Festival of hope

The Bangalore Queer Film Festival, on April 10-11, combines education with entertainment and brings award-winning films from all over the world

"We hope to send a message to people who are in the closet that things are changing rapidly. This festival is partly about education and partly about entertainment," says Siddharth of the gay rights group, Good As You, which is bringing the festival to Bangalore with Delhi-based NGO Nigah.

The festival, which will be held at the Alliance Francaise de Bangalore on April 10 and 11, will screen movies like Happy Together, a youthful film on a gay couple who have relationship problems when on a trip to Argentina.

Filmmakeru00a0 Wong Kar Wai, who is Hong-Kong based won the Best Director Award for Happy Together in 1997 at Cannes.u00a0 Other treats for movie-buffs include Gus Van Sant's Mala Noche or Bad Night, a 1985 black & white American drama based on Walt Curtis's autobiographical novel.u00a0

Critically acclaimed documentaries like Dangerous Living by Sonali Gulati and About Elsewhere by Priya Sen highlight the thought processes of sexual minorities.

"In 1994, some of us got together at 3 Aces, a restaurant that used to be on Brigade Road, and decided that we must start a forum for gays. We were keen to create social space that was a little more private than a pub and a little more constructive," says Siddharth.

In no time, more people joined Good As You, which meant they had to look for a larger place to meet.

"Samraksha, the AIDS counselling centre, offered their office space," says Siddharth.u00a0

"In 2006, Good As You brought Nigah's hugely successful QueerFest '07 to Bangalore through a one-day programme called Films of Desire. Nigah is a Delhi-based NGO which works in areas of gender and sexuality. In 2008, we marched for Queer Pride with other groups such as Sangama, Samara, Suraksha, LesBit in Bangalore. This April, we will bring Nigah's QueerFest that was held in Delhi last year. We hope to create a space for the celebration of queer expressions," he explains.

Nigah's QueerFest has, over the past three years, played a key role in opening windows into queer lives, and initiated a public dialogue through films, photo exhibitions and discussions.

Film Fest

April 10
Laundromat (short film)
Mala Noche (feature film)
Bear Cub (feature film)
A ring of their own (documentary)
She is a boy I knew (documentary)

April 11
Happy Together (feature film)
Dangerous Living (documentary)
Paragraph 175 (documentary)
Breakfast with Scott (feature film)

Poems, plays and performances
Apart from screening short films, feature films and documentaries, the Alliance Francaise will host a panel discussion on 'Being queer at the work place'. There are music and dance programmes as well.

April 10, 6:30 pm-7 pm
Charles Ma, a bharatanatayam dancer and choreographer, will perform two pieces Ganesha Kaustavam and Ade Namma. While the first dance invokes the blessings of Ganesha, the remover of all obstacles, the second dance celebrates the male and female qualities of Shiva.

LesBiT, a group of lesbian, bisexual and transgender people, will perform qawwalis.

April 11, 6 pm-6:30 pm
Manola Gayatri K will perform 'Red', a piece on health concerns of women. And, Joshua M will read his poetry.

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