I Am chronicles the journey of an Indian lesbian filmmaker who returns to Delhi, eleven years later, to re-open what was once home, and finally confronts the loss of her mother whom she never came out to. As she meets and speaks to parents of other gay and lesbian Indians, she pieces together the fabric of what family truly means, in a landscape where being gay was until recently a criminal and punishable offense.
Production Format: 24p, 16mm and Super 8mm
Language English and Hindi (with English subtitles)
exhibitions
April 2011
Indian Film Festival of LA, Los Angeles, CA (April 15th 2011)
Riverside International Film Festival, Riverside, CA (April 16th 2011)
May 2011
Atlanta Film Festival Saturday May 7th at 12:30pm The Landmark Mid-town Art Cinema (Filmmaker will be present for post-screening Q&A)
Pink Apple Film Festival, Zurich, Switzerland May 7th 2011 at 9:45am and May 12th at 7pm (Filmmaker will be present for post-screening Q&A)
DOK.fest Munich: International Documentary Film Festival, Germany Thursday May 5th 2011 at 10:30pm and Saturday May 7th 2011 at 10:30pm
Boston LGBT Film Festival Sunday May 8th at 2pm at Brattle Street Theater, Cambridge, MA (Filmmaker will be present for post-screening Q&A)
Outview: Athens International Gay & Lesbian Film Festival, Athens, Greece May 28th 2011 at 7pm
India Habitat Centre, New Delhi, India Friday, May 27th 2011 at Stein Auditorium 7pm (Filmmaker will be present for post-screening Q&A)
Kashish Mumbai International Queer Film Festival Saturday May 28th 2011 3:30pm
June 2011
QDoc Documentary Film Festival, Portland, OR Saturday June 4th 2011 at 4pm at
Clinton Street Theater, 2522 SE Clinton St. Portland, OR (Filmmaker will be present for post-screening Q&A)
KalaKranti 2011: A Festival of Queer South Asian Films, Chicago, IL Saturday June 4th 2011 at 2:30pm at
Columbia College Film Row Cinema, 1104 S. Wabash, 8th Floor, Chicago, IL
Screening in Chennai, India Saturday June 4th 2011, at Dhyana Ashram #25 Old #13, Madha Church Road, Mandaveli, Chennai 600 028 at 6 pm
Screening in Karachi, Pakistan Sunday June 5th 2011 at 6.30pm, Second Floor Cafe, Karachi
31st Annual Breckenridge Festival of Film, Breckenridge, CO Saturday June 11th 2011 at 3pm at Town Hall Videoamphitheater
SouthSide Film Festival, Bethlehem, PA Wednesday June 15th 2011 at 7pm and Saturday June 18th at 3:15pm. Victory Firehouse Theater, 205 Webster St. & E. 2nd Ave, Bethlehem, PA 18015
New Filmmakers New York Wednesday June 15th 2011 at 9:45pm at the Anthology Film Archives
32 Second Avenue, New York, NY 10003 (Filmmaker will be present for post-screening Q&A)
Frameline San Francisco’s Intl LGBT Film Festival, CA Friday June 17th 2011 at 7pm at Roxie Theater, 3117 16th Street, San Francisco, CA
The 21th Lesbian Film Festival of Freiburg, Germany June 24th 2011 at 5:30pm | Details »
Screening in Vadodara, Gujarat Sunday, June 26 · 5:30pm - 6:30pm | Offside Lounge
M-CUBE mall Jetalpur Rd.
Vadodara, Gujarat, India
FIRE!! Film Festival, Barcelona, Spain June 28th – July 9th 2011 at Institut Francés, Moià 8; 08006 Barcelona, Between Tuset and Diagonal
July 2011
Philadelphia QFest Saturday July 9th at 12:30pm at Ritz at the Bourse, 400 Ranstead Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106
Screening in Colombo July 9th, 2011
Kolkata Rainbow Pride Festival, Kolkata, India Sunday July 10th 2011 at 5:30pm, WBVHA Towers near Ruby Hospital and Monovikash Kendro crossing (2 minute walk towards Science City)
OUTFEST, Los Angeles Friday July 15th at 5pm at DGA2 (Directors Guild of America)
7920 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood, 90046
Major Cross Streets: Between Crescent Heights and Fairfax
Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (VMFA), Richmond, VA Friday July 15th 2011 at 6:30pm
(Filmmaker will be present for post-screening Q&A)
Asian Film Festival of Dallas, TX Monday July 18th, 2011 at 7:30pm at Landmark’s Magnolia Theatre
Pune Screening Sunday, July 31 · 5:30pm - 7:30pm at Sumant Moolgaokar Hall, ICC Chambers Tower 1, Wing A, Senapati Bapat Road, Pune, Maharashtra, INDIA
Mumbai Screening Sunday, July 31 · 5:00pm - 8:00pm at CEFE, Flat 1, Riviera Apts, 15th Road, Santacruz (West), Mumbai, Maharashtra, INDIA
August 2011
Michigan Womyn's Music Festival Oceana County, MI, August 2-7, 2011
Globians Doc Fest Berlin, Germany Saturday August 13th, 2011 at 6:15pm
Kino Toni Cinema at Antonplatz in Berlin-Weissensee
23rd Vancouver Queer Film Festival, Vancouver, Canada Saturday August 13th 7pm
(Filmmaker will be present for post-screening Q&A)
SHOUT Gay and Lesbian Film Festival, Birmingham, AL Sunday August 28th, 10:30am, Hill Event Center, 1811 3rd Avenue North, Birmingham, AL
September 2011
