Tinsel town has witnessed and hosted many film festivals, but the one starting today is a class apart. Kashish - Mumbai International Queer Film Festival, starts from April 22 to April 25, promises four days of queer celebration across many platforms of artistic expression.
For the very first time Kashish will make its entry into the world of multiplexes. The films will be screened at two venues – Alliance Française, Marine Lines and PVR in Juhu.
There are 110 films that will be screened across 25 countries. Festival director Kashish, Sridhar Rangayan said, “From India alone there are 25 films. You might consider it a small number, but India is the second largest representative; there are 33 films from the United States, the highest representative. I thought not many queer films were made in India.”
All the films screened highlight gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender characters and stories, exploring the diverse realities, complexities, joys and sorrows that make up their experiences in India and across the world.
Rangayan admits that it was a challenge to convince authorities to let the films be screened at the multiplex. “These films talk and deal with serious issues. We are not here to provide titillation, and neither are we trying to sensationalise the movies,” Rangayan said.
Kashish comprises feature films, documentary and even short films. The films they received were short-listed by a self-appointed selection committee.
The committee was very particular about the kind of films they selected. “We don’t want to hurt the Indian sensibility. We had to discard 30 films for various reasons,” Rangayan said. The selected films were submitted to the Indian Broadcast Ministry for their approval.
EnGAYging Lives and Speak Up! It’s Not Your Fault, the former being on homosexuality and the latter on child sexual abuse are documentaries made by students from the social communication media department of Sophia polytechnic.
The festival has received an overwhelming response. Around 700 people registered to watch the film, but the seating capacity is only for 200.
