2017 could be called a landmark year for LGBTQ+ cinema in the country. While American film Moonlight featuring a Gay protagonist received the Oscar for best picture, closer home, Sisak (the country's first silent LGBTQ+ film) received global acclaim. In Pune, this year marked the launch of the Out & Loud - Pune International Queer Film Festival that took place in April and will be an annual event henceforth. But that's not all. 2017 is now set to close curtain with Advait, Pune's first queer film festival, that is returning for a second edition on December 30, after its launch in 2014.
Happy that LGBTQ+ cinema is receiving recognition across the country, Shyam Konnur, the director of Out & Loud - Pune International Queer Film Festival, says, "An increasing number of people from outside the community are participating in queer film festivals. All three days of Out & Loud saw 500 plus people attending." And according to Faraz Arif Ansari, the director of Sisak, this year proved to be a catalyst for LGBTQ+ cinema, with topics on the subject receiving widespread attention. "How much of a game-changer 2017 has been, we cannot say. But a dialogue has definitely opened up. The elephant in the room is being acknowledged and there is a conversation and eye contact with it," he informs. Faraz feels that when Sonam Kapoor launched the trailer of Sisak earlier this year, the film started getting a great mileage. "Interestingly, during our crowd funding campaign, 95 per cent of contributors came from outside the LGBTQ+ community, which proves that more people are open to the idea of movies exploring the topic," he says, adding that the logical next step now, is for Bollywood big guns to embrace LGBTQ+ roles. "If I get one of the Bollywood bigwigs to play an LGBTQ+ character, the impact it would have in raising awareness would be tremendous. There will be a wave of acceptance," Faraz insists
The show stopper
On December 30, Advait, aimed at educating and sensitising society on issues related to the LGBT+ community, will be flagged off with iPride, a monologue by Bindumadhav Khire, the president of Samapathik Trust and the director of the festival. Films, monologues and plays exploring various topics - from gay relationships to the struggles that the transgender community faces - will be highlighted during the festival. And it will close with Koti, a Marathi film on the life of a transgender person in rural Indian society. "The focus is on Indian cinema with prominence given to Marathi films, since they reflect local and cultural LGBT+ issues," Bindumadhav says.
Struggles not yet over for the community
Our struggles are countless. From receiving acceptance from society, to British colonial laws that curb our freedom - we have to fight at every step. Cinema is a wonderful way to put forth what we go through and open the eyes of people.
— Sonali Dalvi, city-based transgender activist
Happy that LGBTQ+ cinema is receiving recognition across the country, Shyam Konnur, the director of Out & Loud - Pune International Queer Film Festival, says, "An increasing number of people from outside the community are participating in queer film festivals. All three days of Out & Loud saw 500 plus people attending." And according to Faraz Arif Ansari, the director of Sisak, this year proved to be a catalyst for LGBTQ+ cinema, with topics on the subject receiving widespread attention. "How much of a game-changer 2017 has been, we cannot say. But a dialogue has definitely opened up. The elephant in the room is being acknowledged and there is a conversation and eye contact with it," he informs. Faraz feels that when Sonam Kapoor launched the trailer of Sisak earlier this year, the film started getting a great mileage. "Interestingly, during our crowd funding campaign, 95 per cent of contributors came from outside the LGBTQ+ community, which proves that more people are open to the idea of movies exploring the topic," he says, adding that the logical next step now, is for Bollywood big guns to embrace LGBTQ+ roles. "If I get one of the Bollywood bigwigs to play an LGBTQ+ character, the impact it would have in raising awareness would be tremendous. There will be a wave of acceptance," Faraz insists
On December 30, Advait, aimed at educating and sensitising society on issues related to the LGBT+ community, will be flagged off with iPride, a monologue by Bindumadhav Khire, the president of Samapathik Trust and the director of the festival. Films, monologues and plays exploring various topics - from gay relationships to the struggles that the transgender community faces - will be highlighted during the festival. And it will close with Koti, a Marathi film on the life of a transgender person in rural Indian society. "The focus is on Indian cinema with prominence given to Marathi films, since they reflect local and cultural LGBT+ issues," Bindumadhav says.
Our struggles are countless. From receiving acceptance from society, to British colonial laws that curb our freedom - we have to fight at every step. Cinema is a wonderful way to put forth what we go through and open the eyes of people.
— Sonali Dalvi, city-based transgender activist
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