QBits

India’s longest running gay film festival celebrates sixth year

Kolkata’s queer film festival starts tomorrow, showing over 40 films

22 November 2012| By Ashlee Kelly

Acclaimed Israeli film Eyes Wide Open will feature at the sixth LGBT film festival in Kolkata, India

India’s longest running LGBT film festival will be celebrating its sixth year tomorrow (23 November).

The three-day ‘Dialogues’ festival in Kolkata, the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, will showcase more than 40 films of differing genres from coming-of-age dramas and experimental films to documentaries.

Nil, an Indian designer closely associated with the festival, believes it will offer something for everyone.

‘The number of films screened this year is almost double of last year’s. For the first time we are having parallel screenings,’ he told the Hindustan Times.

The festival will also showcase 10 full length feature films from around the world, from countries like Germany, India, France and Peru.

The films shown will be a mix of mainstream releases and more obscure titles, including the acclaimed Eyes Wide Open from Israel.

The festival is organised by Sappho for Equality (SFE) and Pratyay Gender Trust (PGT).

Anindya Hajra, of PGT, said: ‘The festival primarily celebrates writers, directors, actors and their work dealing with LGBT and queer themes and issues. But over the years both LGBT and non-LGBT audiences have shown interest.’

The festival will open with the premiere of ‘Guide Gufran’, a film about self-discovery with themes on sexuality and spirituality.

Threat of violence shuts down queer film fest in Siberia

Friday, June 8, 2012

BY NATASHA BARSOTTI – The Side by Side LGBT Film Festival in the Siberian city of Novosibirsk was forced to cancel its third and final day of screenings after organizers and attendees “came under serious threat from a homophobic mob of aggressive youth,” festival spokesperson Manny de Guerre said in a June 7 release.

On the second day of the festival, around 30 youth surrounded the shopping centre where films were being screened, and shouted insults. “It was clear from their discussions with each other and their behaviour that they were intent on violence,” de Guerre said in the statement. De Guerre criticized the indifference of police, saying they failed to maintain order or to adequately deal with the threat to film-goers and organizers. Security guards had to escort attendees to their cars. And de Guerre said it was only the skill of the driver of a taxi carrying festival organizers away from the scene that allowed them to elude the mob which tried to follow in cars and on motorcycle.

Authorities’ lack of concern led organizers to pull the plug on the festival.

The Novosibirsk festival is the second of three to take place this week in Siberia. The festival ran into similar problems in the city of Kemerovo. The final festival is scheduled to begin in Tomsk today, and organizers say security has been increased for the opening.

Novosibirsk’s parliament has successfully piloted an anti-gay gag law — similar to those already passed in four other Russian cities — through its first reading and had its second reading scheduled yesterday.

sigla 27° festival.mpg (by ToGlbtFilmFest)

LOL! How true.

Q.

Via

http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2012/04/19/video-turins-gay-film-festival-ad-highlights-unusual-taboo/

The citizens of a progressive Italian town face the ultimate public taboo in the surprise ending to a video promoting the Turin GLBT film festival.

Set simply to Chopin’s second nocturne, the video’s message is universal across languages, portraying a town where gay and transgender people can live openly, but some things are never palatable.

Does the film make a valid point about the need to maintain progressive attitudes, or are some subjects destined to be hidden, even in the most free-thinking society?

The Turin GLBT film festival begins today and runs until the 25 April.

iPhone and iPad users may need to click here to activate the video.