| Eunuchs India’s Third Gender (1991) | Eunuchs: India’s Third Gender”, explores the ancient tradition of the Hijras of India and how their life style has changed from healing gurus to prostitution in modern India. Trailer |
| Khush 1991 | Khush means ecstatic pleasure in Urdu. For South Asian lesbians and gay men in Britain, North America, and India, the term captures the blissful intricacies of being queer and of color. Inspiring testimonies bridge geographical differences to locate shared experiences of isolation and exoticization but also the unremitting joys and solidarity of being khush. |
| Main hijra hoon: A Eunuch Named Sunita (1998) | It is a self portrait of a Hijra named Sunita. Trailer |
| Summer in My Veins (1999) | A young man has takes an HIV test after finding out that a man with whom he’s had unsafe sex is HIV positive. Before he can get the results of his test though he’s committed to a trip with his mother who he’s decided to come out to. |
| Performing the Goddess: Chapal Bhaduri’s Story 1999 | At one time the star of Bengal’s stage, Chapal Bhaduri spent his life playing women in the village theatre. More recently, he has been performing the goddess of disease, Sitala Mata, who cures souls from both spiritual hauntings and ailments such as poxes and pustules. |
| Bombay Eunuch (2001) | A haunting evocation of the emotional and political lives of a family of eunuchs living in the margins of today’s India. Trailer |
| Many People, Many Desires (2007) | Cutting across class, gender, language and caste, the film tells the stories of gay/bisexual/lesbian persons living in Bangalore. Its aims to mobilize debate and generate support from within and outside the sexual minority communities.https://vimeo.com/180147764/ |
| Project Bolo: Indian Lgbt Movement (2011) | For the first time in India, 20 LGBT persons in four cities open up in a candid manner to offer an inside view into their lives, views and accomplishments in PROJECT BOLO, meaning ‘Project Speak Up’. https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLUZif4ZHk0zo2buV6xKcbegdDSXXsa0zB&feature=share |
| Transgenders: Pakistan’s Open Secret (2011) | Day to day lives and hardships of Pakistan’s discriminated transgender class. |
| Main Mona Ahmed (2013) | It is a documentary on a eunuch named ‘Mona Ahmed ‘ a 75 year old who left her community and now lives in graveyard from last 15-20 years in Daryaganj, old Delhi. Watch |
| Chuppan Chupai (2013) | A group of Pakistani sexual minorities, raise questions about transgender activism, religion, underground gay life, social acceptance and collective familial customs of transgender women in urban Pakistan. |
| Purple Skies (2014) | Heartrending stories of LBT people victimized and subjugated by the law, the family and society, as well as hopeful stories of youngsters who have come out of the closet bravely. https://youtu.be/U52Blo2o3SY |
| Pakistan’s Hidden Shame 2014 | A look into the sexual abuse suffered by the children living in the North-Western city of Peshawar in Pakistan. |
| Breaking Free (2015) | Filmmaker and gay activist Sridhar Rangayan embarks on a personal journey to expose the human rights violations faced by the LGBTQ community in India due to a draconian law Section 377 and homophobic social mores of a patriarchal society. https://youtu.be/ESpLy_BEBO4 |
| Walking the Walk (2015) | Walking the Walk follows the participants of Hyderabad’s queer pride march in February 2015. The walk draws inspiration from the most recently successful social movement which led to formation of a brand new state in India, Telangana. |
| Transindia (2015) | Transindia takes you on a journey on their true lifestyles, a discovery of their beliefs and cultures, and an insight in how they struggle to find a place in the Indian society. Trailer |
| Mardistan: Reflections on Indian Manhood (2015) | Mardistan (Macholand) is an exploration of Indian manhood articulated through the voices of four men from different generations and backgrounds. Watch |
| In the Mood for Love (2015) | The Film explores queer love and relationships, togetherness, love, sexuality and illegality in India, through stories of individuals who turn an inward gaze and reflect on themselves and their everyday negotiations. |
| The Saints of Sin (2016) | A story of the 7 sins and 8 women spread all over the globe between Nairobi, New York, New Delhi and Bombay. Their journeys … their struggles and their negotiations with society and morality. |
| Koovagam (2017) | Party animal Rosh goes for a bash he’ll never forget – with 100,000 members of the transgender community. Part 1 Part 2 |
| Is It Too Much to Ask? 2017 | ‘Is it too much to ask’ follows the journey of two friends Smile and Glady – looking for a rental apartment in Chennai and the obstacles and social stigma they encounter in not just looking for a home but being single and the fact that they are transgender women. |
| Ladies and Gentlewomen (2017) | It is an attempt to break the silence in the area of comprehending the dynamics of lesbianism. Probably the first move in the Tamil scenario, this documentary aims to dialogue about the conspicuous silence around the body politics and relationship which is misspelt as social stigma. |
| Welcome Valentine (2017) | The film explores the ideas of love, politics and Hindu religion in contemporary Ahmedabad, Gujarat through a priest who has been marrying off eloping couples in a Hanuman Temple. Not just eloping couples but also people from the LGBT community. https://vimeo.com/235712703 |
