South Asia’s biggest queer film festival which had its beginnings in 2010 will celebrate its 10th anniversary this year. Commencing on June 12 at 6 pm at its two iconic venues in South Mumbai: Liberty Cinema and Metro Inox, the theme this year is ‘Over the Rainbow’.
Among the 160 entries from around the world, 50 will compete for top awards. Entries have come in from 43 different countries and even from around India. Vernaculars like ‘U for Usha’ (in Marathi, directed by Rohan Kanawade featuring Kiran Khoje as lead) and ‘Njan Marykutty’ (in Malayalam, directed by Ranjith Sankar) will be screened. With this, the viewers can get closer glimpses of the queer community in the interiors, the hinterlands of the country as well as from around the globe.
With Taiwan becoming the first country to legalise gay marriage in Asia and the decriminalisation of Section 377 in 2018, Kashish celebrates these victories with flying colours. The festival will hand out prizes of Rs.3.95 lakh, the highest since it began. Thirty one Indian LGBTQ films will be screened at the festival: narrative feature films, narrative short films and documentary short films. The Narrative Jury this year comprises of actors Kitu Gidwani and Sheeba Chadha, and filmmaker Neeraj Ghaywan. The Student Short Film jury comprises of filmmaker Somnath Sen, screenwriter Jyoti Kapoor and professor Ivan John. The Documentary jury includes Ranjan Das, Pankaj Rishi Kumar and Paromita Vohra.
The festival is supported by Bureau du Quebec in Mumbai. Consul and Director Dominic Marcotte puts forward the history of LGBTQ+ rights in Canada being fought since the ’70s and extends support. The awards are sponsored by Anupam Kher’s Actor Prepares, Lotus Visual, Whistling Woods International, GagaOOla, K F Patil Charitable Trust, Wadia Movietone and India’s esteemed fashion designer Wendell Rodricks. A new category this year is the award for the Best Screenplay instituted by actor Abhay Kulkarni with a cash prize of Rs. 15,000 in memory of renowned poet and author, the late Dr Arvind Waman Kulkarni.
Njan Marykutty |
The festival will open with ‘Just Friends’ directed by Ellen Smit, a film from The Netherlands on June 12 and close with Malayalam film, ‘Njan Marykutty’ starring award winning actor Jayasurya. The festival will also have ‘A Monsoon Date’ as one of the short films, featuring Konkona SenSharma, directed by Tanuja Chandra.
As one of those rare initiatives in India to give LGBTQ+ voices a platform, Kashish has come far from where it began in 2010 with reluctant nods from the authorities, survived the hard times in 2014 when the SC upheld section 377 causing gay rights in India to take a blow, and come through with its 10th anniversary this year. Having overcome obstacles and with a will to continue doing so, now truly ‘Over The Rainbow’.
