Musical Rites of Passage

Jeff Roy likes an adventure. And now that the U.S. Department of State and mtvU have announced the recipients of the Fulbright-mtvU Fellowships, we'll be able to see the results of his next one as he researches and creates a documentary "about how members of the LGBT community in India use music and dance to craft a contemporary, urban identity," according to a release.

Roy is currently working on a Ph.D. in ethnomusicology at UCLA and for his next project, he will work primarily in Mumbai "to examine how music and dance inform identities and self-affirmation within the context of social gatherings, political protests and religious rituals." Which sounds pretty cool to us. And you'll be able to track his progress throughout the year on mtvU's Fulbright blog. You might already be familiar with the Fulbright Fellowship program, but the Fulbright-mtvU Fellowships were established in 2007 to "promote the power of music as a global force for mutual understanding" and this year musical artists Foster the People, J. Cole, B.o.B, and Diplo helped select the recipients.

In case you're curious, Roy has already directed another film that covers similar themes, titled Mohammed to Maya, which delves into issues surrounding being transgender and tradition by showing a year in the life of Maya who has transitioned from male to female. Check out the trailer for it below.