| Inaayat (2017) | It is a positive documentary movie on a gay professor and his relationship with his mother. It reveals the positive life of himadri and how his mother supports him from his childhood. Trailer |
| Bird Of Dusk (2018) | Bird of Dusk is a documentary on Rituparno Ghosh, directed by Sangeeta Dutta. https://youtu.be/oqIDoz3nRz8 |
| Gopi (2018) | Gopi was the youngest and first intersexual to run in the Legislative Assembly elections in the state of Tamil Nadu in India. Everyday, Gopi fights for the rights of the intersex people and the LGBTQIA community. https://vimeo.com/301032487 |
| Nirvana (2018) | For eighteen days of the year, the small village of Villipurgam in Tamil Nadu is transformed into ‘Koovagam’, the largest gathering of transgender women in Asia. Filmmaker Jess Kohl visited the area with the support of local transgender NGO Born2Win to film this compelling portrait of the lives of two attendees—Aaliyah Kahn and https://youtu.be/mIxbcNG_qb0 |
| Please Mind The Gap (2018) | The snaking lines of the tube connect the whole city of Delhi, the national capital. Passengers’ board from different places and head in several directions. The Film is one such ride with Anshuman, a transman. It attempts to look at the metro space from his perspective. Doors will open on the quest. https://youtu.be/i3v81rP8b98 |
| Singular: The Queen of Success (2019) | It is the first cinematic documentary on the Life of the Transmodel Archie Singh. The film shows the struggle of the model beginning from her childhood to the dream she has achieved. Trailer |
| Arekti Meyer Golpo 2019 | Arekti Meyer Golpo’ or Tale of just another girl is the true to life story of Suman, a man with the identity of a woman. Even as a child, Suman felt more comfortable being dressed as a girl or doing girly things. As he grew up, he realized his orientation, knew about the term ‘third gender’. |
| Mohini: Men in Sarees (2019) | It follows Marathi Television Actress Sharmila Rajaram Shinde as she tries to satiate her curiosity about the crossdresser folk dancers of Maharashtra. After a chance encounter with a male lavni artist, Shinde takes us along on her journey of insights she gathers about the art, history and taboo surrounding the dance form. |
| Buried Seeds (2019) | Buried Seeds, a film by Andrei Severny, is a timeless story of human passion, willpower, and resolve in the face of adversity. The film follows Michelin Star Chef Vikas Khanna’s on his journey as an immigrant. |
| Her-Story (2019) | Her-Story is a short documentary film made using medium of live action film making and animation to paint the lives of two Trans-women of the Indian LGBT community, Atri and Pinot. |
| Demigods (2019) | June is Pride month across the world. In India, Hijras are an officially recognised third gender. Despite this, the transgender community still face untold levels of discrimination and persecution. |
| Being Queer & Indian (2020) | Sanjeev talks about his life growing up as a Queer Indian and what our older generations should be doing to create a better experience of our fellow LGBTQ Indian community. We talk about breaking generational and traditional norms to shed light on the importance of humanity and unconditional love. |
| Gay India Matrimony (2020) | Shot over the period of five years, from 2014-2019, a tumultuous period in the struggle for queer rights, the film engages with the diverse perspectives, debates and humorous transactions that go on in one’s interaction with the institution of marriage and unpacks our worlds of desires, expectations and the dreams of expanded rights. Trailer |
| Accsex (2020) | This National Award winner explores beauty, ‘ideal body’ and sexuality, through stories of women living with disability. |
| Admitted (2020) | Admitted is a striking, uplifting and pathbreaking journey of five decades to become the first Transgender student of Panjab University. https://youtu.be/V__QNg3jkhY |
| Outcast (2020) | This documentary is a prelude to the September 6, 2018 landmark judgment of the Supreme Court of India that had decriminalized homosexuality in the country. https://youtu.be/Shs82IsRMfw |
| Showgirls of Pakistan 2020 | Enter the universe of three mujra dancers in Pakistan as they dodge state censorship and violence to vie for stardom. |
| Sab Rab De Bande (2020) | Sab Rabb De Bande brings forth the various challenges that LGBTQ Sikhs grapple with and the different ways in which they reconcile their faith and gender/sexual identities. The documentary, through interviews with LGBTQ Sikhs, captures the varied experiences of queer Sikhs. https://youtu.be/Wo71EPKVNTE |
| Secrets of Seenagers (2020) | For the first time ever older gay men from India have come together on the screen and shared their amazing lives and experiences. Trailer |
| Olpo Jana Golpogulo/The Less Known (2020) | A documentary about marginalized gender and sexual minorities of North Bengal. Trailer |
| This Beautiful Journey (2020) | Escape “remotely” or “virtually” from home to India! Find local treasures with me in the regions of Delhi, Haryana, and Kolkata where no commercial tour guide will take you to. The rustic and new India is at your fingertips now. Watch |
| Desire? (2020) | The every day realities of some people who identify as asexual, creating small ruptures in the homogenising culture of hypersexuality. Watch |
| Mangalamukhi: Blessings of a Transgender (2020) | Guddi and Kanchi live in Uttar Pradesh and struggle to survive as transgenders in the society. Comparing themselves with transgenders in Indian folklore who were considered above men or women, they struggle for their basic human rights and acceptance in today’s world. Watch |
