Ek Aasha (A Hope) (2018, Dir. Mayur Katariya), will UK premiere on Friday 29th March, Regent Street Cinema. The film tells the story of a transgender girl's difficult journey to try to become a teacher in India. Simple dreams are often extremely hard to achieve for transgender people in India due to traditional and modern prejudices, despite there being a trans population of an estimated five million in the country. All transgender roles in the film are played by non-actor, transgender people from Mumbai, Delhi and Surat. The screening will be followed by a Q&A with director Mayur Katariya chaired by Daniel Luther, Queer Asia.
Marking the decriminalisation of homosexuality in India, Evening Shadows (2018, Dir. Sridhar Rangayan) will UK premiere on Wednesday 3rd April, Regent Street Cinema. The film is set in a small town in Southern India entrenched in conservatism. When a young, gay man, Kartik, comes out to his mother, her entire world comes crashing down. She has no one to turn to dispel her fears and doubts. Moreover, as a woman trapped within a patriarchal society, her biggest challenge is to deal with her dogmatic husband, Damodar, and the community around her. The screening will be followed by a Q&A chaired by Daniel Luther, Queer Asia.
Other titles screening at the cinema as part of the UK wide festival include the European Premiere of Tashi, and screenings of Even When I Fall, Dear Molly and many more. Please see the cinema's website at the link above for further details.
