UCL East Community Cinema - The films of Pratibha Parmar + Q&A

Spectra, Queer Non-Fiction Films presents a programme of films by filmmaker and activist Pratibha Parmar. Her work has played an important role in advocating for the rights of women and girls, while also contributing to the visibility of marginalised LGBTQ+ communities.

We are delighted to screen her films and to welcome Pratibha Parmar for a Q&A following the screening at UCL East Community Cinema.

The programme will include the following films:

Khush (1991)
Pratibha Parmar | UK | 24’ | English

KHUSH means ecstatic pleasure in Urdu. For South Asian lesbians and gay men in Britain, North America, and India the term captures the blissful intricacies of being queer and of color. Inspiring testimonies bridge geographical differences to locate shared experiences of isolation alongside the unremitting joys and solidarity of being “khush”.

Reframing AIDS (1987)
Pratibha Parmar | UK | 35’ | English

A radical response to the politics surrounding AIDS and the media backlash felt by the lesbian and gay communities in the late 1980s. Cultural critics, activists and media commentators wrest the discussion away from the conservatives and place the focus on the experiences, feelings and activities of lesbians and gays who talk frankly about how they have been affected and how they are challenging dominant perceptions of AIDS as a ‘gay plague’.

Sari Red (1988)
Pratibha Parmar | UK | 10’ | English

Made in memory of Kalbinder Kaur Hayre, a young Indian woman killed in 1985 in a racist attack in England, Sari Red eloquently examines the effect of the ever-present threat of violence upon the lives of Asian women in both private and public spheres. In this moving visual poem, the title refers to red, the colour of blood spilt and the red of the sari, symbolizing sensuality and intimacy between Asian women.

SARI RED is a video poem and a poetical memorial to the death of one young Indian woman at the hands of racists. The video makes a break with the ‘master codes’ of cinema by using culturally specific signs and symbols to create a mise-en-scene of this loss and bereavement.

We are pleased to welcome Cary Sawhney, Director of the London Indian Film Festival, who will host the post-screening Q&A with Pratibha Parmar.

UCL East Community Cinema

This screening is part of the UCL East Community Cinema, a series of free screenings on Wednesday evenings with films specially selected by our students, academics and community partners. Explore the full programme.