Shabana Azmi is an Indian actress of film, television and theatre. Her career in the Hindi film industry has spanned over 160 films, mostly within independent and neorealist parallel cinema, though her work extended to mainstream films as well as a number of international projects. One of India's most acclaimed actresses, Azmi is known for her portrayals of distinctive, often unconventional female characters across several genres. She has won a record of five National Film Awards for Best Actress, in addition to six Filmfare Awards and several international accolades. The Government of India honoured her with the Padma Shri in 1998 and the Padma Bhushan in 2012.
Kaifi Azmi was an Indian Urdu poet. He is remembered as the one who brought Urdu literature to Indian motion pictures. Together with Pirzada Qasim, Jaun Elia and others he participated in many memorable Mushaira gatherings of the twentieth century. He was also a communist who wanted to see India one day become a socialist state. His wife was theatre and film actress Shaukat Kaifi.
Monika Treut is a German filmmaker. She made her feature film debut with Seduction: The Cruel Woman, a film that explores sadomasochistic sex practices. She has made over 20 films, including the short documentaries Annie and My Father is Coming. Treut’s involvement extends across writing, directing, editing and acting.
Namkeen (transl. Salty), is a 1982 Hindi-language social drama film, directed by Gulzar, and starring Sanjeev Kumar, Sharmila Tagore, Shabana Azmi and Waheeda Rehman. It was yet another film by Gulzar made on some very sensitive but untouched aspects of Indian society especially in rural areas. The story Akal Basanta was by Samaresh Basu on whose story, Gulzar had previously made Kitaab (1977).
Garm Hava is a 1973 Indian drama film directed by M. S. Sathyu, with Balraj Sahni as the lead actor.
Umrao Jaan is a 2006 Indian period musical romantic drama film produced and directed by J. P. Dutta, based on the Urdu novel Umrao Jaan Ada, and is about the famous Tawaif of the title. Aishwarya Rai stars in the lead role along with Abhishek Bachchan, Shabana Azmi, Sunil Shetty, Divya Dutta, Himani Shivpuri and Kulbhushan Kharbanda in supporting roles.
Train to Pakistan is a 1998 Indian Hindi film adapted from Khushwant Singh's 1956 classic novel by the same name set in the Partition of India of 1947 and directed by Pamela Rooks. The film stars Nirmal Pandey, Rajit Kapur, Mohan Agashe, Smriti Mishra, Mangal Dhillon and Divya Dutta.
The Elements trilogy of films by Indo-Canadian filmmaker Deepa Mehta deals with controversial issues of social reform on the Indian subcontinent. Fire, the first release in 1996, dealt with issues of arranged marriage and homosexuality in the patriarchal culture of India. Earth, released in 1998, dealt with the religious strife associated with the partition of India and the formation of Pakistan in the mid-20th century. Water, released in 2005, was the most critically successful of the three, and dealt with suicide, misogyny, and the mistreatment of widows in rural India.
The Iris Prize, established in 2007 by Berwyn Rowlands of The Festivals Company, is an international LGBTQ film prize and festival which is open to any film which is by, for, about or of interest to gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender or intersex audiences and which must have been completed within two years of the prize deadline.
Rehana Sultan is an Indian actress best known for her debut role in the acclaimed 1970 film Dastak which won her the National Film Award for Best Actress. A graduate of Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), Pune, she is also known for another bold role in the film Chetna (1970), which got her typecast thus ending her film career, despite its promising start. She said "The sex in my films was not forced, but part of the narrative. Today, I feel these scenes are used for commercial reasons. All I can say is Babuda was ahead of his times."
Amber L. Hollibaugh was an American writer, filmmaker, activist and organizer concerned with working class, lesbian and feminist politics, especially around sexuality. She was a former Executive Director of Queers for Economic Justice and was Senior Activist Fellow Emerita at the Barnard Center for Research on Women. Hollibaugh proudly identified as a "lesbian sex radical, ex-hooker, incest survivor, gypsy child, poor-white-trash, high femme dyke."