24th Annual Austin Gay & Lesbian International Film Festival 11:30 am Saturday September 10th, 2011 at Alamo Drafthouse
Outflix Festival, Memphis, TN Saturday, September 10th 2011 at 1:30pm, Malco’s Ridgeway Four, 5853 Ridgeway Center Parkway, Memphis, TN
Queer Lisboa 15 - Lisbon Gay and Lesbian Film Festival, Lisbon, Portugal September 20th 2011 at 5pm, Cinema São Jorge, Sala 3
Long Beach Q Film Festival, Long Beach, CA Saturday September 17th, 1pm, The Center, Long Beach, CA
Great Lakes International Film Festival, Erie, PA September 23rd-24th 2011
Bay Street Film Festival, Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada September 30th 2011 at 10pm, The Finnish Labour Temple, 314 Bay Street, Thunder Bay
October 2011
Femmes en Resistance, Salle Jean Vilar d'Arcueil, France October 1st, 2011
Film Southasia 2011: Festival of South Asian Documentaries Sunday October 2nd 2011 at 11am Kumari Cinema, Kathmandu, Nepal
Chicago South Asian Film Festival, Chicago, IL Sunday October 2nd 2011 6:45pm, Film Row Cinema in Columbia College Chicago,
1104 S Wabash Ave (8th Floor), Chicago IL 60605.
Indian Film Festival, The Hague, The Netherlands Thursday October 6th 2011 at 7pm, Filmhuis Den Haag
Saturday October 8th 2011 at 7:30pm, Filmhuis Den Haag
7th Seattle South Asian Film Festival, Seattle, WA Saturday October 8th at 4:30pm
SIFF Cinema at McCaw Hall, 321 Mercer St at 3rd Avenue, McCaw Hall, Seattle Center
Queer Film Festival, Germany
Bremen October 12th 2011 at 6pm
Hamburg, October 19th 2011 at 6pm
Hannover, October 22nd 2011 at 2pm
Cologne, October 21st-23rd 2011
Dortmund, October 28th-30th 2011
22nd Annual Tampa International Gay and Lesbian Film Festival Sunday, October 9th 2011 at 1:30pm. Tampa Museum of Art, Tampa, FL
Reel Affirmations 20 Saturday, October 15 at 3:00pm. Theatre B-7, Media Studies Building, George Washington University Campus, Washington DC
Cinemarosa, Queens Museum of Art, Flushing, NY Sunday October 16th 2011 at 3pm
San Diego Asian Film Festival, San Diego, CA October 22, 2011 5:10 pm Mission Valley UltraStar Cinemas
New Jersey Independent South Asian Cine Fest, Edison, NJ Saturday October 22nd, 2011 at 5pm Theater 6, Big Cinemas, 655 Oak Tree Road, Edison, NJ 08820
Seattle Lesbian & Gay Film Festival Saturday October 22nd 2011 at 4:30pm
AMC Pacific Place, 600 Pine Street, Seattle, WA
24th Annual Milwaukee LGBT Film and Video Festival Sunday, October 23rd 2011 at Union Theater, 2200 East Kenwood Boulevard, Milwaukee, WI
Image + Nation LGBT Film Festival Saturday October 29th 2011 at 1:30pm. Goethe-Institute, Montreal, Canada
23rd Paris International Lesbian and Feminist Film Festival, Paris, France Sunday October 30th 2011 at 12pm at Espace Reuilly, 21 Rue Antoine-Julien Hénard, 75012 Paris
November 2011
Queerstreifen Münster Queer Film Festival, Muenster, Germany Saturday, November 5th 2011 at 3pm
Pink Panorama Film Festival Monday November 7th 2011 at 7pm at Stattkino Cinema, Lucerne, Switzerland
Philadelphia Asian American Film Festival Monday November 7th 2011 7pm, Asian Arts Initiative, 1219 Vine Street, Philadelphia, PA 19107
Long Island Gay & Lesbian Film Festival, NY Saturday November 12th at 3:00pm at Cinema Arts Centre, Huntington, NY
The 30th Chicago Lesbian & Gay International Film Festival Saturday Nov. 12th at noon at Chicago Filmmakers, 5243 N. Clark Street, Chicago, IL-60640
Gay Film Nights International Film Festival Tuesday, November 15, 20:30 - 22:00, at Delirio the Club, Cluj-Napoca, Romania
December 2011
Screening at 1708 Gallery, Richmond, VA Friday December 16th 2011 at 7pm at 1708 Gallery, 319 West Broad Street, Richmond, VA
DIALOGUES Film Festival, Kolkata, India Saturday, Dec 17, 2011 at 4.15 p.m at the Goethe Instut/ Max Mueller Bhavan Kolkata Auditorium
January 2012
Screening in Florida Friday, Jan. 20th, 7PM, Resort on Carefree Blvd. N. Ft Myers, Florida
February 2012
Screening in Toronto Monday Feb 13th at 6:30pm Ryerson University (Thomas Lounge), Toronto, Canada
Screening in Bethlehem Thursday Feb. 16th at 7:15 pm at Victory Firehouse, Bethlehem, PA
4th Bangalore Queer Film Festival (BQFF) 24th- 26th February 2012, Bangalore, India
March 2012
8th IAWRT Asian Women's Film Festival March 5th-7th, 2012, India International Centre, New Delhi
Association for Asian Studies Conference March 15th-18th, Toronto, Canada
26th BFI London Lesbian and Gay Film Festival March 23rd -April 1st 2012, BFI Southbank, London, UK
Gay Community Center of Richmond March 25th 2012, Richmond, VA
April 2012
27th Torino GLBT Film Festival, Turin, Italy April 19th -April 25th 2012
May 2012
YES Film Festival May 18th-20th, Columbus, IN
September 2012
Some Prefer Cake: Bologna Lesbian Film Festival September 20th-23rd 2012, Bologna, Italy
