Amma’s Pride: Visibility, Acceptance and Celebration

Amma’s Pride: Visibility, Acceptance, and Celebration of Trans Youth

Join us for an evening that celebrates the power of storytelling and the voices of a new generation. The night begins with a screening of the award-winning short documentary Amma’s Pride, followed by a special reading and conversation with author Kimm Topping from their debut book Generation Queer: Stories of Youth Organizers, Artists, and Educators—a tribute to young trailblazers shaping a world rooted in intersectional, collaborative social justice. Together, we’ll explore how stories like Amma’s Pride and Generation Queer create spaces of belonging, empathy, and action. The evening concludes with a community dialogue, reflection, and celebration of the next generation of changemakers.

The event is made possible by: Asian Women Giving Circle and the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council.

• 7:00 pm Doors Open
• 7:15 pm Warm welcome by Chithra Jeyaram
• 7:20 pm Film Screening
  Amma's Pride chronicles Valli’s unwavering support for her trans daughter, Srija, as Srija fights for legal recognition of her marriage in a traditional South Indian town.
• 7:45 pm Book reading & conversation on trans & queer youth trailblazers
  Filmmaker Shiva Krish & Author Kimm Topping
• 8:30 pm Cash Bar
• 9:00 pm Event Ends

About

Kimm Topping, Ed.M. is a Brooklyn-based trans and queer artist-educator, writer, and historian dedicated to preserving and teaching LGBTQIA+ history. They are the author of Generation Queer: Stories of Youth Organizers, Artists, and Educators, a nonfiction collection celebrating young activists shaping a more just and inclusive world. As the founder of Lavender Education, Kimm creates arts and education programs that center queer history and liberation. With over a decade of experience, they have worked with schools and organizations nationwide to build affirming spaces, and currently lecture at the Harvard Graduate School of Education on gender, sexuality, and equity. Their work has been recognized by the 2025 Curve Power List and the Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition for their lasting impact on LGBTQIA+ education and advocacy.

SHIVA KRISH: DIRECTOR (He/Him) began his career as an assistant director on the Tamil feature film ORU NAAL IRAVIL Volunteering during the Chennai floods of 2015 connected him with several local nonprofits, which in turn sparked his interest in documentaries. After that, he made short documentaries on demonetization in India and schizophrenia in collaboration with nonprofits. He was the first assistant director in the acclaimed Amazon Prime documentary series HARMONY WITH A.R. RAHMAN. AMMA’S PRIDE is his first independent documentary short.

Chithra Jeyaram is a physical therapist turned filmmaker who identifies as Tamil. Her films reveal the extraordinary in the everyday, focusing on the wisdom, resilience, and love of biological and chosen families. Her feature documentary FOREIGN PUZZLE is a poignant exploration of motherhood that contrasts cancer's brutality with the resilience of dance, and LOVE CHAOS KIN fills a critical gap in mainstream adoption narratives by highlighting multicultural families through the lens of immigrants. She has edited the feature documentary - Sex Work, It’s Just a Job (2025) and filmed and edited the feature documentary One Thousand and One Berber Nights (2023). Chithra is an adjunct faculty member at NYU. She is an alumna of prestigious programs, including Visions du Réel’s RoughCut Lab, the Chicken & (Egg)celerator Lab, the BGDM Artist Fellowship, the Gotham Documentary Fellowship, and the Jerome Foundation grant. Her films have been showcased by platforms and festivals such as 2M, PBS, CBSN, Apple TV, BlackStar, SXSW, and DOC NYC. She calls Chennai and New York City home and is writing her first screenplay, THE LONGEST SUMMER.