documentary titled A Warrior's Religion, which drew on dozens of interviews to offer an inside look at gang life in Metro Vancouver's South Asian communities.

His feature film, Footsteps Into Gangland — released in 2011 and described on IMDB as "an adaptation of true events that have shattered Metro Vancouver's South Asian community" — was financed by Amar himself through personal bank loans and lines of credit.

Lead actor Arvind Johal told Postmedia that Amar's commitment to getting the story on screen was total.

"He felt it was the only way for youth to feel the impact of the ugliness of what can happen in the gang lifestyle," Johal said. For years after the film's release, Johal said people approached him to describe how the film had affected them and prompted them to reconsider their choices.

"A real visionary"

Vancouver Police officer Kal Dosanjh, who leads in-school presentations encouraging youth to avoid gang involvement, credited Amar's work with driving a meaningful shift in how the South Asian community approached gang prevention.

"He was a real visionary," Dosanjh said.

Dosanjh recalled Amar describing how he had once slipped into Vancouver General Hospital to interview Bal Bhuttar, a well-known South Asian gangster, asking him what had drawn him toward gang life. Bhuttar spoke about his childhood.

"This precipitated a deep, insightful dive from the South Asian community to explore the impact that abuse and dysfunction in the household have on pushing kids to pursue drugs, gangs and crime," Dosanjh said.

Beyond the South Asian community

Amar's activism extended beyond gang prevention. Friend Ranjit Dhaliwal said Amar regularly visited shelters and parks in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside, distributing free meals during the COVID-19 pandemic.

"He asked me to volunteer alongside him at a soup kitchen on East Hastings to help feed those living on the street," Dhaliwal said. "I was scared but because of him I opened my heart and was able to serve without judgment."

His brother Gurbinder described Amar in a statement released Friday as a man of wide-ranging gifts who channelled them entirely into service.

"Mani touched the lives of many individuals. He was a talented individual who devoted his life to activism and the arts. Through poetry, prose, philosophy, painting, photography and filmmaking," Gurbinder said.

Investigation ongoing

The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team is continuing its investigation. Anyone with information is asked to contact the IHIT Information Line at 1-877-551-4448 or by email at [email protected].

Source: Vancouver Sun Crime