“RANI” Places 2nd in the 2019 PBS Online Film Festival “Most Popular” Films

A transgender woman on the streets of Karachi, Pakistan, stands and chats with a young child while pushing a cart of stuffed animals
Rani is a social outcast, transgender woman who sets out to take care of an abandoned child. Set on the streets of Pakistan, she is determined to do the right thing amid waves of challenges.

Thanks to all of our supporters and everyone who voted during the PBS Online Film Festival! Because of your support, Rani, directed by Hammad Rizvi, was the second most watched, voted, and shared film!

 

About the filmmaker

Hammad Rizvi is an award-winning writer and director from Austin, Texas. As a Pakistani-American raised in various parts of the world, his films often tackle topics that are as diverse as they are raw. His most recent film Rani won the Outstanding Writer Award at the NBCUniversal Short Film Festival, Fox Inclusion Award at Outfest LA and was added to Hulu. Hammad’s other award-winning films include Road to Peshawar, which aired on PBS and won the Bridging the Borders Award at Palm Springs Shortfest and Sunny Square, which won best short at Houston Worldfest. Hammad currently calls Los Angeles home, is repped by ICM Partners and Circle of Confusion, holds an MFA from UT-Austin and has yet to find a cure for the travel bug.

Rani is Kami Sid’s first movie role. She has gone on to become Pakistan’s first transgender model and a leading advocate for LGBTQ rights in the country. Rani is a joint US-Pakistan production between Rizvilia Productions and Grayscale.

Congrats to the winners of the PBS Online Film Festival:

Most Popular Film: BT Lives in the Stitch, Presented by Illinois Public Media

Juried Prize Winner: The Moon and the Night, Presented by PIC