Renil Abraham will be hosting this grand event, which will feature performances by LGBTQIA+ community members & allies, reports The Daily Eye Newsdesk.

The   12th edition of KASHISH Mumbai International Queer Film Festival, South Asia’s biggest LGBBTQIA+ film festival will have its grand opening ceremony on August 19^th at 6pm on the YouTube  & Facebook channels - @kashishfilmfest.

Hosted by the glamorous Renil Abraham, a well-known TV talk show host, who said he is happy to be launching this amazing festival because he always wanted to do something for his own community. He feels that this is his smallest way of giving back to his community.

In the same vein, the evening also features a heartwarming video titled ‘Unlock With Pride’ where members of the LGBTQIA+ community, and a couple of our parents, speak about what unlocking with pride means to them.

The evening features some amazing performances by both the LGBTQ community members and Allies, as well as talks by the KASHISH team members, the KASHISH Advisory Board and messages by corporate houses and consulates in support of the festival.

The first performance is a beautiful Acapella rendition of the KASHISH logo by Mx.Tayano, a Music Producer, Songwriter, Mix and Master Engineer, and a Vocalist.

The second performance is a mesmerizing dance performance by androgynous performer Smitin Bhosale, a proud gay man who has just completed his masters from IIT Guwahati. He says about his Kathak performance titled ‘Colours of Love’, “Self acceptance is the first key to self love & self love is the prerequisite to find true love. This performance depicts the colorful journey of a soul to find that true love.”

The third performance is a soulful song performed by John Oinam & Smruti Jalpur. John identifies as a gay man and Smruti, a lesbian woman. They say, “After being ridiculed by the hetero-normative society for performing together, we stand tall; and we stand up for who we are and what we believe in.” Sharif D. Rangnekar has composed their performance titled ‘I am who I am’ with his band ‘Friends of Linger’.

The fourth finale performance is titled ‘The Lament of Draupadi’ and is choreographed by well-known choreographer and producer Sohini Roychoudhary. It features two dancers from her Sohinimoksha dance troupe, Harikamal Mazumdar and Prabir Kayal. “My dance video is my tribute, and respect, towards the LGBTQIA community, who have been, since time immemorial, the kinnars of Shiva in Indian mythology. My creative effort is about empathy and inclusivity. Humanity being our only identity beyond gender and sexuality”, said Sohini Roychoudhary.

The Opening Ceremony will be livestreamed on August 19th at 6pm on KASHISH social media handles @kashishfilmfest. The Opening Film ‘No Hard Feelings’ at the KASHISH virtual platform Xerb.tv will follow at 9.00pm. The festival will screen 221 films from 53 countries over 3 weekends until September 5th.

More details at http://mumbaiqueerfest.com