As a queer person, I never expected one of the most meaningful changes in my life would come through building more friendships with heterosexual people. Yet that is exactly what has happened as I have become more involved in the film industry as a producer and film festival co-founder. My social circle has gradually expanded, and I have found myself meeting people who are thoughtful, welcoming, respectful, and kind.
For much of my life, I kept some distance from the straight community. Like many queer people, I did not always feel safe, accepted, or comfortable enough to be fully myself. Those feelings were shaped by personal experience and by a society that was often far less understanding than it is today. But life has a way of teaching us new lessons. I am now realizing that many of the walls I carried were no longer serving me, and that when people approach one another with empathy, honesty, and goodwill, real connection becomes possible.
I believe the queer community should continue building stronger bridges with straight friends, families, allies, and supporters. This is not about forgetting the struggles of the past or pretending discrimination has disappeared. It is about recognizing that progress also looks like trust, friendship, and shared humanity. Most queer people are born into straight families, and we live and work in a society where heterosexual people are still the majority. Building stronger relationships across those lines helps create a safer, more united, and more compassionate world for everyone.
It also helps protect the gains that have been made. When straight people know us personally, work alongside us, care about us, and see our full humanity, they are more likely to stand with us in defending equality in public life, in institutions, and in the broader culture. That kind of solidarity matters, especially at a time when rights can never be taken for granted.
I am proud that Sher Pride has always welcomed not only queer people, but also their friends, families, allies, and supporters. That has always been one of our strengths. True community is not built through separation alone. It is built through connection. If queer and straight people can see one another not as threats, but as fellow human beings and friends, then that may be one of the clearest signs that our activism has made a lasting difference.
Amar Sangha is the founder of Sher Pride and co-founder of the Sundar Prize Film Festival, which runs from April 23 to 26 in Delta and Surrey. Amar is also the producer of My Name Was January (2018), Emergence: Out of the Shadows (2021), and I, Migrant (coming 2026).
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