Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #33741 in DVD
• Released on: 2008-12-05
• Dimensions: .50" h x 5.50" w x 7.50" l, .22 pounds
• Running time: 92 minutes

Amazon.com
From the director of award winning queer films 'The Pink Mirror (Gulabi Aaina)' and 'Yours Emotionally!' comes another hard hitting drama about marginalized people.

Subverting the Bollywood film genre of song-dance and high drama, the film places characters ignored by Bollywood centerstage - a transsexual bar dancer, a prostitute, a gay couple - to tell their stories of pain and trauma, of happiness and hope, about being HIV+ and alienated.

The film lays bare the ground realities in India, the society's apathy and cruelty towards HIV and AIDS in a honest and sensitive manner.

DIRECTOR'S NOTE
We are all so caught up in our careers, relationships and life in general that we have forgotten to pause and look at the person next to us. Everyone is so distant nowadays, one's own shadow seems a stranger. This film is made with a purpose of bringing some of the stories that we have not cared to stop by and look, into focus. It is not a bugle call for action, but a gentle reminder to pause, reflect and make an effort to understand. Maybe we can all wipe a tear, hold a hand... or maybe write the next 68 Pages.
~ Sridhar Rangayan, 2007

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BONUS FEATURES -

4 QUEER SHORTS from India

'I am That' - a frank portrayal of dilemmas and desires of a group of transsexuals; 'Mansa' - day in the life of a Indian transgender; 'Eternal' - can two gay men find a happy life together in a small village?; 'Pegasus' - a music video about gay rights and desires in India

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NOTE: UNIVERSITIES / LIBRARIES / FESTIVALS - Please write to us at 68pages@gmail.com for INSTITUTIONAL COPY of the film and RIGHTS TO SCREEN.
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This product is manufactured on demand using DVD-R recordable media. Amazon.com's standard return policy will apply.

Customer Reviews

Based on true stories
68 Pages is based on true stories from the diary of an HIV worker, you see into the lives of real people, how HIV invaded their life, and the effects of that diagnosis. In the process you get a wonderful first person look into the gay and transgender communities in India. These stories touch your heart on a deeply emotional level. Because these are based on real people, the characters and how they develop in the film is very natural, and have great depth so that you are as devastated as they are by the diagnosis of HIV. The characters and their interpersonal interactions are not contrived like so many written scripts, but come across as authentic. The actors in these roles show the talent that has developed in the India film community, portraying their characters with integrity and authenticity that connects with the audience. In the process you see into the life and day to day interactions of gay and transgender people in contemporary society. It is every bit as effective as a cultural expose as it is an educational film on HIV.

HIV in India
"68 Pages"

HIV in India

Amos Lassen

Mansi is an Indian counselor for HIV. Ethically she has to maintain confidentiality and she has to be objective when she tries to understand the problems and give advice to those that she counsels. Emotionality is not an open for her. She sees a lot of suffering and it is hard on her. Since she cannot talk about what she knows, she shares her thoughts with her diary.
Mansi's diary is the basis for this film and what she has written brings to light the stories of four men--Paayal, a sex worker, Nishit a user of intravenous drugs, Kiran, a gay men, and Umrao, a transsexual dancer. These men have been marginalized by society, stigmatized and lost within the mainstream. Through their lives we get a view of HIV positive people and their treatment by others.
India is in a state of denial and most Indians feel that to have HIV is to be cursed. Our four men tell us their stories and we feel their pain and their humiliation. They are rejected, not just by society, but by family and friends. We see that India's view of HIV is shallow but we also get a sense of hope that the stories that we see here can help to bring about a better understanding of the disease and perhaps that those with HIV may be able to achieve a dignified life. The four men come across as heroic and are indeed represent optimism and the triumph of the human spirit.
The movie is very, very touching as well as a slap to India. The film also recognizes the amount of work that HIV counselors do. "68 Pages" is painful to watch but the fact that it engenders hope makes it worthwhile.