In India, historically the most visible face to the queer community the Hijra community also is the most victimized: rape, violence, discrimination, and even death are motifs of their daily existence. To a lesser degree, the other transgender, gay, lesbian, bisexual, and queer-identified Indians go through similar ordeals. Walking the Walk follows the participants of Hyderabad's queer Swabhimana(self-respect) 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. This film demonstrates how a collective of activists do more than talk the talk; they set into motion a political movement that celebrates small successes, demands resources for working-class transgender people, stands up to police violence, and allows the community to grieve for lost loved ones.
Director's Biography
Born and brought up in a small town, Warangal in the state of Telangana, India and inspired by the Hindi parallel cinema of the 80's, Moses Tulasi had always wanted to get involved in making films that had social relevance. After spending over a decade in US with a career in technology, Moses pursued his passion for film making at Chicago Filmmakers in 2012. He had served on the board of Trikone-Chicago for six years, a support group for LGBT individuals of South Asian heritage and allies. In the winter of 2014, Moses took a sabbatical from work and traveled to India, tracing his roots back, in search of a socially relevant subject for his first film. Moses was inspired to give a platform to socio-politically charged queer rights movement in the city of Hyderabad, set against the backdrop of recently successful social movement which led to formation of a new state in India, Telangana in June 2014. This is how the documentary film Walking the Walk was made.
ABOUT INDIE MEME
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Indie Meme is a fiscally sponsored project of the Austin Creative Alliance. www.indiememe.com
Location
Asian American Resource Center (View)
8401 Cameron Rd
Austin, TX 78754
United States
