Chennai International Queer Film Festival

Last updated

Reel Desires: Chennai International Queer Film Festival
Location Chennai, India
LanguageInternational
Website www.ciqff.org

Chennai International Queer Film Festival (also known as Reel Desires: Chennai International Queer Film Festival) is a three-day LGBT- event that usually takes places on the last weekend of July as a part of the city's pride events. The main organizers are SAATHII and Orinam in partnership with Goethe-Institut, Chennai. The other volunteers include various community groups and NGOs, including Nirangal, East-West Center for Counselling, and RIOV. The last day is usually performances along with a panel discussion, usually to discuss and bring out the challenges faced by community members. [1]

Contents

Background

This LGBT-film festival is being held from 2005 in the city. [2] The shorts, documentary and feature film submitted usually explore the intersections among sexuality/gender identity and other forms of marginalization, also including those based on gender, disability, immigrant/refugee status, caste, socio-economic class, religion, age, and race/ethnicity. [3] [1]

2023

In its 11th edition, Orinam, an LGBTQIA+ support community, in collaboration with the Goethe-Institut, Chennai, continues its tradition of challenging heteronormative norms. The festival, scheduled to take place from August 18 to 20 at the Goethe-Institut, will feature a lineup of 30 films—10 from the subcontinent and the rest from 11 countries around the world. [4]

This year’s selection includes a mix of shorts, documentaries, and feature-length films such as Impasse, Binary Error, All Men Should Have Shoes, Oas (Dewdrops), Pussy Cruising, Transcending Boundaries, and Neubau. [5]

In addition to the films, the festival will feature a play titled Neela Bhoomi, [6] directed by Tamilarasi R, which explores the life of a lesbian couple as they navigate the challenges of building a home together. Other highlights include a performance by Chennai-based drag artist Nethu Night Neelambari and a hip hop night.

A panel discussion titled "Queer Families: Beyond the Marriage Equality Debate" will also be held, addressing the concept of family beyond traditional definitions upheld by law, culture, religion, media, and advertisements. According to the organizers, "The panel discussion assumes relevance in light of the awaited Supreme Court verdict on marriage equality." [7]

2020

The eighth edition of Reel Desires: Chennai International Queer Film Festival was held online over two weekends, December 5-6 and 12-13, 2020. This year’s festival showcased 25 films from 12 countries, selected through a community-led review process, and focused on themes of sexuality and gender diversity. [8]

Highlights among the short films included the award-winning After That Party by Lucas Drummond, the poetic Bodies of Desire by Varsha Panikar, and the world premiere of Sab Rab De Bande, a documentary on queer Sikhs by Sukhdeep Singh. [9] The feature-length lineup featured notable films such as Boxed by Sameeksha and Kiss The Moon by Khalid Gill.

2019

The 7th edition of Reel Desires: Chennai International Queer Film Festival was held from August 2-4, 2019. This year’s line-up consisted of 26 films from 12 countries, selected from nearly 120 submissions via a community-led review process. [10] [11]

The 7th edition of Reel Desires: Chennai International Queer Film Festival was held from August 2-4, 2019, and marked the first festival since the Supreme Court of India's landmark Navtej Singh Johar verdict, which decriminalized same-gender relations. This historic ruling led to a significant increase in submissions from India. The festival showcased 26 films from 12 countries, selected from nearly 120 submissions through a community-led review process.

Highlights of the 2019 festival included shorts from the Berlinale Spotlight (Berlin International Film Festival) and India’s Public Service Broadcasting Trust (PSBT). [12] In addition to film screenings, Reel Desires featured performances, a panel discussion, and the Chennai premiere of the multilingual play *Freedom Begum - In Search of Lost Stories* by Raahi, a Bengaluru-based group of sexual and gender minorities. Notable films such as *Miss Man*, a Bengali short by Tathagata Ghosh, *Nján Sánjo* (I’m Sánjo), a Malayalam short by Jijo Kuriakose, and *Oruvanukku Oruththi?* (A woman for a man?), a Tamil short by Vimal Santiagu, were screened, with the respective filmmakers in attendance for discussions post-screening. [13] [14]

2018

The Goethe-Institut / Max Mueller Bhavan hosted the Reel Desires: Chennai International Queer Film Festival from July 27-29, 2018. [15]

