more-in “Mainstream portrayal of transgenders in movies is not up to the mark. There is gross stereotyping as directors seeking commercial success limit themselves to one popular image about us,” says Priya Babu, founder, Transgender Resource Centre (TRC), Madurai. In order to correct the course and bring the first steps towards change, the TRC, in association with the Visual Communication department of The American College, is hosting Madurai’s first ‘Transgender Film Festival’ on October 27 and 28. To launch the entries for the festival, a website was launched here on Saturday. “Short films and documentaries provide directors the freedom and space to make a point. They can produce quality content without constraints,” adds Ms. Babu. Through the festival, she aims at producing a sensitive conversation about the concept of gender and queerness. When she first began looking for material to add to her collection at her resource centre, Ms. Babu says that there was very limited content from India addressing the cause and struggles of transgenders. She also says that hardly do people trace the several contributions of this gender. She hopes that through the film festival, she can add new material to the centre. People need to have accessibility to educational content in the vernacular, she says. “The documentaries and films can be of any language and must have English subtitles. Any camera can be used to shoot the film. Students wanting to participate in the festival must pay ? 250 and others must pay ? 500,” she said. Ms. Babu added that the top 20 movies would be screened on day 1 and 2 of the festival. This would be followed by awards honouring the best three films, actors and background scores. Mainstream movie directors who have portrayed transgenders in positive light will be honoured as well. To register: http://transfilmawards.com/

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