quotes
“The mother of one of the queer young people in Sonali Gulati's stunning film proclaims: "not necessary that you be alone." If there is a take-home point to this loving daughter's elegy to Gulati's own late mother, it is simply affirmation: of queer community and connection, of an emergent queer India, of generational change and understanding, of the power of cinema to transport and transform. Filmed on the eve of the Indian High Court's decriminalization of homosexuality in 2009, I Am movingly records stories of queer lives in contemporary India, lives shaped by contradictory forces of caste and class, tradition and religion, urban activism and rural isolation, media culture and image consciousness, violence and celebration. Eleven years after her mother's death, Gulati returns to Delhi to sort out the stored contents of her family home. With this return as pretext, what she mourns is in fact the sentence she never uttered to her mother, "I am [a lesbian, gay, queer...]. The film is no confessional coming out story, however. It is a layered, formally accomplished, astonishing piece of filmmaking. Students in courses in gender and sexuality studies, South Asian studies, film studies, and filmmaking will learn much from its rigor, documentary innovation, and political insight.”—Amy Villarejo Associate Professor Film and Feminist, Gender, & Sexuality Studies
Cornell University
“Horace, echoing the sentiments of many a poet and philosopher, said. "If you would have me weep, you must first of all feel grief yourself." Without question, at the crux of Sonali Gulati's film is her ability to personally connect with her interviewees, thus dissolving the barrier between the camera and subject. The result is an intimate heart and thought-provoking documentary about coming out in India.”—Amber Dawn Director of Programming
Vancouver Queer Film Festival
“Using her own life and regret for not revealing that she was a lesbian before mother died as a starting point, Sonali Gulati's I Am explores an India wrestling with deeply held traditions, mores and vestiges of a centuries old legal system that devalues and dehumanizes. Beautifully shot and multilayered, Gulati has crafted a sublimely touching and powerful film that reaffirms that while society and laws may change, the concept of family is still society's core value and greatest source of strength.”—Charles Judson Atlanta Film Festival
"What can one say about a film as layered, nuanced, and complex as this in a sentence or two? Our lives--as desi queers--are about silences; and this film has the courage to go where the silences are. And in doing so, the filmmaker captures the contradictory woof and warp, the paradoxical textures of acceptance, denial, rejection, and understanding that is so many of our lived experiences. It is a wonderfully teachable film: it is not only about desi queers and parents, but about longing & belonging, woundedness & healing, and the search for (our)selves."—Sivagami Subbaraman Director, LGBTQ Resource Center Georgetown University
“I Am is brilliant. It's sad, funny, tragic, elegiac, historic and above all triumphant. It is a personal story and a story about an entire continent.”—Sam Kauffmann Professor of Film & Television Boston University
"Every year there is that one film that sticks with you, that one film that makes you remember why you love programming a film festival. This year, I Am was that film for me. From the opening narration of this beautiful documentary, I knew I was watching something wholly original and entirely special. I Am is one of the most emotional, personal and impactful documentaries of the year, or any year for that matter."—Billy Ray Brewton Programmer SHOUT Gay and Lesbian Film Festival, Birmingham, AL
“Sonali Gulati's phenomenal I Am documents universal yet culturally specific stories of Indian gays, lesbians, and transpeople who come out of the closet and some of the loved ones who stand with them. Rather than an outsider looking in, Gulati integrates part of her own biographical narrative with the narratives of the featured families. Her cinematic lens captures the vulnerability and bravery of these courageous individuals who, in spite of various forms of retaliation and persecution, refuse to conform to heterosexist and homophobic societal norms. I Am is a powerful praise song for the Queer Visibility movement in India. It is a most important film that should be seen far and wide.” —Aishah Shahidah Simmons Producer/Writer/Director NO! The Rape Documentary
· Sonali Gulati · VCU School of the Arts · Department of Photography & Film·
· P.O.Box 843088 · Richmond, VA-23284-3088· USA· sonalifilm@yahoo.com
