National award winning film directors Hansal Mehta and Sunil Sukhtankar and actress Sandhya Mridul will be some of the prominent faces that will grace the jury if the 11th KASHISH Mumbai International Queer Film Festival. The festival KASHISH 2020 Virtual will be held online from July 22-July 30m 2019. Mehta, Sukhtankar, Mridul will be part of the Narrative Jury panel. There will be two other jury panels – Faiza Ahmed Khan, Miriam Chandy Menacherry and Nakul Singh Sawhney in the Documentary Jury panel, and Rabiya Nazki, Shankhajeet De and Tangella Madhavi in the Student Shorts Jury panel.
“We are thrilled to have such eminent filmmakers, actors and producers on the three jury panels at KASHISH 2020 Virtual. It is amazing that these accomplished personalities managed to find time, amidst the lockdown and the stress it has brought, to be able to view all the films and analyze them thoroughly. Their expertise adds great value to the jury process and we look forward to announcing the winners on July 30th at the virtual award ceremony”, said Sridhar Rangayan, festival director
“I’m honoured to be a part of the KASHISH 2020 virtual panel. The world is passing through extraordinary times. It is at times like these that we must make extraordinary efforts to continue the work that strives to bind our increasingly polarized world together. Cinema is one such powerful medium and I’m so happy that this beloved festival is continuing to serve the world and particularly the LGBTQIA community with such a great variety of stories”, said Hansal Mehta, director of award winning films like Aligarh, Shahid, City Lights, Simran, etc.
Sandhya Mridul, well-known actor of Page 3, Angry Indian Goddesses and Day After Everyday fame said, “In spite of these times, art thrives and it’s so inspiring to see the show go on with KASHISH. We virtually connect with each other and so many others through stories. Virtual, yet so palpable & real! It gave me immense joy to see section 377 being declared unconstitutional in 2018 in India. I respect the other countries that’ve done that in the past. As it should be. Freedom to be. Freedom to love. And it’s a privilege to be on the jury for LGBTQ cinema. I salute their resilience, courage and creativity. Love is love is love. Art is art is art!”
Sunil Sukthankar, award winning filmmaker with a string of films like Doghi, Zindagi Zindabaad, Dahavi F (10th F), Vastupurush , Devrai, Badha, Nital, Gho Mala asala Hawa, Bewaqt Barish, Ek Cup Chya, Mor Dekhane Jungle Mein, Ha Bharat Maza, Samhita, Astu, Phir Zindagi, Kaasav and Welcome Home that have won him 8 National and 45 plus State awards, said, “I am happy to be on the jury panel of KASHISH Film Festival. In my youth, feminism helped me to break my rigid, ‘objective’ and so called ‘mainstream’ understanding of the world and introduced me to a subjective and comprehensive worldview. Now, watching LGBTQ+ films, is helping me to go beyond binaries of gender biases.”
Faiza Ahmad Khan who won huge accolades for her documentary feature Supermen of Malegaon, said, “The films offer a window into the lives of people who refuse the narrow constraints of society and are challenging the narrative at many levels from the deeply personal to the national, which in so many countries is being overrun by fascist forces. The films also offer moments of freedom and joy that lie in solidarities that transcend these narrow limits.”
Miriam Chandy Menacherry, whose films The Rat Race Lyari Notes, Stuntmen of Bollywood and From The Shadows have screened at numerous festivals and won several awards, said, “KASHISH was created long before the court verdict on Article 377, and has carved a vibrant, inclusive and unique space in the cultural canvas of our country. Today it is the biggest LGBTQ festival in South Asia. I am so thrilled to be part of the jury in 2020 as I have a personal association with the festival because our short film `In the Closet’ was screened at the 2011 festival and then travelled worldwide. So I do know personally each of the films we as jury are watching, have a long and important journey ahead. I am so happy to be part of the journey.”
Nakul Singh Sawhney, whose film Muzaffarnagar Baaqi Hai… which has been screened at several prestigious film festivals and won numerous awards said, “At a time when we are witnessing one of the biggest global health crisis, coupled with intolerant bigots coming to power across the world, the significance of this Film Festival increases manifold. Films and all other forms of cultural expression, have always played a significant role in resisting injustices, especially at times like these. KASHISH Film Festival reaffirms our resolve and our faith in equal rights and justice for all human beings.
Rabiya Nazki, a creative producer with an experience of around 20 years in the field of Film, Television and advertising said, “Being on KASHISH 2020 Virtual Panel as jury, has been an exhilarating experience. The Filmmakers show great promise and the stories direct you towards a deeper understanding of self-acceptance, inclusion, love, compassion and the suffering of constantly being measured to fit in. My association with KASHISH 2020 has been an honour, and the gratitude to have access to these evocative narratives, has been immense”.
Shankhajeet De, who makes documentary films with an ethnographic lens on the subjects of culture, and whose film In the Shadow of Time won the National Award said, “How does one look at a film from the vantage point of a juror? Does one look at it akin to that of an audience or from somewhere else? The films curated at past KASHISH Film Festivals have always been so special for the theme they represent and also for the efforts by filmmakers to create a filmic language which is otherwise swept aside even at everyday social conversations; many a times censored!”
Tangella Madhavi is an award winning independent documentary filmmaker whose films Chasing Tails, Dhaga Mil Gaya, Laxman Gole and The Last Act have been widely screened across festivals and other forums, said, “KASHISH has always been a space where inclusiveness, acceptance, and good cinema come together. Keeping in view the challenges of 2020, I am glad to be part of the resilience with which the festival is being put together. Hoping that the films provoke, question, reinforce and celebrate life itself.”
The festival will screen 157 films from 42 countries out of which 52 films compete for a total cash award of Rs.1,80,000 in the 9 competition categories that includes Best Narrative Feature, Best Screenplay, Best Performance in a Lead Role, Best Documentary Feature and Short, Best Indian and International Narrative Short, Best Student Short and Riyad Wadia Award for Best Emerging Indian Filmmaker.
Information about list of films, schedule and how to attend can be found at the festival website http://mumbaiqueerfest.com
