RAHEMUR RAHMAN & LILY VETCH DEBUT “BODY OF OUR OWN” AT LONDON’S BFI FLARE

Part of the “This Is Home” shorts programme at the BFI Flare: London LGBTQIA+ Film Festival, debut directors Lily Vetch and Rahemur Rahman offer a unique intimate portrait of three Hijra - Momo, Neshi and Jannat - who explore societal freedom, transgender identity and love in a world that seeks to erase them. Vetch, a London-based filmmaker whose work often centres on gender and identity and Rahman, an award-winning British-Bangladeshi director and writer, collaborated over seven years to capture both the beauty and the challenges of their subjects’ lives with compassion and nuance.

Set against the vibrancy of South Asia, the three protagonists are joined by friends and lovers in gentle moments - dressing, sharing beds and smoking cigarettes. They reveal their hopes, reflect on upbringing and expectations and consider their relationships with gender. They learn about themselves and each other under mosquito nets in the sweltering heat, beginning the work of creating alternate worlds - futures where power and agency could be returned to their capable hands.

Through intimacy, laughter and tension, these touching portrayals highlight a fragile balance between freedom and survival. But in the face of violence, erasure and a strictly hierarchical Hijra culture, a golden thread binds Momo, Neshi and Jannat together - their resilience and capacity for joy.

Filmed over seven transformative years, this work is a celebration of defiant self-determination and tenacity - a tale of lives lived at the intersection of tradition and modernity in an increasingly transphobic digital age. Vetch and Rahman’s collaborative vision ensures it is not only a story of friendship but also a testament to how those we hold close keep us dancing and laughing in the face of hardship and erasure.

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