A sensible portrayal of a transgender's life during transition...

1. 'Neela NiRa Sooriyan' (Blue Sunshine) (Tamil Film):

A sensible portrayal of a transgender's life during transition...

The movie is written and directed by Samyuktha Vijayan whose life the film portrays from true incidents. 

Samyuktha’s profile: 

Samyuktha Vijayan is a dancer and techie who also happens to be a transgender woman. Growing up as a boy in a small town in Tamil Nadu, Samyuktha was a school and college topper. While working for a MNC in USA, Samyuktha transitioned from male to female. And since then, she is actively working with the transgender community to highlight their struggles and help them secure mainstream jobs. Samyuktha was also the founder of Toutestudio, a made-to-rent wedding couture boutique in which she trained and employed transwomen. Samyuktha was conferred with the Top Ten Youth award of Tamil Nadu for the year 2019 by Ananda Vikatan, a famous magazine. Samyuktha was the first transgender employee to lead a senior position at Swiggy. Currently she lives and works in San Francisco, USA.

Movie details: 

Genre : social drama, lgbtq issues

Intention: 

Reflecting on the many events of her personal life, she decided to write, direct, act and co-produce Neela Nira Sooriyan (Blue Sunshine) a movie about the daily struggles faced by a transwoman working as a teacher in a school in a small conservative town.  The movie intends to create a healthy debate in our society about the societal and infrastructural changes needed to help transwomen perform mainstream jobs and lead a dignified life.

Awards and festivals: 

18th Tasveer south Asian film festival, Seattle - best feature film - jury award - Oct 2023 

 54th International film festival of India, Goa - official selection - Indian Panorama section - Nov 2023 

 20th Glasgow film festival - official selection - Mar 2024 

 15th Oneota film festival - Iowa - best feature - jury award - March 2024 

 25th Through women’s eyes film festival - Florida - best feature jury award - March 2024 

 44th Wicked queer Boston - Audience award honarable mention - April 2024 

 1st year - New Bedford film festival - Best actress in a leader role - April 2024 

 30th San Luis Obispo film festival - official selection - April 2024 

 15th Kashish queer film festival - Mumbai - Best actor in a leader role - May 2024 

 26th UK Asian film festival - London - emerging curators choice award - May 2024 

 Houston Asian American film festival - official selection - June 2024 

 Austin Asian American film festival - centerpiece film - official selection - June 2024 

 Cambodian international film festival - official selection - June 2024

Indian film festival of Melbourne - official selection - August 2024

Vancouver Asian film festival - October 2024

Reviews: 

Letterboxd reviews across various film festivals- 

https://letterboxd.com/film/blue-sunshine-2023/

Reviews from Glasgow film festival: 

https://www.theupcoming.co.uk/2024/03/04/glasgow-film-festival-2024-blue-sunshine-review/

https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/blue-sunshine-2023-film-review-by-jennie-kermode

https://www.highonfilms.com/blue-sunshine-2024-glasgow-film-festival-movie-review/

Review from Boston queer film festival : 

https://queerguru.com/queerguru-reviews-blue-sunshine-a-remarkable-must-see-transitioning-story-from-india-that-both-entertains-and-educates/