Female Lens
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German Premiere
short film

Auto Queens

Haricharan Sraiyanti / India / 2025 / 30 min

Amid dense traffic and long working days, auto-rickshaw drivers Mohana and Leela Rani are struggling for visibility and respect in Chennai, India, as they face a lack of infrastructure, unsafe parking facilities, harassment, and social prejudice. Together with other female drivers, they stand at the forefront of a growing movement of women who are taking the wheel and, step by step, leading a mobility revolution in a male-dominated industry.

Q&A

29.05. / Atrium Tower
Charlotte Ducos
Head of Industry at SWISS FILMS
Graduated from La Femis (France) in distribution, Charlotte worked as a programmer in Paris, a project manager in Hong Kong and was head of development for documentaries and immersive contents, before joining SWISS FILMS in 2022 where she holds now the position of Head of Industry. She founded Loreley Films in 2024 to highlight women directors in documentary cinema of the 20th century and is guest curator of the project Another Story.
Anna Mago
Human Rights Expert / FAIRTRADE Austria
Anna Mago is a social scientist who studied at Aston University and the University of Birmingham. She spent ten years at the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute of Human Rights and coordinated the Human Rights Research Centre at the University of Vienna. Since 2019 she has led Campaigns and Engagement at FAIRTRADE Austria, focusing on human rights and environmental protection along global supply chains. She serves on the boards of the Network Social Responsibility and the CLAW Climate Law Initiative.
Vanessa Schlesier
Journalist & Documentary Filmmaker
Vanessa Schlesier is a journalist and award-winning documentary filmmaker. She works as a director, author and camerawoman for international media including ARTE, ARD, ZDF and PBS Frontline. Previously she was an investigative reporter for Die WELT and Spiegel TV. Her work takes her to conflict regions such as Afghanistan, Syria and the DRC. She focuses on human rights, migration and the perspectives of women in authoritarian contexts.
Kerstin Wendt
Women in Mobility
Kerstin is one of the three CEOs of the network Women in Mobility with over 15 years of expertise in the mobility and security sector across various public and private institutions. She holds a PhD in High Performance Computing from UAB in Barcelona and is a great networker. Kerstin’s core topics include inclusive transportation solutions and gender-specific mobility challenges.

Trailer

Tickets

Cinema
29 May
6.30 PM
Atrium Tower
OmeU

Credits

Year 2025
Production Country India
Runtime 30 min
FSK Not rated
Language Tamil
Subtitle English
Premiere Status German Premiere
Director Haricharan Sraiyanti
Producers Sruti Lodha, Sarabhi Ravichandran, Mathivanan Rajendran

Tickets

Cinema
29 May
6.30 PM
Atrium Tower
OmeU
...