Mumbai to host South Asia's biggest queer film festival

KASHISH, South Asia’s biggest and India’s only mainstream LGBTQ film festival is back with its seventh edition in Mumbai. The queer film festival will be held between May 25 – May 29 at three venues in South Mumbai – Liberty Cinema, Alliance Francaise de Bombay and Max Mueller Bhavan.

According to reports, forty-one films will compete for top awards at the International Queer Film festival and will screen 182 films from 53 countries.“The quality of the films in competition this year is a testimony of diversity of narrative style as well as technical and aesthetic brilliance of filmmaking," said Sridhar Rangayan, festival director.

He further added that these are not just LGBTQ films, but films that have a new storytelling edge to them. “Every year KASHISH tries to raise the bar, and this year the films in competition in seven categories are definitely world-class," he said.

According to Saagar Gupta, the Director of Programming, Films in Competition are shortlisted on the basis of novelty of idea or engaging storytelling or technical brilliance or all of these. Special attention is given to those dealing with issues faced by LGBTQ youth in a positive, uplifting manner; or act as a catalyst for a discussion; and also reiterate this year’s theme – 7 SHADES OF LOVE.

Also, cash awards for Best Narrative Feature Film, Best Indian Narrative Short Film and Best Performance in a Lead Role will be sponsored by Anupam Kher’s renowned acting school- Actor Prepares.The winner of the Riyad Wadia Award for Best Emerging Indian Filmmaker will win a cash prize of Rs 15,000 sponsored by Wadia Movietone. The Best Indian short film at KASHISH also gets to compete for the Iris Prize in UK which carries a cash prize of 25,000 pounds.

• queer
• LGBTQ
• Mumbai
• KASHISH