Vaishnavi Sundar is an independent filmmaker, feminist, writer, and women's rights activist from Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India, and the founder of Women Making Films and Lime Soda Films. She directed India's first feature-length documentary on workplace sexual harassment, and has since released a four-part documentary series examining the social, medical, and institutional construction of gender identity.
Behind the Looking Glass
This documentary centres on the lives and experiences of women whose partners have or want to transition — women sometimes referred to as "trans widows." While public discourse has focused heavily on the experiences of transitioning men, the voices of their wives and partners have been largely absent. Collecting testimony from women worldwide, the film examines patterns of coercive control, emotional, financial, and sexual abuse that for some women coincide with their husbands identifying as trans. The film features interviews with the trans widows themselves alongside commentary from gender-critical voices including Helen Joyce and Genevieve Gluck, offering broader context on what this phenomenon means for women's rights. It is the first documentary of its kind and is available in full on YouTube.
But What Was She Wearing?
Shot by an all-woman crew, this documentary was India's first feature-length film on the sexual harassment of working women. Taking into account differences across caste, class, and religion among Indian women, the film focuses on women speaking collectively as women for women about women. Human Events
Dysphoric: Fleeing Womanhood Like a House on Fire (2021)
This four-part documentary explores the social, medical, and institutional construction of gender identity, placing women and girls front and centre. It questions why they may feel uncomfortable in their sexed bodies and examines the myriad harms involved in medical transitioning. The full documentary is available free on YouTube.
Biography
Vaishnavi Sundar is a self-taught filmmaker from the south of India who writes, directs, and produces all of her films under her own production company, Lime Soda Films. She is an alumna of the International Visitor Leadership Program, a professional exchange program funded by the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. When a screening of But What Was She Wearing? was cancelled over her views on gender identity policy, she became what she describes as a "cancelled feminist" — a title she wears with pride. She guest lectures at institutions including IIT Madras on cinema, feminism, and equality.
