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Queer film fest climbs popularity chart

“A queer film festival - for everyone” says the tagline of the Kashish International Queer Film Festival that brings together movies from all across the world to cine buffs in Mumbai.

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“A queer film festival - for everyone” says the tagline of the Kashish International Queer Film Festival that brings together movies from all across the world to cine buffs in Mumbai. Now in its third year, the event aims at mainstreaming issues relating to the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community in India.

The organisers insist that there are renewed efforts this year to include straight people since the community now seems to be slowly overcoming the prejudice and stigma attached to their identities. Proof of this are LGBT events no longer held behind closed doors and instead conducted at mainstream venues, attracting people of all sexual orientations.

“When we organised Kashish for the first time in 2010, 27% of the viewers were straight and the number went up to 32% in the following year. The suburban multiplex where we were running the shows recorded 67% occupancy which is a great figure when it comes to issue-based cinema,” said filmmaker and festival director Sridhar Rangayan, who believes it is important to mainstream the LGBT cause by involving more people from outside the community.

Rangayan added that most films selected for screening have a universal appeal and cater to a broader audience. “They may have a gay or lesbian character who takes the story forward. But on the whole these films are not just about queer issues but are also considered good cinema,” he said.

Sameera Singh, a regular at Kashish, explains that most straight people attending the screenings have LGBT friends or relatives. “Some of us accompany a gay friend or family member to show support and solidarity. Others just want to see a good film,” she said.

That the film festival is slowly but steadily being integrated into mainstream culture is evident from the enthusiastic response to a logo designing contest for the festival. “We received dozens of entries from amateur and professional designers from across the country, and the one question we never asked participants was whether they were gay or straight,” said Rangayan.

S Ayyappa, a student pursuing his Masters in Science in visual communication at Andhra Loyala College in Vijayawada, submitted the winning design - a butterfly motif across the Kashish logo.

Kashish 2012 will be held in the last week of May and will showcase some of the best movies with queer themes from across the globe.

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