Documentary Trans Kashmir to be premiered in Delhi

The feature documentary Trans Kashmir by filmmakers SA Hanan and Surbhi Dewan will be premiered in New Delhi on 2 July. The film will be screened at the India Habitat Centre by Kriti Film Club to mark Pride Month.

The Kriti team referred to the first Pride March held in India — which took place in Kolkata on 2 July 1999 — called the Kolkata Rainbow Pride Walk. The oldest Pride March in South Asia, it marked the movement for queer rights, which has grown over time. The documentary was screened at the Kashish Film Festival earlier this month.

Trans Kashmir review: An incisive look at a community relegated to the margins of society

Trans Kashmir traces the transgender community in Kashmir and examines their shrinking spaces for employment in the state. The synopsis of the film reads, “Once entertainers and employees of the royal courts, they were believed to have mystical powers. Today they fight for dignity in life and death. Trans Kashmir is a film about the extreme hardships, resilience and beauty of Kashmir’s Hijra (transgender) community and their growing movement for basic human rights.” The screening of the film will be followed by a discussion with the filmmakers and crew.

Aanchal Kapur, the founder of Kriti Film Club, said, “This film screening is in solidarity with Pride Month and creates a public discourse on the lives and livelihoods of the Hijra community in Kashmir…for too long forgotten and invisible”.

The film screening is free and open to all.