The first transgender film festival in the city, after the Supreme Court declared the community the third gender, gets under way on Saturday.
The two-day festival, hosted by the Sahodaran Community Oriented Health Development (SCOHD) Society and the Progressive Writers and Artists Association’s Puducherry Film Forum, will be held at St. Antony Mahal near Venkata Subba Reddiar Square.
According to SCHOD Society president K. Sheethal Naik, the aim is to spark a debate among the public on the marginalised community. The festival is open to all.
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Chief Minister N. Rangasamy will be the chief guest at the launch at 4 p.m.
Film editor B. Lenin will open the event. M. Sivakumar, filmmaker, and S. Tamilselvan, writer, are expected to attend the inaugural. The screening of Mathi ennum manithanin maranam by Lenin and Narthagi by Vijayapadma will follow.
Sixteen films are being screened on Sunday. After each screening, the filmmaker will be felicitated.
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The movies are in Tamil, and the themes range from the existentialist ( Naan Yaar or Naanum Innoru Naanum ), identity ( Naanum Oru Penn or Naan Saravanilley ), while some films focus on the lives and struggles of transgenders.