The Kenyan film, Rafiki, a romance about two teenage girls falling in love in Nairobi received positive reviews internationally when it was released last year, but was summarily banned at home as the subject of lesbian love was classified as “incendiary.” The head of film classification expanded on the board’s opinion – “The attempt to normalize homosexuality is akin to air-conditioning hell.” Director Wanuri Kahiu is suing the government for infringement of

All of us desi queers binge watching Made in Heaven are witnessing a not-so-quiet  revolution on the digital screen. While Bollywood plays catch up on the silver screen with the recent release of Ek Ladki Ko Dekha, internet-driven platforms have been offering wider and fuller representation of LGBTQ Indian characters for the past couple years. Made in Heaven, the steamy web series directed by Zoya Akhtar that premiered on Amazon in March, chronicles

In preparation for the sixty-third session of the Commission on the Status of Women at the United Nations kicking off next week, join the Center for Women’s Global Leadership (CWGL) and their annual dance party, which will be attended by women activists and organizers from around the world.  The event is co-promoted by Rutgers University’s School of Arts and Sciences and CWGL.  The party will take place on Thursday, March 14th

While Ek Ladki Ko Dekha is being heralded as mainstream Bollywood’s first feature focusing on a lesbian relationship, independent Indian filmmakers have been producing films with desi-queer themes for decades. BomGay, Fire, and My Brother Nikhil are one of dozens of critically acclaimed productions that have tackled the topic. We’re thrilled that Sholay’s very own visuals maestro, Lotus Visual, has co-produced a Marathi language short film, U for Usha— a nuanced

We’re very excited about the upcoming release  of “Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga”  directed by Shelly Chopra Dhar, and starring Sonam Kapoor, Rajkummar Rao and Anil Kapoor in what is billed a “coming-of-age queer romantic comedy-drama.”  Sonam portrays Sweety Chaudhary,who rejects all attempts by her Punjabi family to find her a husband because she is secretly in love with Kuku, played by Regina Cassandra.  While the trailer is quite subtle, (spoiler alert!) Sonam’s character

The 15th Annual South Asian International Film Festival is kicking off this week and will feature the official premier of Sridhar Rangavan’s “Evening Shadows” on Saturday, December 15th at 6:30 PM.  The film features on a mother-son relationship and how the mother deals with her son’s coming out of the closet and the father’s reaction and struggle to accept it. “Evenging Shadows” is also the Official Feature Selection in the festival’s Competition

..because it does. What’s at stake? Everything. We’re in the final stretch and we’re all getting nervous with dark money and voter suppression tactics potentially tipping the scales against progress. If your state has early voting, please make sure to vote as soon as possible.  Otherwise, there’s a lot one can do in the days leading up to November 6th, even in our “safe bubble” of New York City.  Swing Left’s

We were thrilled to co-sponsor Wednesday night’s #Micropolis event at WNYC”s  Greene Space to celebrate the recent demise of India’s archaic law, Section 377, which outlawed gay sex. The evening featured moving panel discussions, fab drag performances, beats by Ashu Rai and was hosted by Arun Venugopal. Thanks to Riddhi Sandil, Gayatri Gopinath, Lal Batti and Sundari Indian-Goddess for an engaging and informative evening—and for the years of solidarity + activism…moving the needle on LGBTQ movements across the diaspora. If you missed