The ‘Queer Film Festival’ comes back for the sixth time at three iconic locations in South Mumbai; registrations have opened.
by The Editors | editor@themetrognome.in
KASHISH Mumbai International Queer Film Festival returns for its sixth edition this May – with a lineup of around 180 films from 44 countries, it is bigger tha previous editions. South Asia’s biggest and India’s only mainstream LGBT film fest will be held between May 27 and 31, 2015 at three venues – the iconic art deco Liberty Cinema, Alliance Francaise de Bombay and the Max Muller Bhavan. Online delegate registrations have opened on the festival website www.mumbaiqueerfest.com.
“We are indeed very happy to continue to organise our festival at Liberty as the main venue. Its grandeur and scale is befitting the ambitious scale of KASHISH this year,” said festival director Sridhar Rangayan. “Considering the sheer number of entries we received and the diversity of experiences each of them offered, we decided to expand the framework of KASHISH. We have included one more venue to accommodate more films, so that the audience has more varied choice of films to pick and view. In terms of venues, films, allied events there is a lot the festival has to offer this year,” he added.
There will be film screenings, book readings, panel discussions and performances, all of them highlighting the cultural diversity of its host city Mumbai. The theme for this year, ‘Reaching Out, Touching Hearts’ reflects the urgent need for all of to reach across barriers and boundaries and reach out to everyone – parents, families, friends, colleagues and peers. KASHISH is not only a platform for showcasing quality cinema, but also a platform for creating awareness about human rights and equal rights, the organisers said.
“This year the influx of film submissions was so high, the preview panel had to work hard to pick the best. Our festival is slowly and steadily becoming a platform for filmmakers and audience to come together to share and experience quality LGBT cinema,” said Saagar Gupta, Director of Programming.
KASHISH is organised by Solaris Pictures, and The Humsafar Trust is the co-organiser.
The schedule
May 27 to 31, 2015 at Liberty Cinema,
May 28 to 30, 2015 at Alliance Française de Bombay, and
May 29 to 30, 2015 at Max Mueller Bhavan (screening only on May 30, 2015).
Look up www.mumbaiqueerfest.com for details. There is a 20% early bird discount till April 26, 2015.