The lockdown goes on, but so does our bid to make the most of a time when going online is the best way to find all-new-activities. Everyone is doing their best to find respite through the sanctuaries provided by the internet, when being stuck at home pushes us to discover new online platforms which today have become the main sources of entertainment. Where conversations take place virtually, and where virtual meet-ups and webinars are the order of the day. The exchange of ideas and thoughts now happens on Zoom and one is continually learning how to make technology work for their business. Pride month is no different.
Around the world, from New York to Dublin to Seattle, drag performances and acts by the likes of queer artistes Billy Porter and Black Belt Eagle Scout, parade retrospectives, trans film series, and the marriage of themes like #blacklivesmatter and ending police brutality with the LGBTQIA+ movement will be some virtual offerings of US and European Pride parades. Events which hitherto took place at venues, on roads and in maidans, are now online. The greatest benefits of the events happening online is that people from any part of the world can tune in. Another advantage is that many events which were paid-for earlier will now be available to interested folks for free.
The 11th Kashish Mumbai International Queer Film Festival will go online this year. While passes have to be bought to watch the films, the panel discussions and the opening and closing ceremonies can be viewed online without a ticket. The festival is now called Kashish 2020 Virtual and mirrors how planners have adapted to new realities.
Says Sridhar Rangayan, Festival Director, “Kashish is the first major film festival in India to go completely online. It will be a nine-day festival. It will showcase 100+ Indian and international LGBTQIA+ films as well as have panel discussions and filmmaker interactions. The films will be available for viewing on a special online platform, which we will publicise on our website when the time is right. The schedule for the festival will also be available there, and it will drop in at a certain time. There will be links on our website which will lead participants to the films they want to watch, which will be available for only 24 hours for which passes will be required. People can watch the panel discussions on YouTube which can be accessed any time, even after the festival. With the festival going on the web, it will now open up to the whole world, which was not the case earlier.”
The British Council India is holding the Digital Pride Festival (#PrideAtHome) along with another initiative called More Films for Freedom, in partnership with The Queer Muslim Project, till June 28. The digital pride festival will bring together talents from India and the UK’s queer arts communities, from fields like music, dance and the theatre, whose art will celebrate a new atmosphere of inclusion. ‘More Films for Freedom’ will feature three short films with LGBTQIA+ leitmotifs, made by Syrian, South African and Palestinian filmmakers, available from June through September. The social media platforms details and the festival schedule can be found on British Council India’s website.
LGBTQIA+ podcasts are a new thing where subjects like coming out, queer parenting and more are tackled openly and frankly. One such podcast, called Azaad Awaaz, is hosted by filmmaker Mozez Singh on Amazon’s Audible Suno. Shares Singh, “I didn’t want to bring only celebrities on board. I wanted to also invite ‘real people’. Each episode is different. We have had on air lawyers for the Article 377 petition and one of the petitioners Keshav Suri (who is a huge LGBTQIA+ icon) to discuss what went into filing the petition. We also invited a trans man, who is a pilot, who spoke about his ‘horrific journey’ from female to male. The podcasts reveal how the guests went through a trial by fire and are now telling their stories. We are planning season two at a time when it will be possible to meet, because we prefer it when participants feed of each other’s energy in a studio.”
Then there is a #21DaysAllyChallenge that has been planned by Pride Circle, a consulting company in India promoting equality at workplaces for LGBTQIA+ community. The challenge will be one for Allies. One can register for the challenge before July 1 and complete tasks that have been set, mainly geared towards sensitising the society to LGBTQIA+ issues. Some challenges include reading LGBTQIA+ books and learning about intersectionality and its adjuncts. Participants earn points as they complete tasks and the highest point earners win prizes worth Rs 20,000 each along with certificates.
“We found that we were not really able to engage enough people through the companies we work with and hence thought up this 21-day-challenge. It takes 21 days to learn a new habit. We wanted to neutralize biases and reach people through multiple touch points. The first few challenges are directed at education and legal perspectives around the world. To help people know LGBTQIA+ laws that are local to them. We also wanted people to have the awareness to check with someone which pronoun they identify with, in case someone doesn’t identify with their assigned pronoun. The challenges also create cognizance about supporting LGBTQIA+ businesses, for example, ordering a birthday cake from a bakery owned by an LGBTQIA+ person, calling out ‘homophobic’ jokes and using the right vocab,” shares Ramkrishna Sinha, Pride Circle’s Co-Founder. If this is something that excites you, you can register for the challenge on https://thepridecircle.com/21daysallychallenge/.
