Sridhar Rangayan – Fellow Named in Global List of Filmmakers Promoting LGBT Rights

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Mar 30, 2016
by Patrick Wilson
Sridhar Rangayan – Fellow Named in Global List of Filmmakers Promoting LGBT Rights

Salzburg Global LGBT Forum Fellow included in inaugural British Council’s “fiveFilms4freedom” Global List

Sridhar Rangayan at Session 506 - LGBT and Human Rights, New Challenges, Next Steps

Salzburg Global LGBT Forum Fellow, Sridhar Rangayan has been selected by the British Council for his inspiring work in the LGBT community.

The Indian filmmaker and gay activist, was selected by a worldwide nomination to be part of the British Council’s inaugural “fiveFilms4freedom” Global List. The list consists of 33 inspiring people from 23 different countries who are changing social perceptions about LGBTQ communities throughout the world.

The #fiveFilms4freedom Global List was launched in 2016 as a global social media campaign that aimed to highlight inspiring people who are using culture to promote freedom and equality, who are provoking debate, or are risking their lives to promote the rights of LGBT people in their society or country. #fiveFilms4freedom is part of the BFI Flare – the London LGBT Film Festival.

Rangayan is an award winning filmmaker with his most recent movie Breaking Free winning the Best Editing category of India’s 63rd National Film Awards. He also is the Founding Director of the Kashish Mumbai Queer Film Festival

Breaking Free was shot over seven years and embarks on a personal journey to expose the human rights violations faced by the Indian LGBTQ community due to Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, which carries a heavy sentence of 10 years or up to life for sexual activities considered “against the order of nature.”

The film is described as a truthful and honest film that exposes the brutality of the law, police and government in victimizing gay and transgender persons using Section 377.

Rangayan was a Fellow of the Founding gathering of the Salzburg Global LGBT Forum in 2013: LGBT and Human Rights: New Challenges, Next Steps. At the session, Rangayan spoke alongside Indonesian filmmaker Lola Amaria about “reflecting and creating new realities” through queer filmmaking. He has been an active member of the Global LGBT Forum ever since, which today includes a network of representatives from more than 54 countries on six continents.

That first session also saw the publication of the Salzburg Global LGBT Forum Statement on Advancing Human Rights for LGBT People and Communities, which highlighted the important role culture and the arts have to play in promoting “dignified and accurate representations” of LGBT individuals and communities