Jamali spends time with hate preacher Ruben Israel and his fundamentalist disciples as they attempt to disrupt the New Orleans "Southern Decadence" festival.
Gay saunas are places where gay men meet strangers to have sex. With exclusive access to one Nottingham business, this documentary enters the notorious, secretive world of the gay sauna for the very first time.
The remote community of the Tiwi Islands, located 80km north of the Australian mainland, has a thriving gay and trans community known as the Sistagals. More than 5 percent of the Tiwi population identify as a Sistagal with most of them living publicly as women and observing local Indigenous traditions.
Li Ermao was born a boy, but has lived for many years now as a “ladyboy.” She performs in clubs, but yearns for true love and acceptance. The film follows her life for 17 years, in which she displays resilience and vulnerability in equal measure, and repeatedly encounters prejudice and even aggression.
She and her boyfriend move to the countryside. There, they try to build a new life in harsh conditions on a plot of land inherited from her family, but she is once again met with rejection. She returns to the city, where it looks like she might very well collapse under the pressure of life as a transgender person in China.
As the years progress, filmmaker Jia Yuchuan increasingly drifts from his position as neutral observer. He gradually becomes part of the story, like an older brother to his protagonist. In voice-over he shares his concerns, and when Ermao hits troubled waters, he’s there to help. This subjective style only adds to the story’s impact.
India’s got the world’s second-largest workforce. But trans people are still struggling.
Sunny is a trans person living in Pakistan. She begs in order to survive. Others get by as sex workers or dancers. As an expert for transgender issues at the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, Reem Sharif found a way to support her community.
Trans people in Pakistan are frequently cast out by their families and live in poverty. They can find safe spaces and a new family in special centers. Here, they do not have to hide and discover that they are not alone in their fight for survival and recognition in Pakistan’s conservative society.
Only around 10 thousand people of Pakistan’s population of 220 million are officially counted as members of the “third gender,” yet it’s estimated that the true figure may be as high as 300 thousand.