Real queer tales on reel at film fest

The threeday fest that kickstarts today, will screen feature films, shorts and documentaries showcasing sexuality and gender diversity issues. The 27 films selected for this year, from nearly 70 submissions, includes works from 12 countries. They chronicle the global struggle for rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, pan-sexual, transgender, genderfluid, intersex, asexual and other queer people; and examine the intersections of queer issues with gender, class, disability and HIV status. 

Speaking about how the fest has grown over the years, Bessimon Thankaraj, a regular volunteer at CIQFF, says, “I’ve seen a vast difference in terms of the sheer number of people who attend these events. Also, the public in general, is open to talk about and discuss LGBT issues. More than anything else, these avenues provide a safe environment for us to sensitise the masses about the community.”

Feature film highlights include Siebzehn (Seventeen), an evocative film on queer desire in rural Austria, and Abar Jodi Ichchha Karo (If you dare desire), Debalina’s creative reimagining of the lives and love of Swapna and Sucheta and other such queer women in West Bengal who have succumbed to lesbophobia and misogyny over the years. 

Ladies and Gentlewomen , Malini Jeevarathnam’s pioneering documentary on lesbian love in Tamil Nadu, is among the notable documentaries. City-based filmmaker Malaini says, “While issues about gay men have seen some kind of representation in popular culture, when it comes to lesbians, all you get to see is the hugely inaccurate portrayal in mainstream pornography — exacerbating the perception that lesbians are a source of sexual entertainment for men. 

It is to break these shackles that I made Ladies and Gentle women . It throws light on how little we know about suicides among lesbians.” Reel Desires will also feature a dance performance by Taejha Singh, a panel discussion, South of the Norm: LGBTIQA+ activism in southern India, and an excerpt from Srijith Sundaram’s Manjal, a play on the struggle to eradicate manual scavenging in India.