Centerpiece Films

The 2 Indian and 2 International Centerpiece Films – one each of narrative and documentary – represents not only a unique voice of an auteur, but presents a diverse point of view that is rarely seen, contextualizing today’s urgent narratives.

Indian Narrative Centerpiece

SHEER QORMA 
Dir: Faraz Arif Ansari
30 min / 2021 / Narrative Short / India / English, Hindi, Urdu

Sheer Qorma is a story of belonging and acceptance, identity and family, and how it comes together under one roof, as resilient, queer Muslim women and non-binary characters of colour, choose to embrace love that exists beyond their personal beliefs and social moralities.

Indian Documentary Centerpiece

TRANS KASHMIR
Dirs: Surbhi Dewan, S A Hanan
62 min / 2022 / Documentary Feature / India / English, Kashmiri, Urdu

Once entertainers and employees of the royal courts, they were believed to have mystical powers. Today they fight for dignity in life and death. TRANS KASHMIR is a film about the extreme hardships, resilience and beauty of Kashmir’s Hijra (transgender) community and their growing movement for basic human rights.

International Narrative Centerpiece

WILDHOOD
Dir: Bretten Hannam / 99 min / 2021 / Canada / Micmac, English / Narrative Feature / First Feature

In a rural east-coast trailer park, a two-spirited Link lives with their* toxic father and younger half-brother Travis. When Link discovers their Mi’kmaw mother could still be alive, it lights a flame and they make a run for a better life with Travis in their tow. On the road the duo meet Pasmay, a pow wow dancer drawn to Link. As the brothers journey across Mi’kma’ki, Link finds community, identity, and love in the land where they belong.

* They/ Them / Their are the preferred pronouns by Two-spirited persons.

 

International Documentary Centerpiece

SEYRAN ATEŞ: SEX, REVOLUTION AND ISLAM  
Dir: Nefise Özkal Lorentzen
82 min / 2021 / Documentary Feature / Norway, China, Germany, Spain / Arabic, German, Turkish

In the 1960s, the hippies championed the idea of a sexual revolution. They received neither Fatwas nor bodyguards. Today, Seyran Ateş – a Turkish- German lawyer, feminist, and one of the first female imams in Europe – is fighting for a sexual revolution within Islam. In return, she was shot, received fatwas and death threats, and now has to live under constant police protection.