XXWhy is a documentary film on Sree Nandu, a Female to Male (F2M) transgender. The film is produced by Centre for Media & Cultural Studies (CMCS), Tata Institute of Social Sciences.
“Like a typical man, like a typical woman, I am a typical transgender”, declares Sree Nandu, a 25 year old transgender from Kerala. XXWhy directed by B. Manjula (Chair, CMCS) scans the translucent layers of Sree Nandu’s opaque personality through the virtual space Sree Nandu has painstakingly carved out to reach out the social space, hoping for a niche in the eluding comfort zone.
Suffering and redemption, destruction and self destruction, love and hatred, pain and joy all go entwined and entangled in Sree Nandu, while the under current is accumulating trauma and the determination to survive.
XXWhy also makes an attempt at clarifying many preconceived notions surrounding the transgender community while questioning the very existence of social positionalities and fixed gender identities; Is transgender born, gendered or choice by freedom? How good a Female to Male (F2M) can root self identity in a male-female society? What is the sexuality of an F2M while in sex with a woman? What does it mean to be labeled a lesbian, when you are an F2M transgender?
In 2008 XXWhy was short listed by Inside Out (the largest LGBT Film Festival, Toronto) and also screened London School of Economics. It also shared the top honor for the best documentary at the just concluded film festival at Kochi, by the School of Media Studies (SOMS).
(Screening details: Jan 29th, 2 pm at TISS, Mumbai)
(*Source: LABIA, Mumbai)
