Miranda House, Delhi to host LGBTQ film screening

India’s first traveling campus LGBTQ film festival ‘ KASHISH Forward’ and Sridhar Rangayan’s ‘Purple Skies’ will screen at Miranda House in Delhi University, to raise awareness about LGBTQ issues

After traveling to 13 cities with 16 screenings, KASHISH Forward now travels to New Delhi to screen at Miranda House, University of Delhi on August 25th from 11.30am to 4.00pm. The event which is open to all will screen 7 LGBTQ films focused on youth and their issues like gender identity, coming out and family acceptance.

The event will also screen Sridhar Rangayan’s acclaimed documentary film on LBT (lesbians, bisexuals and transmen) ‘Purple Skies’, produced by PSBT India and Solaris Pictures. This was the first lesbian themed film to receive a U certificate from the censor board and also was telecast on Doordarshan.

“Lesbians and bisexual women face double discrimination – as same-sex loving persons and as women - and have a tougher time negotiating for their rights in Indian society. There has to be a move to make LBT community more visible and their concerns heard loud”, said Sridhar Rangayan, director of the film and festival director of KASHISH, “It is important to start dialogue at college level with young minds”, he added.

The event, organized by the Women’s Gender Unit of Miranda House and KASHISH Arts Foundation, the parent body of KASHISH MIQFF in association with Queer India Support and Movies That Matter (Netherlands).

"We at Miranda House believe in creating inclusive, safe and brave space where diversity is accepted and equitable access between all individuals is normative", said Aishwarya Unnikrishnan, President of Women's Development Cell, Miranda House whose motto is “Together We Rise”, aiming to forge solidarity with different movements happening across the globe to anchor beyond the binaries.

Queer India Support is a new initiative that essentially aims to be the first line of support for queer individuals and their allies and a platform that surpasses geographical constraints with the digital medium.

"We are happy to bridge the gap between such compelling film screenings and the campuses. Hope this contributes to the sensitization of the students and becomes a step in building a more inclusive society", said Harsh Aggarwal, Founder of Queer India Support, which aims to be the first line of support for queer individuals and their allies.

 The films to be screened at the event are KEEP YOUR HEAD UP from Ireland, AMAR: DEAF IS AN IDENTITY and SCARLINES from Canada, NO MATTER WHO from France, TO MUM (LOVE, ME) from Singapore, and ALL ABOUT LOVE and MY CHILD IS GAY, I AM HAPPY from India

Event Link : https://www.facebook.com/events/664899220380684

About KASHISH Forward

KASHISH Forward is India’s first travelling campus LGBTQ film festival which has already traveled to 16 colleges in the past, including Panjab University, Chandigarh; IIT Kharagpur; Presidency University, and Jadhavpur University Kolkata; IIM Ahmedabad, National Law College, Bangalore, Ambedkar University Delhi; Tagore International School, New Delhi; SCM Sophia, Mumbai; Wilson College, Mumbai; Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai and IIT Bombay.

These customized programs for colleges focus on youth related issues such as Identity, Discrimination, Bullying, Coming Out, Finding Love, Acceptance by Family, etc. The motto of KASHISH Forward is ‘awareness, acceptance, empowerment’ and not only meant for student community but also for faculty and staff at the institute, and for families & friends. KASHISH Forward is organized by KASHISH Mumbai International Queer Film festival with support from Movies That Matter, Netherlands.

KASHISH Mumbai International Queer Film Festival

Voted as one of the Top 5 LGBT Film Festival in the World, KASHISH Mumbai International Queer Film Festival is South Asia's biggest queer film festival and the only LGBT film festival in India to be held in a mainstream theatre. Founded in 2010, KASHISH is held over 5 days at three venues. It is the first Indian LGBT festival to be held with approval by the Information & Broadcasting Ministry, Government of India. KASHISH Mumbai International Queer Film Festival is presented by KASHISH Arts Foundation and organized by Solaris Pictures.

About Women Development Cell, Miranda College

We are a family of Women working towards a gender-equal world. We are committed to creating dialogues about issues surrounding gender, race, sexuality, prejudice and facilitate the formation of safe spaces within the community. Our goal is to facilitate feminist street activism and feminist digital activism.

With “Intersectionality” as our core value, we strive to empower Women to spark a transformation in their own communities while at the same time expanding the category of “Woman”.

Our motto “Together We Rise”, we aim to forge solidarity with different movements happening across the globe to anchor beyond the binaries.

About Queer India Support

Queer India Support essentially aims to be the first line of support for queer individuals and their allies. QIS’ pilot project aims to be an all inclusive resource data strong-house. QIS is a curative platform that surpasses geographical constraints with the digital medium. It identifies, analyses and bridges the gap between services, information or resources which are not being rendered to queer individuals or pertains to them.