Aks presents a selection of shorts from their festival’s 10-year journey, highlighting Khwaja Sira and trans lives across South Asia.
Aks International Minorities Festival (AKS) made its UK debut in Manchester in 2017 and now returns in collaboration with SCENE -celebrating Pride with a programme of films, performances and conversations.
Aks International Minorities Festival was founded in Pakistan in 2014 by activists amplifying the voices of marginalized communities, with a focus on transgender people, sexual minorities, and people of colour. Rooted in the indigenous Khwaja Sira community, it has grown into a platform for film, art, performance, and dialogue across Pakistan and Copenhagen.
Meaning “reflection” in Urdu, Aks centres overlooked stories while supporting artists and activists in reshaping narratives and building solidarities. Through Aks Outreach, it expanded across 10 cities and 32 venues in Pakistan and developed international collaborations via the Asia Pacific Queer Film Festival Alliance (APQFFA) and queer festivals worldwide.
As part of SCENE 2026, Aks presents a selection of shorts from their festival’s 10-year journey, highlighting Khwaja Sira and trans lives across South Asia. The programme explores representation, progress, and the ongoing global backlash against trans communities.
Following the screening, a pre-recorded conversation with transgender actress and activist Alina Khan(Joyland, Darling) reflects on the struggles, resilience, and rights of South Asian transgender communities, as well as her own journey as the region’s first transgender actress to reach platforms such as Cannes Film Festival and Toronto International Film Festival.
shorts programme
Darling
By: Saim Sadiq, Pakistan, 2019, 16 min, Urdu with English subtitles
An erotic dance theatre in Lahore prepares for a new show just as a sacrificial goat goes missing, a dreamy trans girl played by Alina Khan vies for the spotlight, and a naive young boy falls in love. In this award winning short fiction, Saim Sadiq simply digs a hole into human emotions to confront societal oppression and injustice towards minorities.
Happy Marriage
By: Sana Jafri , Pakistan, 2020, 11 min, Urdu with English subtitles
A strong-willed trans woman played by Alina Khan encourages her lover to get married to a woman of his family’s choosing as his masculinity is questioned by his friends and family.
Vadhai
by: Claire Pamment, Pakistan, 2020, 20 min, Urdu, Punjabi with English subtitles
Khwaja sira performances of “Vadhai” devotional songs, dances, prayers, and comic repartee celebrating weddings and births, are the central to community identity. Following Guru Amber’s Toli in Lahore, this documentary explores the kinship, beliefs, joy, and economies that sustain these vibrant street performers.
RAJA BRO - Acceptance Story of an Indian Transman
By: Sridhar Rangayan, India, 2021, 26 min, Hindi, Marathi with English Subtitles
Raja Bhau is a heartfelt portrait of Merlin, an Indian trans man’s journey toward self-acceptance and family acceptance. Supported by his mother and extended family, Merlin embraces his identity after a courageous transition. Now proud of who he is, he finds strength through fitness, work, and a renewed sense of belonging.
FOUR FIFTY-FIVE ML
By: Mahnoor Zaidi, 7 min, Pakistan, 2020, Urdu with English subtitles
In response to a call for blood donations for a critically ill boy with a rare blood group, Kausar, a middle-aged trans-woman, rushes through the busy streets of Lahore.
Mujra
by: Saadat Munir, Pakistan, 2012, 5 min
Mujra is an experimental video exploring the unique performance tradition of Lahori Khawaja Siras, reflecting on an art form often overlooked as culture yet vital to the trans* community’s survival and livelihoods.
This screening will be introduced by the Aks Festival programming team and will be followed by a post-screening discussion.
TIMINGS
12:45pm: Doors
1:00pm: feature starts
Event duration: 1 hour 50 mins
2.50pm: Event ends
TICKETS
General Admission: £5 (+ £1.20 booking fee)
MORE information
Country of Origin: Pakistan, India,
Language: Urdu, Punjabi, Hindi, Marathi
Subtitles: English subtitles
Age Rating: 18
Accessibility: For access and facilites information, please visit HOME
Runtime: 1 hour 50 minutes
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