Eunuchs: India's Third Gender

Directed by Michael Yorke

Hijras. Eunuchs. Transgender.

This extraordinary film explores the twilight world of India's eunuchs who both exploit and bewail their ill-defined status within society. The eunuchs introduce a special world, where for them divinity and daily life alternate in the flash of an exquisitely made-up eye. A 3,600-strong ancient sect who claim to be descended from the gods live in relative luxury. Other Indian men explain why they too underwent painful castration.