Vinay Giridhar’s Emergence: Out Of The Shadows to be premiered at Cinema Diverse festival in Palm Springs

Vinay Giridhar’s feature documentary debut Emergence: Out Of The Shadows will have its world premiere at the Cinema Diverse festival in Palm Springs, California on 19 September 2021. The Vancouver-produced documentary will also be heading to Atlanta’s Out On Film festival, Chicago’s South Asian Film Festival. As the film begins its festival run, it is slated to be showcased around the world in North America, India, the UK and more. The announcement was made by Sher Films. 

Emergence: Out Of The Shadows follows three queer South Asians and their journey of acceptance within their conservative Punjabi Sikh families. For Kayden, Jag and Amar, awakening to and expressing their sexuality within their traditional South Asian communities was a lonely and terrifying experience; denial, shame and despair haunted their youths, even threatening their lives. Topics like tradition and taboo are confronted by the cast and their families in this film that offers comfort, compassion and inspiration to individuals and communities struggling with acceptance. 

The feature documentary is produced by and stars Alex Sangha (My Name Was January) and features Kayden Bhangu, Jag Nagra, Jaspal Sangha, Avtar Singh Nagra, Rajwant Kaur Nagra and Harv Nagra. 

In addition to its festival run, the film will have community screenings, be premiered on OUTtv.

Emergence: Out Of The Shadows is being distributed by Moving Images Distribution. 

The Virtual Edition of the Palm Springs LGBTQ+ Film Festival, Cinema Diverse, is being held from 16-30 September.