A biopic of architect and urban planner Perween Rahman will open the South Asian Documentary Film Festival, March 8 on the UWindsor campus.
An architect and urban planner, Perween Rahman dedicated her life to the poor of Pakistan. After her pioneering work in the slums of Karachi set her on a collision course with the city’s criminal gangs, Rahman was shot dead by armed assailants.
The biographical film Perween Rahman: The Rebel Optimist, by director Mahera Omar, will open the South Asian Documentary Film Festival on International Women’s Day, Friday, March 8.
The event, at 11:30 a.m. in room 203, Toldo Health Education Centre, will also feature a screening of Is it too much to ask, which chronicles the obstacles and social stigma encountered by transgender women seeking a rental apartment in Chennai.
Women’s and gender studies professor Urvashi Soni-Sinha will introduce the films and lead a discussion afterward.
The festival will continue with screenings in the SoCA Armouries' Performance Hall:
- Shepherdess of the Glaciers, 4 p.m. Saturday, March 9
- Overruled, 3:30 p.m. Thursday, March 14
- Fireflies in the Abyss, 3:30 p.m. Friday, March 15
- Demons in Paradise, 3:30 p.m. Saturday, March 16
Sponsored by the Department of Communication, Media and Film; the women’s and gender studies program; and the Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences; all events are free and open to the public.