iNDICA NEWS BUREAU-
Your Love, a four-minute cinematic love letter to the Queer South Asian elders and their forgotten and unfinished love stories queer, non-binary, written and directed by Canadian-Indian actor Sundeep Morrison has secured a coveted spot at Outfest Los Angeles LGBTQ+ Festival, the largest, most prestigious queer film festival in the world scheduled to be held on Friday, July 21, 2023, as part of its popular shorts programming.
Your Love is a Queer South Asian love story about two young women who are forced apart only to be reunited years later with the help of an unexpected soul and given a second chance at love. The film’s world premiere took place at Kashish Mumbai Queer Film Festival, the longest-running LGBTQIA+ festival in South Asia, in June (Pride Month), where Morrison was in attendance and was recognized as an emerging Indian filmmaker.
Sundeep Morrison is an award-winning Queer Non-binary Punjabi Sikh actor, writer, and director. Your Love will have its North American premiere at Outfest Los Angeles LGBTQ+ Festival 2023. Sundeep also received the award for Best Drama at United Solo (2022) and was awarded the Disruptors TV Writing Fellowship (2021) and was proud to be part of the Trans and Non-Binary cohort. A graduate of the American Musical and Dramatic Academy New York, their work focuses on social justice, sexuality, and gender. A child of Punjabi Sikh immigrants, Sundeep pursues their passion as a storyteller to explore the beautiful and, at times, painful complexities of growing up with deep Eastern roots in a Western world.
“This feels like the universe conspiring to recognize and reward true love, the kind we see in films, more specifically, our short film,” said Morrison. “I was raised by my maternal grandmother (Biji) and hearing her stories of hope and sacrifice is what inspired me to become a storyteller. Being out and open about your sexuality is a privilege that is not afforded to all. I wanted to share this inter-generational story celebrating queer love.”
Based on the true story of a South Asian woman who came out of the closet in her 60s, Your Love is set to Vancouver-based Producer Khanvict’s re-mixed imagining of the iconic Punjabi folk song “Ik Tera Pyaar” by Noor Jahan, the film reminds us that “our one true love” can carry us through life, regardless of what phase we are in.
Weaving in themes of ageism in the South Asian community, family pressure, and social constructs of what “queer love” should look like, Your Love is especially relevant now because legislation for LGBTQIA+ rights is in limbo and somewhat non-existent in many parts of the world, including India. “Love may be universal, but it is universally under attack when it breaks the binary expectation of society,” said Morrison.
