Creativity unlocked: an inspiring story from India in the times of the pandemic
While the pandemic has been challenging for us in different ways, Pulkit Datta shows us how he used the lockdown to unlock his dormant creativity “When an admirer offered to pay for one of my sketches, my 10-year-old daughter, standing beside me, literally jumped in joy. I clenched my fists instead. The moment had arrived,” says Pulkit Datta, a mechanical engineer by trade, and an...
KASHISH 2021: Powerful award-winning film Admitted will open eyes to transgender issues
KASHISH 2021 will showcase a striking, uplifting, and pathbreaking journey of Mx Dhananjay Chauhan, through the screening of the documentary feature "Admitted" on September 4. The first Transgender Student of Punjab University, Chandigarh, the Award-Winning docudrama discusses key issues of on Transgender Education Rights in India, through the activist Dhananjay's biographical journey of over five decades. Directed by Ojaswwee Sharma,...
Sukhdeep Singh’s documentary Sab Rab De Bande on LGBTQ Sikhs reaches London
A novel documentary that brings forth the LGBTQ Sikh community's challenges and the different ways in which they reconcile their faith, gender, and sexual identities, Sab Rab De Bande, will be showcasing in the ongoing South Asian Heritage month in the UK this year. Making his debut as a filmmaker with this extraordinary documentary, Director Sukhdeep Singh, through interviews with LGBTQ Sikhs captures...
Gray’s Inn in London unveils the Ambedkar Room and a new portrait
Master Ali Malek QC, Master Treasurer, Gray’s Inn, unveiled the Ambedkar Room at Gray’s Inn on 30 June 2021, dedicated to Dr Ambedkar, known internationally as an extraordinary academic, writer, politician, socio-political reformer, economist, and jurist. He also inspired the Buddhist movement in India. As the chief architect of India’s Constitution, he abolished Untouchability, and secured social and fundamental legal rights and equality for its...
SAJDA Season 3: A tribute to Indian maestros to launch this month
Where words fail, music speaks It is said that music is the universal language of mankind, and music gives a soul to the universe. The annual music and arts festival SAJDA, aims to do that, while being a living bridge between India and the UK, through the showcase of Indian performing arts, unsung heroes from different genres, dying art forms...
Women of my billion (WOMB): An unequivocal film made while walking the length of India to champion equality and end violence against women
Walking 3,800 kilometers might seem like a vast task in itself, but that was only scratching the surface of what Srishti Bakshi aimed to achieve. Her astounding story is told in a new documentary called Women of My Billion (WOMB). The film is a pragmatic, heart-warming documentary about the movement that Srishti Bakshi started. As the Founder of CrossBow...
LIFF 2021: Satyajit Ray Short Film Competition
This year sees the London Indian Film Festival adopt a hybrid format, fuelled by having to go online under last year's COVID lockdown. What this means is that the Satyajit Ray Short Film Competition is available to watch at home, for free, right now. Go here to sign up and “buy” your free tickets: LoveLIFFatHome You can watch the films...
ONE WORLD International Queer Film Festival to showcase the best of American queer films online
The inaugural edition of ONE WORLD International Queer Film Festival (Virtual) that showcases the best of American queer cinema, will be held from June 18 - 20, 2021. The festival is organized by India's oldest LGBTQ+ organization, The Humsafar Trust, in collaboration with KASHISH Mumbai International Queer Film Festival and is supported by the U.S. Consulate General Mumbai. You...
Alka Bagri shares her excitement as LIFF’s title supporter for the seventh year
The Bagri Foundation London Indian Film Festival (LIFF) 2021 is set for it's Gala Opening Night on the 17th June in London, with a positive, power-packed documentary Women Of My Billion (WOMB); in a back-drop of a rather grim Covid scenario in India. LIFF this year is poised to premiere the very best of new indie films from the Indian subcontinent with...
Feeling Zoomed Out? – Advice for the fatigued
Do you remember when a videoconference was an infrequent occurrence - something special that you looked forward to? Whilst being locked down, video-calling gave us a way to see each other, even when we couldn't be with each other. The novelty wears thin My first few months of the pandemic were filled with virtual business meetings, virtual learning, virtual happy hour, and...
