Domenico De Monte, a graphic designer based in Milan, has been adjudged the winner of an international contest to design the poster for KASHISH 2019, South Asia’s biggest LGBTQ film festival. Mr. De Monte, who is the first international designer to win the contest, will receive a cash prize of ₹25,000.
10th edition
Mr. De Monte said he drew inspiration from the cinema posters of the 1970s while designing the winning entry. He said, “The theme, ‘Over the Rainbow’, together with the fact that it was the 10th edition of the festival gave me the idea to work on the rainbow shape to create a texture. The number 10 springs using the colours of LGBT culture without being banal. The sharp areas and flat colours reflect my intention to keep the artwork simple and sincere as the message of the festival, which aims to fight for a fairer society that gives everyone the right and the freedom to affirm their gender identity.”
‘Hitting right notes’
Indian fashion designer Wendell Rodricks, who picked the winner from over 50 Indian and international entries, said, “In an age of over design, it is heartening to see a design that celebrates a 10-year milestone with a graphic that hits all the right notes for the ‘Over the Rainbow’ theme for KASHISH 2019. The design uses the rainbow to fill up the poster and also the detail: the rainbow extends to the words as well. That detail is brilliant. I wish the winner and the organisers of the festival congratulations and wishes for well-deserved success.”
Organisers said that the winning design will be used on billboards, hoardings, banners, cinema slides, delegate cards, T-shirts and catalogue covers for the 10th KASHISH Mumbai International Queer Film Festival, which will be held from June 12 to 16 at two of Mumbai’s iconic theatres: Liberty Carnival Cinemas and Metro INOX in Marine Lines.
Festival director Sridhar Rangayan said, “We are so happy with the reading down of the law Section 377. For our festival’s 10th edition, we would literally paint the city with rainbow colours. The design with overlapping rainbow strokes literally represents this joyous mood of the festival. We are so happy that Wendell Rodricks picked this amazing design. We promise that we will make KASHISH 2019 a momentous celebration for the LGBTQ community and its allies.”
Mr. Rodricks urged all stakeholders to join in the “journey over the rainbow to discover the land of equality and dignity”. The fashion designer said, the theme of KASHISH 2019, ‘Over The Rainbow’, not only commemorated the reading down of Section 377 and decriminalisation of same-sex relationships in India but also defined the challenges in store for the LGBTQ community’s journey towards empowerment and social acceptance.
‘Window to future’
“By bringing together films from all over the world, as well as panel discussions and performances, the festival will showcase shared struggles and victories, and offer a window to existing and future possibilities,” he said.