Art
Female Lens
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German Premiere

Redlight to Limelight

Bipuljit Basu / India, Finland, Latvia / 2025 / 100 min

In Kolkata’s red-light district, sex workers and their children have founded their own film production company. Instead of bowing to their predetermined fate, they have taken up the camera themselves. Resolutely opposing poverty, stigma, and patriarchal structures, they write and produce their own films. They play themselves, and while their everyday lives are marked by precariousness, life and fiction become increasingly blurred. With each scene, the women fight for visibility and the right to tell their own stories, always hoping for a better future for their daughters.

Q&A

29.05. / Atrium Tower
Bipuljit Basu
Director
Bipuljit Basu is a Sundance DFP and IDFA grantee, emerging from India’s documentary scene with a focus on marginalized South Asian narratives. A postgraduate in Social Development, he brings socially significant, culturally resonant stories to global audiences. From 2016-19, he also worked as an overseas distributor for Bengali cinema, promoting socially conscious films to Indian diasporas worldwide.
Anna Mago
Moderator
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.

Q&A

01.06. / Sputnik Kino
Bipuljit Basu
Director
Bipuljit Basu is a Sundance DFP and IDFA grantee, emerging from India’s documentary scene with a focus on marginalized South Asian narratives. A postgraduate in Social Development, he brings socially significant, culturally resonant stories to global audiences. From 2016-19, he also worked as an overseas distributor for Bengali cinema, promoting socially conscious films to Indian diasporas worldwide.
Brana Ertl
Expert
Dr. Brana Ertl is a clinical psychologist & counseling coordinator at the Berlin women’s center SUSI. Her work supports migrant women and examines social factors affecting marginalized groups. She holds a Master’s in Children’s Rights (FU Berlin) and a PhD in Psychology (Bielefeld University), focusing on autonomy, well-being, and norms among Romani girls and communities. Her feminist, intersectional approach centers on migration, identity, and the impact of social exclusion on girls and women.
Blanca Rodríguez
Expert
Blanca Rodríguez is completing her psychology degree. Her background in philosophy and circus/theater education shapes her understanding of the body and performative expression. Working as a professional Dominatrix informs her interest in power dynamics, consent, and non-normative sexuality. Her feminist, non-pathologizing approach focuses on embodiment, emotional health, and the construction of identity and intimacy within complex social contexts.

Trailer

Credits

Year 2025
Production Countries India, Finland, Latvia
Runtime 100 min
FSK Not rated
Language Bengali
Subtitle English
Premiere Status German Premiere
Director Bipuljit Basu
Producer Nilotpal Majumdar
...