Kam Kardashian is an American web series written by Fawzia Mirza and Ryan Logan and directed by Logan, which premiered on February 14, 2012, via YouTube. Filmed in Chicago, IL, the comedic show chronicles the day to day adventures of Kameron, the fictional long-lost lesbian sister from a very famous family, and her best friend Mary Hollis. The show is directed by Ryan Logan, shot by Amanda Clifford, and based on a character created by Fawzia Mirza. In January 2013, it announced it would return for season two after a successful Kickstarter campaign, premiering in mid-March.
Lena Waithe is an American actress, producer, and screenwriter. She is the creator of the Showtime drama series The Chi (2018–present) and the BET comedy series Boomerang (2019–20) and Twenties (2020–21). She also wrote and produced the crime film Queen & Slim (2019) and is the executive producer of the horror anthology series Them (2021–present).
Signature Move is a 2017 American indie comedy-drama film directed by Jennifer Reeder and co-written and produced by Fawzia Mirza about a Pakistani Muslim lesbian living in Chicago with her mother. Fawzia Mirza also introduced herself as a lesbian on Twitter before the film was announced. The film premiered at the 2017 South by Southwest Film Festival.
Evening Shadows is a 2018 Indian Hindi-language drama film directed by Sridhar Rangayan. The film stars Mona Ambegaonkar, Ananth Narayan Mahadevan, Devansh Doshi, Arpit Chaudhary, Yamini Singh, Abhay Kulkarni, Veena Nair, Kala Ramnathan, Disha Thakur, Sushant Divgikar and Faredoon Bhujwala.
Poshida: Hidden LGBT Pakistan is a 2015 Pakistani and British documentary about the LGBT community in Pakistan. Created by Faizan Fiaz and others, the 25-minute documentary explores the lives of a group of LGBT Pakistanis. It was described by the Daily Pakistan as the first ever movie on the topic. The film screened at film festivals in Spain and the United States.
What's Love Got to Do with It? is a 2022 British romantic comedy film directed by Shekhar Kapur and written by Jemima Khan. It stars Lily James, Shazad Latif, Shabana Azmi, Emma Thompson, Sajal Ali, Oliver Chris, Asim Chaudhry, Jeff Mirza, Alice Orr-Ewing and Rahat Fateh Ali Khan.
Karen Knox is a Canadian director, actor, and writer. She is the show runner of Slo Pitch, and Homeschooled on CBC, which she wrote, directed, and starred in. She received the DGC award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement for her sophomore feature film We Forgot to Break Up. Her directorial feature film debut, Adult Adoption, premiered at the 2022 Glasgow Film Festival prior to its theatrical release in North America with Level Film. Knox's notable roles include Mina in the Wynonna Earp reboot Vengeance, Ginger in Paramount's All I Didn't Want opposite Academy Award nominee Gabourey Sidibe, Holly Frost in Syfy's Letters to Satan Claus, Veronica Vale in KindaTV's Barbelle, and Boris in IFC Slo Pitch.
The Queen of My Dreams is a 2023 Pakistani Canadian comedy-drama film, written and directed by Fawzia Mirza in her feature directorial debut. The film is based on Mirza's theatrical stage play Me, My Mom & Sharmila, which in turn was based on her 2012 short film The Queen of My Dreams. The film stars Amrit Kaur as Azra, a Pakistani Canadian woman who has had a strained relationship with her parents since coming out as lesbian, who undergoes an emotional journey after the sudden unexpected death of her father Hassan.
We Forgot to Break Up is a 2024 Canadian drama film, directed by Karen Knox. Adapted from the novel Heidegger Stairwell by Kayt Burgess, the film centres on The New Normals, an indie rock band from a small town led by trans man singer Evan, who move to Toronto in pursuit of stardom.