The sixth edition of the Chennai International Queer Film Festival (CIQFF) featured a diverse lineup of 32 films from 17 countries. The festival primarily showcased works by local indigenous artists and media students, highlighting the challenges faced by grassroots activists and shedding light on realities often overlooked by the general public. [16]

In addition to the international films, the festival also screened eight Tamil and Indian feature films, shorts, and documentaries, including *Cover Story* and *Anthadhi*. The festival opened with a poetry reading by Kalki Subramaniam, and concluded with a biographical theater performance by author and activist A. Revathi, titled *Vellai Mozhi*, directed by A. Mangai. [17]

2017

The 12th queer film festival in 2017 saw 27 films, which were chosen from nearly 70 submissions from 12 countries. [18] The event also saw a panel discussion about the activism in the south of India, around LGBTQIA, titled `South of the Norm: LGBTIQA+ activism in southern India'. [19]

Movies Screened

Some of the movies screened include:

YearTitleCountryTheme
2017Siebzehn (Seventeen)GermanyLesbian
2017 Abar Jodi Ichchha Karo (If you dare desire)IndiaLesbian
2012All About Our FamilaIndiaHijra
2017 Ladies and Gentlewomen [20] IndiaLesbian
2016Ka BodyscapesIndiaGay
2016Is It Too Much To Ask? [21] IndiaTrans woman

2016

It is the fourth time the Goethe-Institut is collaborating with the Reel Desires. Of the 80 films received, the organizers chose 26 films from eight countries. Some notable movies were Sridhar Rangayan’s National Award-winning Breaking Free, Chennai-based Sairam Biswas’s It Adhu But Aanaal and also the acclaimed Aligarh. The panel discussion this year was about "Ending Gender and Sexuality-based Violence". [1]

2015

Reel Desires: Chennai International Queer Film Festival 2015, will be held from 24 to 26 July at the Goethe-Institut / Max Mueller Bhavan in Chennai. The festival will screen 23 films from eight countries, out of which some of the significant ones are Pride, the 2014 Cannes Film Festival award winner, Walking the Walk by Moses Tulasi, Aakkamum Thaakkamum (portrayals of transgender women in Tamil Cinema) and more. [22] [2] [23]

2014

In 2014, the festival also hosted a photography exhibition by Shilpa Raj, a Bengaluru-based photographer, and social activist. Her exhibits were transgender people posing in diverse avatars, charting the transition from male to female in 14 stills. There were also photos that establish references to Ramayana and Mahabharata. Some of the noteworthy movies screened were Kyunki, an Indian Submission, Eyes that do not see, from USA, Kumu Hina, a Hawaiian movie and Not funny from Germany. [24]

2013

2013 the organizers received around ninety one films from 22 countries, out of which 35 films including shorts, documentaries, and feature films were screened. These were from India and over 10 countries. The three-day event was from 11 to 13 July 2013 and some movies screened were Gay_Lonely, about a 30-plus gay man, Kuch Palon Mein, Veena Kulkarni's ‘Reminiscene of Ether’, Debalina Majumder’s ‘Ebang Bewarish (And the Unclaimed)’ among others. [25] [26]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reel Affirmations</span> LGBTQ film festival held in Washington D.C.

Reel Affirmations (RA) is a non-profit, all-volunteer LGBT film festival in Washington, D.C. Founded in 1991 and held every year in mid-October, as of 2011 Reel Affirmations was one of the largest LGBT film festivals in the United States. Baltimore's Gay Life newspaper called it "one of the top three films festivals for the entire LGBT community." A 2007 guidebook claims it was one of the largest LGBT film festivals in the world. A listing of LGBT film festivals claims it is the largest all-volunteer film festival in the world.

Masquerade - the Performance Group is a Chennai based English theatre group. It is one of the few theatre groups in Chennai that survive without commercial financial sponsorship or funding from business houses or the likes, backed by public faith and smaller donorships from patrons, parents of tweens and teens who pay for training workshops. Public performances are rarely priced and income from performances are invariably through hat collections, done consciously as a tool to gauge audience appreciation of the show.

The KASHISH Pride Film Festival is an annual LGBTQ event that has been held in Mumbai, India, since 2010. The film festival screens gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and queer films from India and around the world. It is voted as one of the top five LGBT film festivals in the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cinemela Film Festival</span> Film festival in Delhi, India

Cinemela is an annual film festival organized in New Delhi, India since 2006. This festival provides the best stage to young filmmakers from all over the globe to showcase their works. The festival has been recognized by the Limca Book of World Records for its uniqueness.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">LGBT culture in India</span>

India has a long and ancient tradition of culture associated with the LGBTQ community, with many aspects that differ markedly from modern liberal western culture.

