Skip to main content
I Am Revathi film image; person looking out a window from a dark room

I Am Revathi

Njaan Revathi / நான் ரேவதி

Focus

This event has passed

International Premiere

I Am Revathi offers a deeply personal and intimate glimpse into the life of A. Revathi — trans woman, writer, activist, and theatre artist. P. Abhijith’s documentary traces Revathi’s journey from Namakkal, Tamil Nadu, to the hijra communities of Delhi, Mumbai, and Bengaluru in the mid-1980s, revealing the harsh realities and quiet resilience that shaped her path. Through powerful recollections by Revathi and her contemporaries, the film explores her transformation into a prominent voice for trans rights in India.

Despite legal recognition, transgender individuals in India continue to face a range of systemic challenges. Alongside Revathi’s story, Abhijith depicts the lived experiences of transgender people in India and sheds light on their struggles, power, and ongoing fight for visibility, dignity, and inclusion. I Am Revathi recognizes the resistance and community building of trans activists and collectives as they work to highlight the broader realities of trans lives.

 

Presented by

Media Partner

Community Partner

           

Director
Featuring

A. Revathi

Credits
Country of Origin

India

Year

2025

Language

In Tamil, Kannada and Malayalam with English subtitles

Film Contact
Links
18+
115 min
Cinemas of Asia Documentary Human Rights & Social Justice LGBTQIA2S+

Book Tickets

This event has passed.

Credits & Director

Producer

A. Shobhila

Screenwriter

P. Abhijith

Cinematography

Mohamed A.

Editor

AmalJith

Original Music

Rajesh Vijay, Shyaam S.K.

P. Abhijith headshot

P. Abhijith അഭിജിത്ത് പി

P. Abhijith is a native of Kozhikode, India. He is a filmmaker and chief photojournalist with Madhyamam who has been effectively bringing attention to the transgender community of Kerala, India, through images, visuals, and writing since 2007. His photo exhibition played a crucial role in the implementing the official state policy recognizing and supporting transgender people in Kerala, the first of its kind in the country.

Filmography: Antharam (2023)

Missing VIFF? Check out what's playing at the VIFF Centre

The Secret Agent

Dir. Kleber Mendonça Filho
158 min

Having run afoul of an influential bureaucrat in Brazil’s military dictatorship circa 1977, Marcelo decamps to Recife to live under an assumed name — but he’ll soon come to understand precisely how rampant the country’s corruption has become.

VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema

Orwell: 2+2=5

Dir. Raoul Peck
119 min

Oscar-nominated director Raoul Peck reimagines 1984 in this urgent essay on power, language, and control. With narration by Damian Lewis, it’s a chilling portrait of how Orwell’s warnings became our reality.

VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre

Cover-Up

Dir. Laura Poitras & Mark Obenhaus
117 min

Oscar-winner Laura Poitras and Emmy-winner Mark Obenhaus turn their lens on legendary journalist Seymour Hersh in a riveting film that unpacks how one reporter exposed the truths behind My Lai and Abu Ghraib — and what it takes to hold power to account.

Image: © The New York Times

VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre

Wisdom of Happiness

Dir. Philip Delaquis & Barbara Miller
90 min

An audience with the Dalai Lama, who, at 90, looks back on his life and shares the tenets of Buddhism as a practical guide to surviving the 21st Century with joy and compassion.

VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre

The Tale of Silyan

Dir. Tamara Kotevska
81 min

From Oscar-nominee Tamara Kotevska (Honeyland), this is a poetic, curious and enchanting non-fiction fable about a farmer's son who turns into a stork.

VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre
Cutting Through Rocks
Cutting Through Rocks film image; person riding a motorcycle backlit by a sunset

Cutting Through Rocks

Dir. Sara Khaki & Mohammadreza Eyni
95 min

Winner of Sundance's World Cinema Documentary Grand Jury Prize, Cutting Through Rocks follows Sara Shahverdi — motorcyclist, midwife, and first-ever councilwoman elected in her Iranian village. A vérité triumph by Sara Khaki & Mohammadreza Eyni.

VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre