Mumbai Queer Film Festival
Encyclopedia
The Kashish – Mumbai International Queer Film Festival (also known as Mumbai International Queer Film Festival and Mumbai International Queer Film Festival) is an annual LGBT
event that has been held in Mumbai
, India
since the year 2010. The film festival
screens gay
, lesbian
, bisexual, transgender
and queer
films from India and around the world.
court ruling decriminalised homosexual intercourse between consenting adults and judged Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code
to be conflicting with the fundamental rights guaranteed by the Constitution of India
. This brought a respite to the Indian LGBT community that has been repressed and marginalized. This also led to open celebrations by LGBT
persons including Pride Parades in many of the metros.
This was followed by the relaunch of India's first gay magazine – Bombay Dost. The Indian Election Commission
decided to recognize transgender as a separate category. All these activities brought media focus and visibility to the LGBT community in India.
Kashish Mumbai Queer Film Festival takes this movement forward through the medium of films. It makes LGBT persons, their desires and aspirations visible through films and brings about an international perspective to LGBT media works. The objective is to mainstream the LGBT community and project them as 'normal' human beings who have the capacity to love and live with dignity. The festival offers cinema as a means to understand what being queer means today, and how it impacts both the queer community and the society at large.
Many recent as well as undiscovered Indian films and cutting edge contemporary international films from Argentina, Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Indonesia, Israel, New Zealand, Portugal, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Taiwan, Thailand, UK and USA were screened. Eminent personalities from films, art, fashion, media and queer activists were part of the jury for its competitive sections. Panel discussions about Indian queer culture and its portrayal, and a photo-exhibition are a part of the film festival.
In its debut year Festival Director Sridhar Rangayan
said he hoped that the film festival would encourage greater visibility of queer cinema and bring it into the mainstream discourse. He has said that the Festival showcases the films to both queer and mainstream audiences, in order to make them aware about queer thought, desires and expressions.
(Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender) communities, film industry people, sponsors, media, film buffs and the general public. Many of them would not have had an opportunity to see these films outside the festival, since these films rarely receive commercial release in India.
, Bombay Dost and The Humsafar Trust which have earlier been involved in production and distribution of films and publications on queer and HIV/AIDS issues.
Solaris Pictures
has consistently produced films on queer themes. Its award-winning films like Gulabi Aaina, Yours Emotionally
and 68 Pages
, all dealing with gay and transgender stories, have pushed the boundaries in queer portrayals in Indian films.
Bombay Dost, India’s first registered LGBT magazine, has been a standard bearer for the growing confidence and artistic alacrity displayed by India’s queer community.
The Humsafar Trust has been one of the largest male sexual health agency working with gay, bisexual and transgender communities in India focusing on rights and health.
The film festival is supported by Movies That Matter, (an initiative of Amnesty International
) in the Netherlands
, which promotes international human rights
film screenings, offers advice and assistance, and stimulates the exchange of knowledge and experience.
LGBT
LGBT is an initialism that collectively refers to "lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender" people. In use since the 1990s, the term "LGBT" is an adaptation of the initialism "LGB", which itself started replacing the phrase "gay community" beginning in the mid-to-late 1980s, which many within the...
event that has been held in Mumbai
Mumbai
Mumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
since the year 2010. The film festival
Film festival
A film festival is an organised, extended presentation of films in one or more movie theaters or screening venues, usually in a single locality. More and more often film festivals show part of their films to the public by adding outdoor movie screenings...
screens gay
Gay
Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....
, lesbian
Lesbian
Lesbian is a term most widely used in the English language to describe sexual and romantic desire between females. The word may be used as a noun, to refer to women who identify themselves or who are characterized by others as having the primary attribute of female homosexuality, or as an...
, bisexual, transgender
Transgender
Transgender is a general term applied to a variety of individuals, behaviors, and groups involving tendencies to vary from culturally conventional gender roles....
and queer
Queer
Queer is an umbrella term for sexual minorities that are not heterosexual, heteronormative, or gender-binary. In the context of Western identity politics the term also acts as a label setting queer-identifying people apart from discourse, ideologies, and lifestyles that typify mainstream LGBT ...
films from India and around the world.
Background
The year 2009 was a historic one for the LGBT movement in India. On 2 July 2009, a Delhi High CourtDelhi High Court
The High Court of Delhi was established on 31 October 1966. The High Court of Delhi was established with four judges. They were Chief Justice K. S. Hegde, Justice I. D. Dua, Justice H. R. Khanna and Justice S. K. Kapur.-History:...
court ruling decriminalised homosexual intercourse between consenting adults and judged Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code
Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code
Chapter XVI, Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code is a piece of legislation in India introduced during British rule of India that criminalises sexual activity "against the order of nature." The section was read down to decriminalise same-sex behaviour among consenting adults in a historic...
to be conflicting with the fundamental rights guaranteed by the Constitution of India
Constitution of India
The Constitution of India is the supreme law of India. It lays down the framework defining fundamental political principles, establishes the structure, procedures, powers, and duties of government institutions, and sets out fundamental rights, directive principles, and the duties of citizens...
. This brought a respite to the Indian LGBT community that has been repressed and marginalized. This also led to open celebrations by LGBT
LGBT
LGBT is an initialism that collectively refers to "lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender" people. In use since the 1990s, the term "LGBT" is an adaptation of the initialism "LGB", which itself started replacing the phrase "gay community" beginning in the mid-to-late 1980s, which many within the...
persons including Pride Parades in many of the metros.
This was followed by the relaunch of India's first gay magazine – Bombay Dost. The Indian Election Commission
Election Commission of India
The Election Commission of India is an autonomous, quasi-judiciary constitutional body of India. Its mission is to conduct free and fair elections in India...
decided to recognize transgender as a separate category. All these activities brought media focus and visibility to the LGBT community in India.
Kashish Mumbai Queer Film Festival takes this movement forward through the medium of films. It makes LGBT persons, their desires and aspirations visible through films and brings about an international perspective to LGBT media works. The objective is to mainstream the LGBT community and project them as 'normal' human beings who have the capacity to love and live with dignity. The festival offers cinema as a means to understand what being queer means today, and how it impacts both the queer community and the society at large.
The Festival
Kashish Mumbai Queer Film Festival, 2010 was held between 22 and 25 April 2010, spread across two venues in Mumbai – one in the city and one in the suburbs. Features, short films, documentaries and experimental films were screened that highlighted gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender characters and stories. The films explore the diverse realities, complexities, joys and sorrows that make up the Indian queer experience. They also celebrate, reclaim, and explain LGBTQ identities while engaging and entertaining audiences. The film festival brings together the audience, the films and their makers to create social change.Many recent as well as undiscovered Indian films and cutting edge contemporary international films from Argentina, Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Indonesia, Israel, New Zealand, Portugal, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Taiwan, Thailand, UK and USA were screened. Eminent personalities from films, art, fashion, media and queer activists were part of the jury for its competitive sections. Panel discussions about Indian queer culture and its portrayal, and a photo-exhibition are a part of the film festival.
In its debut year Festival Director Sridhar Rangayan
Sridhar Rangayan
Sridhar Rangayan ) is an Indian filmmaker who has made films with special focus on queer subjects. His queer films, The Pink Mirror and Yours Emotionally, have been considered groundbreaking because of their realistic and sympathetic portrayal of the largely closeted Indian gay community...
said he hoped that the film festival would encourage greater visibility of queer cinema and bring it into the mainstream discourse. He has said that the Festival showcases the films to both queer and mainstream audiences, in order to make them aware about queer thought, desires and expressions.
Target audience
The annual Festival's main target audience includes members of the LGBTLGBT
LGBT is an initialism that collectively refers to "lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender" people. In use since the 1990s, the term "LGBT" is an adaptation of the initialism "LGB", which itself started replacing the phrase "gay community" beginning in the mid-to-late 1980s, which many within the...
(Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender) communities, film industry people, sponsors, media, film buffs and the general public. Many of them would not have had an opportunity to see these films outside the festival, since these films rarely receive commercial release in India.
Organizers
Mumbai Queer Film Festival is one more initiative in the ongoing Media Advocacy and Community Outreach programs by Solaris PicturesSolaris Pictures
Solaris Pictures is an Indian film production company based in Mumbai. It was created by Sridhar Rangayan, and Saagar Gupta in 1991. The two have gone on to create several award winning films under Solaris Pictures' banner, focusing on LGBT issues and HIV/AIDS....
, Bombay Dost and The Humsafar Trust which have earlier been involved in production and distribution of films and publications on queer and HIV/AIDS issues.
Solaris Pictures
Solaris Pictures
Solaris Pictures is an Indian film production company based in Mumbai. It was created by Sridhar Rangayan, and Saagar Gupta in 1991. The two have gone on to create several award winning films under Solaris Pictures' banner, focusing on LGBT issues and HIV/AIDS....
has consistently produced films on queer themes. Its award-winning films like Gulabi Aaina, Yours Emotionally
Yours Emotionally
Yours Emotionally is a United Kingdom-Indian co-produced film with a gay theme. The film was selected for participation in LGBT film festivals in San Francisco , New York , Amsterdam and others.-Summary:The film raises issues of cultural identities and challenges stereotypes...
and 68 Pages
68 Pages
68 Pages is a 2007 Indian film about a HIV/AIDS counselor and five of her counselees who are from various marginalized communities. The film is directed by Sridhar Rangayan and produced by The Humsafar Trust in association with Solaris Pictures. It had its world premiere at the International Film...
, all dealing with gay and transgender stories, have pushed the boundaries in queer portrayals in Indian films.
Bombay Dost, India’s first registered LGBT magazine, has been a standard bearer for the growing confidence and artistic alacrity displayed by India’s queer community.
The Humsafar Trust has been one of the largest male sexual health agency working with gay, bisexual and transgender communities in India focusing on rights and health.
The film festival is supported by Movies That Matter, (an initiative of Amnesty International
Amnesty International
Amnesty International is an international non-governmental organisation whose stated mission is "to conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights, and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated."Following a publication of Peter Benenson's...
) in the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
, which promotes international human rights
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
film screenings, offers advice and assistance, and stimulates the exchange of knowledge and experience.
Best Documentary Feature Film
- 2010: Prodigal SonsProdigal Sons (film)Prodigal Sons is a 2008 American documentary produced and directed by Kimberly Reed.-Background:In the 1960s Carol McKerrow is a married woman living in Montana. She and her husband Loren, believing that she is infertile, adopt a baby boy they name Marc...
- Kimberly Reed - 2011: We Were HereWe Were Here (film)We Were Here is a 2011 documentary film about the AIDS crisis in San Francisco. The film, produced and directed by David Weissman with editor/ co-director and Bill Weber, premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2011, The Berlin Film Festival in February 2011 and had its theatrical...
- David WeissmanDavid WeissmanDavid Weissman is a screenwriter and director. His film credits include The Family Man , Evolution , and When in Rome .-External links:...
Best Documentary Short Film
- 2010: "XXWHY" - Bharathy Manjula
- 2011: "Bullied" - Bill Brummel and Geoffrey Sharp
Best International Narrative Short Film
- 2010: "Steam" - Eldar Rapaport
- 2011: "Let The World Know About Me" - Marianna Giordano
Best Indian Narrative Short Film
- 2010: "Lost & Found" - Shrenik Jain
- 2011: "Amen" - Ranadeep Bhattacharya and Judhajit Bagchi
Riyad Wadia Award For Best Emerging Indian Filmmaker
- 2011: Kusum-the flower bud - Shumona Banerjee