Turbulent times for gay rights
LGBTQ+ rights are going through a turbulent time at the moment, mostly notably due to the potential good news that the Supreme Court India is deliberating marriage equality for gay couples with public opinion in Indian in favour of it, versus the terrible news that Uganda has passed a new anti-homosexuality act which introduces the death penalty as a...
LIFF 2019 – Shonajhurir Bhoot
Shonajhurir Bhoot (Ghost of the Golden Groves) is part of the Bengal Tigers strand at the London Indian Film Festival. Directed by first-timers Aniket Dutta and Roshni Sen, under the moniker Harun-Al-Rashid (a character from the Arabian Nights who always remains in disguise), it fuses a story from Dutta together with a short story by Bibhutlhusn Bandyopadyay to produce...
KASHISH 2020: Sunita Bhuyan and Lady Galore will perform at the virtual opening ceremony
A grand virtual opening ceremony on July 22nd to flag off 9 day LGBTQ film festival The 11th edition of KASHISH Mumbai International Queer Film Festival, is all set to kick off on July 22nd evening 6.30pm at a virtual opening ceremony on the festival’s social media handles, with some amazing performances and will be hosted by RJ Rohini Ramnathan,...
Best of Bengal at London Indian Film Festival this year
The 10th London Indian Film Festival (LIFF) 2019 will be highlighting some of Bengal's unique cinematic contribution to Indian and world cinema through a showcase of movies in Bengal Tigers - a part of its Themed Section this year. Among the classic films and filmmakers, there will be a rare opportunity to indulge in a Q&A opportunity with one of...
Last Letter – an extraordinary short on homosexuality among senior citizens, LIFF 2019
The Last Letter, a 15 minutes short film by Vishal Jejurkar is an unusual story of a 70-year-old gay man Mohan, who lives in Mumbai, and is in the closet. Vishal wrote this story when he was in the final year of his medical studies. "I was doing some random research on various topics at that time with nothing specific...
KASHISH 2020: Ribhu Ghosh’s short film Kohraa is a gripping tale that exposes Indian rural realities on sexuality
Film : Kohraa Duration : 20 minutes Genre : Short film Director : Ribhu Ghosh KASHISH 2020 Virtual, the 11th edition of KASHISH Mumbai International Queer FilmFestival, South Asia's biggest LGBTQIA+ film festival ran from July 22nd - July 30th screening 157 films from 42 countries. Ribhu Ghosh's short film Kohraa is a realistic and gripping narrative that revolves around a sixteen-year-old boy Ronnie, living in...
KASHISH 2021: Complexities of human relations viewed through ‘One-way Glass’
ONE-WAY GLASS Dir: Nauman Khalid 16 min | 2020 | UK | English, Panjabi Screening on September 4, Program 6 in Short Film Package - FAMILY MATTERS! "One-way Glass" is a subtle, yet hard-hitting short film about a hapless migrant Pakistani woman Farzana, trapped in a violent, sexless, loveless marriage. Every night she transforms from a repressed, dutiful wife into a visually...
“Photograph” – the closing film at LIFF, awards, accolades, Q&A and more
The 10th Edition of the London Indian Film Festival (LIFF)'s London chapter came to an end on 29 June, with the European Premier of Director Ritesh Batra's feature "Photograph" at the BFI Southbank. LIFF continues to run in Birmingham and Halifax till 8 July. The Closing Night has traditionally been popular for announcing the winner of the Satyajit Ray Short...
KASHISH 2023 announces new Ismat Chughtai Award for best Indian woman filmmaker
The 14th KASHISH Mumbai International Queer Film Festival, South Asia’s biggest LGBTQ+ film festival, announced institution of a new award from this year - the Ismat Chughtai Award for Best Indian Woman Filmmaker, instituted in memory of eminent Indian Urdu novelist, short story writer, liberal humanist and filmmaker Ismat Chughtai, by her grandson and filmmaker Ashish Sawhny. “I am delighted...
Short story: “Swan song”
The phone rings rudely and raucously, rousing me from my restful slumber at the unearthly hour of 4 by my bedside alarm clock. I reach for it irritably, then pause. It can only be her. No one else would ever call me at this hour. Yet it cannot possibly be her. She has been gone from my life for over...
