Movie Reviews -
Gay Themed

I have been hearing of this film for a very long time now. Touted as the first ever film from Pakistan to feature in Cannes festival, it also won the Queer Palme award and has been getting rave reviews almost eevrytime I have read anything about the film. Naturally my curiosity got the better out of me and I can now se why the film is so special. With a very sensitive story, vibrant visuals, a family dynamics that's easy to relate to; the film is a sublime tale of love, loss and coming out in its own unique way. There are no villains per se, except for the social expectations of individuals and how they are supposed to live. Using Haider, as its main protagonist, the film tries to show us the rigidities of our society, in this case gender and sexuality, and the quiet and painful ways in which they manifest. The story is about a joint family whose younger son is Haider. He is married to Mumtaz, who works in a beauty parlor while he stays home helping his elder brother's wife wit...

This very interesting documentary is about a group of Pakistani sexual minorities, raising questions about transgender activism, religion, underground gay life, social acceptance and collective familial customs of transgender women in urban Pakistan. The film features four individuals and focuses on their internal conflicts and their constant play of 'hide and seek' from the mainstream population in the urban areas of Pakistan. The film presents the experiences, the interior conflicts, the rights they are denied, the distress and, above all, the impossibility of loving in a country deeply influenced by Islam. The film starts with Neeli, an aging transgender, who has fully immersed herself in activism. She had an important role in the decision by the Supreme Court to legalize the “third gender”. We meet her, her friends, how the birthdays are something she and her group looks forward to and the struggles she faces. We then meet. Jenny is a transgender university student, who has...

This documentary has been one of the hardest documentaries to watch. I haven't seen stuff like this before; so hard-hitting, absolutely raw, in your face about this social evil for which we wish we could do something about. This documentary focuses on the north-western city of Peshawar, where it is estimated that nine out of ten street children have been sexually abused, mostly young boys. Pakistan is one of the world's most important Muslim nations. It's a nuclear power, it's allied to the West in the war against terror, and it's a democracy. But Pakistan is also a country in denial, turning a blind eye to the sexual exploitation of many thousands of poor and vulnerable children.. The 47-minute documentary depicts an unending cycle of stolen childhood, drug addiction and poverty. The scale of the problem is brought to light through a series of shocking confessions and accounts by both victims and perpetrators of child abuse. Bus conductor Ejaz confesses to rap...