The Consulate General of the Federal Republic of Germany in Chennai represents the interests of the German government in the Chennai and surrounding regions. The current Consul General is Michaela Küchler, incumbent since 2022. She succeeds Karin Christina Maria Stoll.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paromita Vohra</span> Indian filmmaker and writer

Paromita Vohra is an Indian filmmaker and writer. She is known for her documentaries on subjects such as urban life, desire, pop culture and gender. She has also written the screenplay of the award-winning feature film Khamosh Pani. Her film production company Parodevi Pictures is based in Mumbai. She writes a column Paro-normal Activity for the Sunday Mid-day and also wrote a weekly column for Mumbai Mirror.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amrit Gangar</span>

Amrit Gangar is an Indian film scholar, historian, critic, curator and writer from Mumbai, Maharashtra, India.

This is a timeline of notable events in the history of non-heterosexual conforming people of South Asian ancestry, who may identify as LGBTIQGNC, men who have sex with men, or related culturally-specific identities such as Hijra, Aravani, Thirunangaigal, Khwajasara, Kothi, Thirunambigal, Jogappa, Jogatha, or Shiva Shakti. The recorded history traces back at least two millennia.

Chennai has LGBTQIA cultures that are diverse concerning- socio-economic class, gender, and degree of visibility and politicisation. They have historically existed in the margins and surfaced primarily in contexts such as transgender activism and HIV prevention initiatives for men having sex with men (MSM) and trans women (TG).

<i>Gaysi</i>

The Gaysi family is an online space and E-zine for queer Desis based in Mumbai.

XUKIA is a queer collective based in Assam, India that works for LGBT issues in the region. It is one of the first Queer Collectives to come up in the North East India.

7th Bengaluru International Film Festival 2014 was inaugurated by the honorable Chief Minister of Karnataka, Siddaramaiah on 4 December 2014 in Bengaluru. The film festival is showcasing 175 films from 45 countries in 11 screens across the City from 4 to 11 December.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Antony Hickling</span> French film maker and actor

Antony Hickling is an English Independent film maker, actor, writer and voiceover actor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Orinam</span>

Orinam is a non-funded, social, and activist collective that works to enhance understanding of alternate sexualities and gender identities among families, communities and society. It was founded in 2003 in Chennai under the name MovenPick and is one of the oldest collective of its kind in India. People affiliated with Orinam are from or trace their ancestry to the following geo-cultural: People of Tamil Origin from Tamil Nadu, India. Orinam provides a platform for creative expression, personal and social commentary by Queer people of Tamil Origin and of Indian Origin primarily. Orinam also acts as a local support group in Chennai for the queer community. Orinam also partners with the city-, state- and national initiatives around decriminalisation of homosexuality by amending Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code and LGBTQ rights.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chennai Rainbow Pride</span> LGBTIQA+ Pride March

The Chennai Rainbow Pride March has been held by members of Tamil Nadu LGBTIQA+ communities every June since 2009. The pride march is organised under the banner Tamil Nadu Rainbow Coalition, which is a collective of LGBT individuals, supporters, and organizations working on human rights and healthcare for the LGBTQIA community. The Pride March occurs on the final Sunday of June every year. The Pride March is usually preceded by a month-long series of events organized by NGOs and organizations to inculcate awareness and support for the LGBTQ community, such as panel discussions, film screenings, and cultural performances. The Chennai Vaanavil Suyamariyadhai Perani a.k.a. Chennai Rainbow Self-Respect March is known for being inter-sectional in nature as it addresses issues with multiple axes such as caste, class, religion coupled with gender discrimination.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nalini Malani</span> Indian contemporary artist (born 1946)

Nalini Malani is an Indian artist, among the country's first generation of video artists.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vaishnavi Sundar</span> Indian filmmaker and activist

Vaishnavi Sundar is an Indian independent filmmaker and activist.

