This fundraiser is to bring attention to the lives of trans persons and hijras in West Bengal. Nadia Ranaghat Sampriti Society works for the rights of kotis, hijras, gender nonconforming and trans persons in the district of Nadia and its neighbouring districts in West Bengal. Nadia is a district that is full of rich and complex histories. Here, many gender minorities from Bangladesh have found shelter or they keep moving across both India and Bangladesh for livelihood purposes. Nadia is also home to Nabadwip, the birthplace of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and Mayapur which is an internationally renowned temple town known for its Radha-Krishna temple. Nadia Ranaghat Sampriti Society is a grassroots trans-led community based collective that works for the rights and representations of trans and gender variant communities in Nadia and adjoining districts. From helping gender minority people finding a conducive atmosphere in educational institutions to supporting them in acquiring their required identity documents, Sampriti is engaged in a wide range of advocacy as well as service-oriented initiatives. During the Covid pandemic, Sampriti provided rations to thousands in the community over a year and ran a community kitchen for several months. It even helped people with one-time cash assistance to rebuild homes ravaged by cyclone Amphan. Sampriti runs livelihood generation programmes for gender minority people through which several trans persons have found employment in the retail and beauty sector. Sampriti also conductions awareness generation workshops with health establishments, the police and legal institutions to advocate for trans rights. At present, Sampriti needs national and transnational exposure for the work it performs so that more and more individuals and organizations join in its efforts for trans rights. An effective way to reach a larger audience is to be able to showcase one’s work in the audio-visual format. So, I, Argha Ray Chowdhuri, am initiating this fundraiser to assist Sampriti to make a documentary film that will highlights its work with gender minority people in Nadia against the backdrop of the rich histories of the district and the various professions the communities are engaged in. Please help us  achieve that goal by funding this film. The budget is rudimentary and while Sampriti is raising resources from its volunteers, it still needs your help to raise the money to make the film. Thank you for your help and solidarity.

The budget:

Budget for Documentary

Duration - 25min

Pre-production

i) Research and Recce - 30,000

ii) Hard Drive (2*5000) - 10,000

iii) Workshops with community members (2*25000) - 50,000

Shoot (10days)

i) Camera and Sound Equipment Rent 

(10days*5000/day) - 50,000

ii) Conveyance (10days*3000/day) - 30,000

iii) Food (10days*10heads*300/head) - 30,000

iv) Local Talents - 20,000

v) Cinematographer - 30,000

vi) Sound Recordist - 20,000

vii) Asst. Director - 10,000

Postproduction 

i) Editing Charges  - 40,000

ii) Sound and Colour Correction - 30,000

iii) Subtitles - 10,000

iv) Writer and Director - 60,000

v) Contingency - 20,000

Total - 4,40,000