A QUIET RECKONING

At a time when the geopolitical shifts are having a huge impact on the discourse on LGBTQ rights, this film tells the story of how the determination of one man and his team changed the lives of the LGBTQ community in a city where they lived underground, hidden lives. The impact of the work of Sunil Menon and his team at the LGBTQ organisation he started 20 years ago in Chennai, has been transformative. Through Sahodaran’s seminal work starting from a time when being gay was criminal under the Indian constitution, to the present day when constitutional change has finally become reality, and the stories of gay and transgender people whose lives were impacted by this work, we see how the power of lived experience and the determination to engage and support and empower the LGBTQ community has translated into real societal change. The film offers a rare look into their lives and history and celebrates their courage, resilience, and joy.

The impact mission for this film is to foster active reflection, outreach and support. And ultimately to influence and catalyse tangible social and policy change in different parts of the world. This film offers an insight into the LGBTQ+ experience in a part of the world where until recently they were criminalised, challenging stereotypes, and amplifying marginalised voices.

We hope that this rare view of the LGBTQ lived experience in another part of the world will inspire audiences to look at their own society to ensure that their LGBTQ communities are living their full authentic lives.

Sunil Menon has been a friend for several years now and we have closely followed his work and that of Sahodaran over the years. It is through them that we have been able to secure the deep access to the community.

Sahodaran has become a haven for the LGBTQ community in a country where they have been invisible. It has offered them a safe place to begin an authentic journey—one that goes beyond legal and societal limitations, affirming their right to live full, visible, authentic lives in their communities. While this is the story may be different from that of LGBTQ communities in different parts of the world, it offers inspiration and a call to all of us to ensure equality, justice, support, courage and resilience, in a world where the lives of LGBTQ communities still remain complex.