| CHAATLA(#சாட்லா) (2021) | A movie featuring real trans women who are from the dark corners of Tamilnadu. This movie is at once a document as well as a tribute to their courage, facing insurmountable odds through every single day of their lives. |
| Kathegala Kanive: The Valley of Stories (2021) | Kathegala Kanive documents the inspirational journey of the trans-artists who learnt photography through Aravani Art Project. |
| Body, Home, and World: Queer Desi Journeys (2021) | A web-documentary on the South Asian American LGBTQ+ community, its complex and rich bond with family. |
| Towards Hope (2021) | It is a conversational documentary on Milin Dutta’s life journey as a trans man, as he navigates his life between his birth place in Guwahati, Assam and workplace in Minneapolis, USA. Trailer |
| Emergence: Out of the Shadows 2021 | For Kayden, Jag, and Amar, awakening to and expressing their sexuality within conservative South Asian families was a lonely and terrifying experience. Denial, shame and despair haunted their youths, even threatening their lives. Yet, they’ve emerged. In the gripping feature documentary Emergence: Out of the Shadows, the disparate journeys of Kayden, Jag and Amar candidly converge around a shared sense of compassion and healing as they bravely convey their often heart-wrenching stories. |
| Mitr Clinic (2021) | A documentary on India’s first comprehensive health clinic for the transgender community, known as the Mitr Clinic. |
| Yeh Freedom Life (2021) | Filmed in Ambedkar Nagar, a dense, largely working class area in South Delhi, Yeh Freedom Life tries to keep up with its protagonists, as they manoeuvre erratic and unpredictable love. One of them works at a local beauty parlour; the other runs the family’s small cigarette counter at a crowded intersection. They are surrounded by a cacophonous city; they are both in love with other women. The film accompanies them through their desire to live according to their ‘freedom lives’, outside of society and family’s constant scrutiny and sanction. |
| Raja Bhau 2022 | Raja Bhau tells story of Rajesh Kachi, a man passionate about saving lives. Film explores his journey of selflessness, now a respected figure helping community. a true hero using skills to improve lives. |
| Amma’s Pride 2022 | Srija, a trans woman from South India, navigates the complexities of her marriage, advocating for its legal recognition while also battling to sustain it, all with the wholehearted support of her devoted mother, Valli. |
| The Children of God (2022) | This documentary looks at the social taboos prevailing in the social-cultural framework of India. Sanam, a young school girl, begins to feel that she is psychologically transformed from a girl to a boy, and starts to cut her hair, wear, walk and behave like a boy. |
| Trans Kashmir (2022) | Offering an intimate glimpse into their unique culture, resilience, and beauty, this documentary chronicles the Kashmiri Hijras’ growing movement to secure basic human rights. Also featuring the pre-eminent gender rights activist in Kashmir, who is fighting to ensure the future survival of this community. |
| I Am Sirat (2023) | A transgender woman must act as her mother’s son at home in New Delhi, but can be the woman she really is with her friends and at work with the Government of India. |
| My Hindu Coming Out Story (2023) | 28-year-old Anish came out as gay ten years ago. He’s since felt disconnected from his faith and the wider Hindu community, but now wants to find out if he can celebrate being both gay and Hindu. |
| Belonging: A Trans Immigrant Story (2023) | Anjali Rimi shares her gender journey as a trans immigrant woman, and the challenges she faces in leading United State’s first and only Transgender-led South Asian Organization called Parivar (Family). While creating Transgender centering spaces with a focus on Global South Immigrants in San Francisco Bay Area, Anjali’s fight for acceptance and equal opportunity is not confined to the United States. She helped countless trans, hijra and kinnar folks in India during and after the pandemic. |
| Beyond the Blues 2023 | Beyond the blues is the story of Neel and Shamu, in their individual and collective journeys of breaking and unmaking binaries, never quite settling down in the comfort of borders and categorizations. It is the story of finding love and resilience in quiet corners, feline kinships and vibrant colors of the rainbow. It is a promise to hold hands, walk in strength and solidarity, to facilitate newer journeys. |
| Hridoy Bosot 2023 | An intimate portrayal of Sudeb Suvana, a transgender, who undergoes Gender Affirmative Surgery in order to negotiate the conflict of body and mind. |
| Mangalmukhi- The Third Gender 2023 | Kinnar who are also known as Hijra in the society. As soon as they are born, they are cursed to hear the criticism and taunts of the society, whereas according to their belief, they had received the boon of congratulating them in auspicious works from Lord Rama himself. That is why this community was also called Mangalmukhi. |
| Bend It Like Bollywood 2023 | Gender non-conforming dancer Vinay believes you don’t have to be restricted by gender. He tackles it with friends and family and tries to put on an event to change his life forever. |
| Transcending Boundaries: Eight Years of Transgender Policy in Kerala 2023 |
LGBTQ India Resource 