The following list is a partially completed compilation of events considered to have a profound effect on the welfare or image of Tamil sexual minorities. The use of bold typeface indicates that the event is widely considered to be landmark:

Sab Rab De Bande is an Indian documentary featuring stories of Sikh queer individuals in India. The 28-minute documentary film by Sukhdeep Singh explores the perception of homosexuality in the Sikh religion. The film was premiered at Orinam's Reel Desire Queer Film Festival. The film was also a part of the South Asian Heritage Month in 2021. The documentary is narrated by Anwesh Sahoo.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Rao, Subha J. (28 July 2016). "Where the mind is without fear". The Hindu. Retrieved 19 June 2017.
  2. 1 2 Preeti Zachariah (24 July 2015). "Preview: Chennai International Queer" . Retrieved 22 July 2017.
  3. ↑ Baradwaj Rangan (25 July 2014). "The genre and the specific". The Hindu. Retrieved 22 July 2017.
  4. ↑ "Queer Film Festival : Reel Desires: Chennai International Queer Film Festival 2023 - Goethe-Institut Max Mueller Bhavan". @GI_weltweit. Retrieved 31 July 2024.
  5. ↑ George, Diya Maria (21 August 2023). "CIQFF 2023: A depiction of diversity and desires on-screen". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 31 July 2024.
  6. ↑ "Neela Bhoomi". Bangalore International Centre. Retrieved 31 July 2024.
  7. ↑ Ganesh, Sanjana (17 August 2023). "The Chennai International Queer Film Festival is here and this is the line up". The Hindu. ISSN   0971-751X . Retrieved 31 July 2024.
  8. ↑ "ONLINE FILM FESTIVAL : Reel Desires: Chennai International Queer Film Festival 2020 - ONLINE - Goethe-Institut Max Mueller Bhavan | India". @GI_weltweit. Retrieved 31 July 2024.
  9. ↑ "India: "Sab Rab De Bande" first documentary on Queer Sikhs". Equal Eyes. 13 December 2020. Retrieved 31 July 2024.
  10. ↑ "FILM FESTIVAL : Reel Desires: Chennai International Queer Film Festival - Goethe-Institut Max Mueller Bhavan". @GI_weltweit (in German). Retrieved 31 July 2024.
  11. ↑ Indulge, Team (1 August 2019). "Reel Desires: Chennai International Queer Film Festival at Goethe-Institut". Indulgexpress. Retrieved 31 July 2024.
  12. ↑ LoKi (15 August 2019). "7 Short Films from Reel Desires: Chennai International Queer Film Festival". Gaylaxy Magazine. Retrieved 31 July 2024.
  13. ↑ Staff, T. N. M. (1 August 2019). "Chennai Intl Queer Film Festival 2019 will feature 26 films from across 12 countries". The News Minute. Retrieved 31 July 2024.
  14. ↑ migrator (3 August 2019). "City hosts queer film festival to celebrate gender diversity". www.dtnext.in. Retrieved 31 July 2024.
  15. ↑ "QUEER FILM FESTIVAL : Reel Desires: Chennai International Queer Film Festival - Goethe-Institut Max Mueller Bhavan". @GI_weltweit (in German). Retrieved 31 July 2024.
  16. ↑ "Snapshots from CIQFF 2018". The World of Apu. 10 September 2018. Retrieved 31 July 2024.
  17. ↑ Shekar, Anjana (24 July 2018). "Reel Desires: Chennai International Queer Film Festival back with sixth edition". The News Minute. Retrieved 31 July 2024.
  18. ↑ "Reel Desires: Chennai International Queer Film Festival 2017". 25 July 2017. Archived from the original on 2 August 2021. Retrieved 3 August 2017.
  19. ↑ "Chennai: Queer film festival returns, explores asexuality and more". The Times of India . 27 July 2017.
  20. ↑ Chitradeepa Anantharam (27 July 2017). "Celebrating queer pride". The Hindu.
  21. ↑ Abinaya Kalyanasundaram (26 July 2017). "Real queer stories on reel".
  22. ↑ "LGBT Film Festival On July 24–26 In Chennai". 22 July 2015. Retrieved 22 July 2017.
  23. ↑ RAHUL SADHU (27 July 2015). "Queer film festival comes to Chennai" . Retrieved 22 July 2017.
  24. ↑ "Bringing out the 'Reel' desires". New Indian Express. 26 July 2014. Retrieved 22 July 2017.
  25. ↑ "Reel Desires- Queer Film Festival".
  26. ↑ BARADWAJ RANGAN (9 July 2013). "Nothing queer about it!". The Hindu. Retrieved 22 July 2017.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.