Rainbow Lit Fest 2025 In Delhi To Feature Global Queer Voices And Rainbow Awards

New Delhi: This year’s edition of the Rainbow Lit Fest, described as South Asia’s largest queer-inclusive cultural festival, will be held on December 6 and 7 at the Gulmohar Park Club.

International and Indian Speakers Line Up

The festival will feature more than 90 speakers from Thailand, Canada, Norway, and Indian cities including Mumbai, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Pune, Shimla, Panaji, and Delhi. Programming will span 1,800 minutes and include film premieres, performances, and the 2025 Rainbow Awards.

Diverse Formats Across Two Venues

The two festival venues will host a wide spectrum of formats, including panel discussions, talks, sessions on history, dance, drag performances, poetry, short films, and music.

The event will also host the Queer Bazaar, showcasing LGBTQIA+ entrepreneurs representing the community across socio-economic, intersectional, and visibility spectrums.

Cinema Section Highlights

The cinema section will feature the Delhi premiere of Tara, directed by Dalit filmmaker Ashutosh Shankar and produced by Zena Sagar, a Dalit transgender woman.

Other premieres include the national premiere of Don’t Interrupt While We Dance by Anureet Watta. Additional screenings include The Night Queen starring Sheeba Chaddha, The Lime Green Shirt featuring Lillete Dubey, and Queer Parivar, a short film by South Asian-origin filmmakers from the UK.

Themes Explored by Esteemed Speakers

Speakers this year include Suvir Saran, Urvashi Butalia, Dolly Singh, Shahana Goswami, Blossom Kochhar, Anish Gawande, Gaurav Jagtiani, Madhavi Menon, and Saurabh Kirpal.

They will explore themes such as mental health, love, parenting, cinema, sensuality, kink, intersectionality, and other aspects of queer and everyday life that often remain unheard.

Festival Director Highlights Inclusive Space

Speaking about the edition, Sharif Rangnekar, director of Rainbow Lit Fest, said the festival continues to grow as a warm and open cultural space for people to speak, listen, and express themselves freely while celebrating lived experiences and honest storytelling.

He added, “We are grateful for the speakers, donors, sponsors, and community support groups that enable us to host the festival in a market where funds for queer initiatives are limited.”

Rainbow Awards for Literature and Journalism

The festival will also host the prestigious Rainbow Awards 2025 for literature and journalism, which received over 100 entries this year. The awards honour outstanding writing, reporting, and storytelling emerging from or engaging with queer narratives.

Rainbow Lit Fest

December 6 and 7

Gulmohar Park Club 

10.30am to 10.30pm