​If I Made A Film was a workshop held on 27th November, 2020, as part of DIALOGUES - The Calcutta International LGBTQIA+ Film and Video Festival 2020 jointly organised by Goethe-Institut / Max Mueller Bhavan Kolkata along with Sappho for Equality and Pratyay Gender Trust. 

This workshop invited students from Classes 11 and 12 to discuss their thoughts on gender and identity, and the kinds of films that they'd like to watch on the topic (keeping in mind the dearth of films on the subject for young audiences), through collaborative creative responses in the form of film posters and synopses. 

35 students from Navy Children's School, Goa; Akshar, Lakshmipat Singhania Academy, Modern High School for Girls, The Newtown School in Kolkata; and Excelsior English School in Kottayam participated in this workshop.

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Responses from the participants

"This session was extremely reassuring! Such a safe space is rarely found among adults we know in real life, so Thank you so much!! We all really appreciated it!"

"Never had attended a similar workshop so didn't have any expectations in mind, but this was mind blowing , so looking forward to more workshops. it was fun meeting new people and this couldn't have been better :)"

"The workshop was absolutely brilliant. Thank you for creating an open, safe space for us to share our perspectives!"

"Thank you so much! This was a really informative session and I had a great time interacting and brainstorming with everyone."

"The posters, the ideas were brilliant! excellent session!"

"I was so happy to discover that the teammates I was paired with though lived in different states had similar ideas and feelings. It was amazing. Thank you!!!"

Stars Aligned, 
​by Geetanjali, Harsh, Noorah & Oishee 

When his friends set up a very single Aarav- an autistic 15 year old boy - with Aisha, he begins to question the possibility that he may not have feelings for girls at all. As Aarav introspects and begins to understand himself better, he realizes that the company of another excites him more, the only problem being that this ‘another’ is the most popular boy in school, the captain of the cricket team. “Stars Aligned” is a heart-warming film about an adolescent’s struggle with sexuality, disability and the complications of identity in a difficult world. 

Butterfly, by Mayukhi, Megha, Muskaan, Nishtha & Reva 

​A school student explores their identity and questions whether they must give into the norm, their supportive teacher relives her own experience as she endures the endless scrutiny of her contemporaries, a grandfather finally breaks his assumed role of the patriarch as they rediscover themselves, their gender and their sexuality. This intergenerational tale, set in the backdrop of a bustling city trying its best to hold onto its past, follows three persons emerge from their cocoons and flourish into butterflies- each different, each inexplicably beautiful.  

The Fire Within , 
​by Ayesha, Ayra, Barisha, Rishita & Rohit

​A story about ambition, passion and a little self-discovery. The story revolves around a seventeen-year-old girl, who is determined to become the first woman firefighter in her village. However, the journey is not smooth, coming from a poverty-stricken village, trying to make a mark on a male dominant industry, and like most teenagers questioning her sexual orientation. This movie aims to represent LGBTQIA+ characters coming from underprivileged backgrounds but also aims to look beyond a person's sexual orientation, but everything more than that. 

Aador, by Sarah, Shannen, Shristi, Tuhashri & Usri 

This is a coming of age film which explores the life of a young girl. Like many others her age, she questions a lot in life- from what she wants to pursue in the future to her sexuality. She falls in love with her best friend. Although she is not able to confess initially, she asks her friend what she feels about her being bisexual. Her friend makes fun of her and is highly insensitive to the situation. She also has trouble with her family. She grew up in a protected environment with a lot of love but day by day she grows more and more distant from her family. Her father verbally abuses them often and her brother, who finds out about her sexuality, is very sceptical of it. Being from an all boys school where members of LGBTQ+ community where disrespected, he is concerned about his sister. 
 
At the end of the film, although she is still in this state of confusion, she is able to spry out some of her feelings. She confesses to her best friend, who, in spite of not being able to requite them, apologises to her for making her feel uncomfortable about them. 

Error 404: Gender not located, 
​by Anika, Antara, Aryan, Rosemary & Sarah 

 Y-327's world is like a video game. Every morning, they can choose the settings for how they look, and have a lot of fun doing it. There's a catch- on each citizen's 18th birthday, they have to choose, within the strict binaries of male and female, a body, a life partner and a name. Forever. Oh, and you have to be straight. The name part is alright, but the rest? Y3 doesn't like the sound of that. Non-binary, bursting with all the unchannelled angst of a 17 year old, Y3 and their friends must race against time to find a way to beat the odds and the system- for everyone. 

Boundary, by Anamika, Armaan, Krishna, Prisha & Vaani 

There once lived a girl from the rural part of India, a teenage girl who used to enjoy playing and having fun with her friends. Suddenly one day when she was with her best friend, she realised that she was attracted towards her and she wanted to be with her. Some days later her parents decided to get her married to a rich merchant, but they didn't know that she liked her best friend, who belonged to the same gender. Her parents stopped her schooling and didn't allow her to meet any of her friends and also pressurised her to marry the rich merchant for their own benefits.  

After a few days, when the marriage day/date came near, she decides to flee from home as she knew that she was better off living on the streets than being with her parents who didn't even care about her. 

She met her best friend one last time and went to a city where her parents wouldn’t be able to find her. Luckily, she was discovered by a really loving family and she was adopted by them. She then tells her what actually happened with her and they happily accepted her as who she really was. She then was finally able to gather the confidence to be at peace with who she was, and once this happened, she bloomed in all aspects of her life. Finally, she decided to take up the responsibility of educating the rural people so that what happened to her doesn't happen to others.  

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Living Without You, by Produtta 
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It's about a  Muslim girl, Talima,  who is now 63 years old with 2 kids and is married to a man she doesn't love. She reflects on her life, the first time she actually realised she was gay. When she was 17, back in 1934, she fell in love with a Christian girl named Rory, who was her classmate. Rory being a lesbian too, falls in love with her. Unless once they decide to elope because neither the society nor their conservative families would ever accept them. While eloping, they're caught and are mercilessly beaten up. So much so, that Talima's parents forcefully shift to another country and get her married to a man. Years later, today in 1980, when she turns 63, she blows out the candles of her birthday cake, surrounded by her kids and husband, and still wishes to be reunited with Rory. 

The Rainbow Warrior, by Devika, Dhanraj, Eva, Pratiksha & Prerona 

Even though we have come so ahead in time, the destructive interference of a conservative and old thinking still exists. The protagonist in the story is a young boy studying in high school who has an older brother and belongs to a very conservative family. In the story the child notices the changes happening in his surroundings as well as in him and is unable to put a label or name it. He had a liking/attraction towards the same gender and behaved in a completely different manner than what according to his parents an ideal boy should. His family including his brother instead of supporting him they didn’t even talk about his problem or tell him what it was. This became an extra load on his impending problems. After constant bullying and a never ending struggle his brother decided to come out of his bubble and support his little brother. He stood up for him even trying to change the thinking of his own parents realising that there may be thousands of kids like his younger brother who  are in a state of confusion and fear trying to figure out their situation all alone in this world.