Whitefish Bay Public Library Presents a screening of the full feature documentary On  Hands by local filmmaker Laj Perhad Waghray.

On Hands (2018) is a non-linear narrative which calls attention to an essential way of experiencing the world by using our hands.

“In a time when our experiences of the world are mediated through technology, this introspective, poetic film focuses our attention on an essential and tactile way of understanding it. By documenting the work of 20 Makers, this project explores the satisfaction they derive from working with their hands. On Hands had a unique opportunity to reach a particular audience stuck at home due to the pandemic. It is a remarkable story that documents the work of 20 artists.”
Bio
In 2023-2025, Waghray was selected to join the cohort of Milwaukee Film’s Focus Finders, a storytelling accelerator to nurture emerging filmmakers in Milwaukee.
In 2022, Waghray received a grant from Milwaukee Film’s Brico Forward Fund and accepted Marquette’s 2022-23 Emerging Filmmaker Fellowship, helping her continue the work on a film about an 80-year-old formerly incarcerated Milwaukee man.⠀Waghray⠀is a resident artist for ARTservancy, creating films around nature conservation, and produced a 2-minute film: Together, Alone (2020) documenting one doctor’s experience during the height of the pandemic. 

Also in process is Searching for Sparrows, a feature-length documentary addressing the disappearance of bird habitats caused by rapid urbanization in Hyderabad, India. She pitched this film at the Tribeca Film Festival (2017) and was a DVID fellow at Kartemquin Films (2014).

She is finishing production on two short films, Arthur Byas, a formerly incarcerated, peer support counselor dealing with the systemic problems within the criminal justice system. Janet Carr, a lifelong activist and advocate in the Asian American community, struggles with her spiritual desire to retreat from public view in a time when Asian American visibility is critical.

In 2012, She directed and produced Sleepovers, a coming-of-age film highlighting four suburban Milwaukee girls during three sleepovers over the course of 10 years. Her earlier works include Janet Fitch’s three-part series, Guns, Grief, and Grace in America (co-director, 2009) and Ramon Rivera-Moret’s On Calloway Street (co-producer, 2008).

In addition to her film work, she co-founded Didi, which aims to end violence against women and served on the board of Lynden Sculpture Garden, building programs to bring diverse members to the garden.