'Kashish', an LGBT film festival, to begin on May 25

Actress Celina Jaitley and filmmaker Shyam Benegal unveiled second edition of Kashish, India's only mainstream Lesbian-Gay-Bisexual-Transgender (LGBT) film festival, here yesterday.

The second edition of the annual film festival will be held from May 25 to May 29 at Cinemax, Versova, and Alliance France, New Marine Lines and will feature 124 films from 23 countries.

"It is a great platform to uphold human rights and dignity for all which is what I strongly believe in. Kashish is a celebration of the equality of all human emotions irrespective of sex, creed, race and culture. It also gives an opportunity to young budding filmmakers to present their talents, especially in India, where there is a lack of a platform for showcasing independent films," said Jaitley, who is the brand ambassador for Kashish.

The jury this year comprises filmmaker Sai Paranjpye, actors Samir Soni and Shernaz Patel, film critic Khalid Mohammad, and international festival director John Badalu from Indonesia.

Filmmaker Benegal said, "All minorities in this country need representation and sexual minorities is one of them. Kashish is a move in the right direction to create awareness through the medium of films. It is a step forward in the gay movement."

Kashish 2010 was the first mainstream queer film festival held in India. 110 Indian and international queer films were screened during 2010 festival.

The Best Indian Queer Short Film at Kashish gets to compete for the Iris Prize in the UK, which carries a prize of 25,000 pounds.

"To encourage larger participation, we have ensured that delegate registrations and entry to the festival are kept free for all Kashish film festival lovers, but everyone has to pre-register by filling out a form and getting a delegate card," Vivek Anand, festival director, said.