Pride month started with the opening of the Kashish Mumbai International Queer Film Festival. The film festival, which is in its 13th edition, has a week-long schedule of movie and documentary screenings, and panel discussions. South Asia’s biggest LGBTQIA+ film festival, Kashish is taking place at Liberty Cinema and Alliance Francaise in Mumbai and even online. This year the festival has a unique curation of 184 international and Indian queer cinema on queer issues and lives. Here are a few films to check out.
Programmes At Kashish Mumbai International Queer Film Festival
1. Sheer Qorma
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Staring Shabana Azmi, Divya Dutta and Swara Bhaskar and written by queer filmmaker, Faraz Arif Ansari, Sheer Qorma is one of Bollywood’s daring attempts at telling a story between a woman and non-binary person. Endearing, emotional, and heart-warming, Sheer Qorma is scheduled to be screened on Saturday, June 4th if you’re looking to add a meaningful watch to your list this weekend.
2. Naanu Ladies
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More than a lesbian love story, Naanu Ladies by queer filmmaker Shailaja Padindala, is a dark comedy that attempts at redefining parenting, companionship, and the education system in India. The movie touches on aspects of an Indian family dealing with a queer member. Naanu Ladies was the first Kannada lesbian love story that was screened at Tasveer South Asian Film Festival. Watch it today, perhaps the best weekend watch!
3. Potato Dreams of America
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The closing movie of the festival, Potato Dream of America will be screened on Sunday, June 5th. It’s an unsettling story of Potato and his mother trying to find a balance in their new life in Seattle while the boy struggles to deal with the truth about his sexuality. What follows are stranger-than-fiction twists especially when Potato’s step-father learns about his sexuality.
4. Being BeBe
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This one will surely leave you spellbound. Critically acclaimed and one of the most-awarded documentaries, Being BeBe intimately charts 15 years of Marshall Ngwa aka BeBe Zahara Benet, a drag performer who went to win the first RuPaul’s Drag Race. An immigrant to America, the documentary is about Bebe’s journey to success fighting all odds. Hard-hitting, fun, entertaining, and heartfelt, it puts queer struggle into a global perspective.
5. Unity Mosque
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A short documentary, Unity Mosque is a story of Imam El-Farouk and his husband Troy who co-founded one of the world’s first Queer-affirming and gender-equal mosques in Toronto after having to hide their relationship while making Hajj. Only 7-minute long, the documentary will be screened on Sunday, June 5th at Alliance Francaise.
While the list of features, documentaries and events at the Kashish Queer Film Festival is extensive, we recommend checking the schedule for the complete programme detail. There’s a separate online schedule that can be referred to if you’re planning to enjoy the festival from the comfort of your home. Visit the website for more details: mumbaiqueerfest.com
