Hivos Free to be Me Award 2026. Refusing Silence: Onir and the Power of Queer Visibility in India

During Roze Filmdagen LGBTQ+ Film Festival, on March 18 and 19 at Het Ketelhuis in Amsterdam, we will once again present the Free to be Me Award on behalf of our partner Hivos. With this award, Hivos gives additional recognition to filmmakers from countries where being yourself safely is not a given. This year, the award goes to We Are Faheem and Karun by Indian director Onir. A film that shows how love is personal, yet never separate from the political reality surrounding it.

A Career Dedicated to Visibility
Onir has been making queer cinema in India for twenty years. In 2005, he broke through with My Brother... Nikhil, one of the first mainstream Hindi films with a gay protagonist. As he himself has said, the film was “used by big NGOs, queer organizations” and helped many people in their own coming-out processes.

He later made I Am, a film that addressed, among other themes, the (de)criminalization of homosexuality in India. After the historic 2018 ruling by the Supreme Court of India, which decriminalized homosexuality, he wanted to create another film bringing together queer stories from different parts of India. 

We Are Faheem and Karun was intended as part of that larger plan. However, when he had to submit the script (about an army officer who falls in love with a local boy) to the Ministry of Defence, it was rejected. No clear explanation was given. A few months later, the film was even described in parliament as “a threat to national security.” For Onir, that was precisely the reason to continue. The idea that his identity could be considered dangerous was unacceptable to him.

“Silence is unacceptable.” – Onir

Self-financed, at personal risk
When financiers withdrew, Onir decided to fund the film himself via various personal channels. Ultimately, the project was largely self-produced. According to Onir, invisibility is something he has always fought against. At this point in his life, silence is no longer an option. As he puts it, “silence is unacceptable.”

Filming Through Detours
Because the script had been officially rejected and the story takes place in a sensitive border region, Onir had to be strategic. On paper, he changed the character from an army officer to a “security guard” and temporarily used a different title when applying for permits. In the synopsis, he described it as a story about friendship. Not untrue, but not the full picture either. That way, he was able to proceed with filming.

“The idea that my identity could be considered a threat to national security was unacceptable.” – Onir

A historic screening in Kashmir
On January 3, the film was screened for the first time in Kashmir, where it was shot. Onir expected around 40 visitors. 120 people attended. “No one walked out,” he said. The post-screening discussion lasted an hour. A trans woman in the audience said she had never imagined that in her lifetime she would see a film in their own language in which she recognized herself. She called it “history,” as it was the first queer film screening in Kashmir.

There was also criticism and online backlash. But there were many expressions of support as well, particularly from young people who felt, perhaps for the first time, that this story was also about them.

Hivos Free to be me Award
We Are Faheem and Karun is about two people who are not struggling with who they are, but with an environment that seeks to render them invisible. The film shows how love can exist, even when the space for it is small. That is precisely what the Free to be Me Award stands for: films that do not merely tell stories, but create space.

The Hivos Free to be Me Award will be presented during the 29th edition of Roze Filmdagen LGBTQ+ Film Festival, from March 18 to 29 at Het Ketelhuis in Amsterdam. Onir will be present to receive the award and answer questions from the audience.

Hivos, people unlimited

'We Are Faheem and Karun' will screen Friday March 27th 18h30 in Het Ketelhuis.
Click here for more information and tickets.