MADURAI
Film makers, academicians, historians and industrialists took part in the inaugural ceremony of the Transgender Short Film and Documentary Film Competition by the Transgender Resource Centre (TRC), here on Friday.
With over 30 film entries from across the country, the two-day film festival would cover a plethora of subjects, including abuse, perception, social stigma and empowerment. Transgender Resource Centre’s founder Priya Babu said the competition was started as a means to bring in more film literature on the subject of transgenders.
“When we first began, there were a very few indigenous films that one could point to. Only foreign films would highlight the pain, love, sufferings and freedom that transgender people felt. Many of those were not accessible too, she said. In order to augment the existing resources, we decided to host the competition,” she said.
The contest held in association with The American College’s visual communication department was a learning lesson for the students as well. By interacting with members of TRC, the students said that they got a better perspective about the lives of transgenders.
A total of 15 films were screened on day one along with several cultural performances from the transgender and student community. A. Revathi, the author of ‘The Truth about Me : A Hijra Life Story’ presented her life story in the form of a theatrical monologue.
M. Davamani Christober, Principal and Secretary of The American College, said the college supported transgender education and did not believing in discrimination based on gender. He said that the college would be willing to accommodate transgender teachers based on their qualification.
On day two of the festival, Secretary of the TRC, Mahalakshmi Raghavan, said that several awards would be distributed to the winners of the competition. Actors, actresses, directors and cinematographers will be honoured based on results by the jury. Cash prizes worth ₹ 25,000, ₹ 15,000 and ₹10,000 would also be given, she said.