"Go On, Rituparna”: Indian Queer Documentary Screening and Talkback with Filmmaker

Filmmaker Aashish Kumar will screen his documentary film, Go On, Rituparna (31 mins, Assamese with English subtitles), and participate in a panel discussion with student representatives from Celebrate South Asia (CSA) and the Trans Care Collective. The event will kick off with a reception in Viking Theater Lobby at 6 p.m. before the screening begins.

Go On Rituparna

“Xun” to her loving Mother, and “Piku” or “Ritu” to friends, Rituparna Neog has blazed a trail for queer and trans rights, gender justice, and access to free libraries in her native Assam and other parts of India. This film is a tribute to the power of activism, familial love, and community-building. 

“Body,Home,World: South Asian LGBTQ+ Journeys” is a free, interactive web docu-series that presents intergenerational narratives of the queer community from the sub-continent and the diaspora. Rituparna’s story is the first in a series of four stories from Tier II cities in India directed and produced by Aashish Kumar as part of a two-year Fulbright-Nehru Fellowship. The series is offered in the hope of inspiring compassion, respect, and support for gender and sexual diversity within the South Asian community.

Aashish Kumar (he/him) is a tenured Full Professor of Television and Immersive Media in the Lawrence Herbert School of Communication at Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York. His areas of expertise include documentary, interactive and immersive media, participatory media, and storytelling for social change. He is also the founding program director of the Interdisciplinary Minor in Immersive Media, an innovative program launched in conjunction with departments from the Schools of Communication, Engineering and Computer Science, and Humanities, Fine, and Performing Arts.