Breaking Free
- Director: Sridhar Rangayan
- Writer: Sridhar Rangayan
- Producer: Saagar Gupta; Sridhar Rangayan
CGiii Comment
So...if the British had not criminalised homosexuality...today, India would be homophobia-free and having a great big gay time of it.
Well...the British left decades ago...their legacies are still being upheld by successive governments and a battling judiciary. And LGBT folks are having a tough time. Blame the British!
This is indeed a meaty subject worthy of a meaty film - this, alas, is not it.
Most of the components needed for a documentary are present...talking heads, soundbites, archival material, demonstrations...however, the way in which they are put together defines amateurism. There's not a shred of professionalism in evidence...
The monstrous music, the appaling camera-work, the editing...a kindergarten kid could do better on their tablet.
At the beginning, Rangayan states that this film took 7 years to make - the time it takes to train a doctor...!
Seriously...improve or desist from filmmaking.
Trailer...
The(ir) Blurb...
Filmmaker and gay activist Sridhar Rangayan embarks on a personal journey to expose the human rights violations faced by the LGBTQ community in India due to a draconian law Section 377 and homophobic social mores of a patriarchal society. The gritty documentary BREAKING FREE features searing testimonies of gay and transgender persons who have been victimized or exploited, as well as wide-ranging interviews with advocates and activists. See-sawing between despair and joy, anguish and hope, the film offers an insider view of the Indian LGBTQ community and is a documentation of its movement from invisibility to empowerment.