An official selection at the 2009 Berlin International Film Festival and shown at the 33rd Festival des film du monde Montreal (Montreal World Film Festival), Produced with German collaboration and released in 2009, the 90-minute Chan di Chummi (Kiss the Moon) is a revealing documentary about the lives of transsexuals.

It portrays the life of eunuch (’Khusras or Hijra), members of a closely-knit sub-culture of transsexuals in Pakistan. The strikingly ample transgenders  “Khusra” community is well-versed in the complex and ancient cultural traditions of Pakistani society. Sometimes their relationship to society is harmonious; at other times they are at noticeable odds with one another.

Chan di chummi is an ardent attempt to forge intimate contact with the “Khusra”-community, to comprehend how it feels to live in a world where life is divided into a rigid binary of either masculine or feminine. The ultimate goal of the film is to cross gender boundaries and to probe into the true essence of being – the desire to love and be loved.
Shot beautifully in Lahore, The documentary features several transsexuals. Focusing in particular on three of them — Ainee, Sonya and Boota — the director Khalid Gill explores in depth the lives of these people shunned by the mainstream society. He examines the myths, folklore and superstitions surrounding them, including the misconception that they can bring good or bad luck upon others.

Sonya, one of the “Kushras”, explains:

“We dream of having a normal home, with all the things that a normal person desires. But this cruel world won’t let us live that way. They never let us live in peace”. Her sad words have a resounding effect.

A glimpse of the Documentary: