A daughter reflects on her father’s life — weaving the story of his miraculous journey from the streets of India with the reality of life.

Join us to screen Karla Murthy's personal documentary THE GAS STATION ATTENDANT, and hear about the making of the film and her journey in media.

As a young boy, H. N. Shantha Murthy ran away from home to escape the extreme poverty of his Indian village. He travelled the country in search of work, dreaming that one day his life would change. It did, following a serendipitous encounter with a couple visiting India from Houston, Texas. But life in the States was not the “American Dream” come true. Karla Murthy’s film weaves together home videos and phone conversations recorded while her father worked as a gas station attendant in Texas, tracing her father’s incredible journey to America and his struggles to make a living. Alongside his story, she reflects on her own experiences as the daughter of immigrants (her mother is from the Philippines), trying to make a life of her own in New York City, and now as a mother of two boys. What emerges is an intimate love letter – a meditation on a complicated father-daughter relationship and a poignant tribute to the immigrant working class.

After a successful festival run, including DOC NYC 2025, THE GAS STATION ATTENDANT had a theatrical run this summer, and aired on POV this August. See the film and hear from the director about the process. Karla was a TWN workshop graduate. Light refreshments provided.

When: Wed, Sept 30th at 6 PM

Where: City College of NY: Shepard Hall Room 291, 259 Convent Ave at 140th street

(#1 to 137th street, ABCD to 145th Street) ID needed to enter building

Presented by Third World Newsreel and the Documentary Forum at CCNY and copresented by AAARI (Asian American/Asian Research Institute at CUNY).

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