Panaji, Jan 22 (UNI) Cássio Pereira dos Santos, Director of the Brazilian movie Valentina, which is being screened at 51st International Film Festival of India (IFFI) here, has said that the film has sought to address the social boycott Brazil's transgender students face.
Addressing a press conference here, he said,'If we need to change the reality, we need to make the issue more visible. The reality of transgenders in Brazil is not upright. Due to ignorance, there are prejudices against them, they suffer huge biases, besides falling victims to hate crimes. Due to their different identity, many students drop out of schools as the environment there is hostile towards them.
It is a big issue in Brazil where there are a large number of people of the third gender. The urge to throw light on this social boycott they face led us to the making of Valentina. The film is our effort to change reality by making it more visible.”