Since mid- 2004, SAATHII's Chennai office has commenced community-building and awareness-raising activities geared towards the lesbian, bisexual, gay and transgender (LBGT) community in Chennai. Public events held thus far include a film-screening and discussion of the documentary For Straights Only, a discussion on safer-sex and STI prevention and the 2004 World AIDS Day Fim Festival. The office has established links with direct-service, advocacy and sexual health organizations working with LGBT and MSM populations in the city and other parts of the country.

If you want to contact SAATHII about training programs on gender and sexuality for NGOs and government agencies, please email saathii@yahoo.com with the words "Training program inquiry" in the subject line. If you are looking for information on informal support services for Chennai's alternate sexuality communities, please consider joining the mailing lists movenpick or lgbt-madras, both hosted on yahoogroups.com.

Acknowledgements for 2005 film-series: J-P Elbaz, Alliance Francaise of Madras, Sonali, Vikram Doctor, the GayBombay Collective, Sridhar, Girish and Vivek of Humsafar, and volunteers Benny, Mady, Preran and Ganesh.

INFORMATION ON 2004FILM FESTIVAL

SAATHII World AIDS Day 2004 Film Festival on Gender and Sexuality: Nov 29 - Dec 1
in collaboration with Alliance-Francaise of Madras

The global theme for World AIDS Day was gender inequality and its role in fuelling the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Because of the interrelatedness between oppressions based on gender and those based on sexuality, the film-festival showcased works addressing these issues, in the South Asian context. The film-screenings included discussions of the themes raised.

The films were held at Alliance-Francaise' auditorium at 40/New24 College Road, Chennai 600 006.

DAY I: MONDAY NOVEMBER 29, 2004

BEAUTY PARLOUR. dir. Mehreen Jabbar, 1998, Pakistan, 18 mins. Hindi
Four short sketches of the lives and loves of three women and a hijra as they talk about their desires traced through their visits to the beauty parlour and other everyday events.

MANY PEOPLE MANY DESIRES. 2004. dir. T. Jayashree, India, 45 mins. English, Tamil and Kannada.
First-person narratives of young men and women in Bangalore who brave a conservative society and stand up for their sexuality, gender-expression and rights.

DAY 2: TUESDAY NOVEMBER 30, 2004

I AM POSITIVE THAT WE SHALL OVERCOME. 2004. dir SASO, India,
10 mins, English and Manipuri Musical vignettes addressing disclosure of HIV status, hope and optimism.

PIKU BHALO ACCHEY. (Piku Is Fine), 2004. dir. Tirthankar Guha Thakurta, India, 48 mins, Bengali (subtitled) A semi-fictional narrative about a gay Bengali youth and his journey into self-acceptance.  ***The film-maker, a medical student in Calcutta, will be present for the screening.***

DAY 3: WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 1, 2004

VIRUS No. 1. dir Ramchandra PN, 2004 .India, 10 mins, Hindi and Gujarati.
A short documentary on infections, emotions and the role of the home.

PHIR SE ASHIYAN BANAYENGE HUM. 2003. dir. Timothy Gaikwad, India, 64 mins, Hindi. A pregnant woman discovers she has been infected with the HIV by her husband. The film ends on a note of optimism.

SAATHII  appreciates the collaboration and facilities extended by Alliance-Francaise of Madras in bringing this film-festival to Chennai