Silicon Valley Queer Film Festival

DogFriend

Comedy-Drama

Country of Origin: Germany

A date takes an unexpected turn in this meditation on race, politics and history in Germany.

PRODUCER

Sailesh Naidu

naidu.sailesh@gmail.com

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ABOUT THE PRODUCER

Sailesh Naidu (they/them) is a poet, filmmaker, and researcher who explores the relationship between the deeply personal and the deeply connected. They spent the last decade working in the field of education and forced migration with a focus on gender and sexuality. In 2016 they were awarded the prestigious German Chancellor’s Fellowship and served under mentorship of Office Chancellor Angela Merkel. In 2021 their debut short film “DogFriend” which they created and produced was awarded funding by the German Ministry of Arts and Culture. “DogFriend ” had its world premier at the British Film Institute, was featured at the Tribeca Film Festival and was nominated for the German Oscar in 2022. In 2023 they founded Temple Bandits a production company focused on telling stories by, for, and with queer and trans people of the global majority. Collectively their works have been featured in the NYTimes, Die Zeit, The Schwules Museum, The Hindu, LiteraturHaus Berlin, DADDY Magazine, GALDEM, Volksbühne Berlin, among many others.