The 15th edition of KASHISH Pride Film Festival came to an end after five days of film screenings at three venues across Mumbai, where the festival screened 133 films from 46 countries. The grand finale and award ceremony had celebrities like Sonali Kulkarni, Sheeba Chaddha, Sayani Gupta, Shweta Basu Prasad and Dolly Thakore gracing the event.
Sridhar Rangayan, festival director, said, “We are delighted by the response to the festival by audiences who surged and thronged the three venues and greatly appreciated the awesome cinematic fare we had programmed. There were 10 films transgender & non-binary filmmakers from across the world. It is even more heartening that the jury members in different categories have awarded films made by transgender and non-binary filmmakers or actors, recognizing their true worth, not just for their identity but the quality of their films or performances.”
Indian transgender and non-binary filmmakers and actors won several awards for their films – Samyuktha Vijayan, a transgender filmmaker & actress won the Best Performance in a lead role for her leading part as Aravind/Bhanu in the feature film Blue Sunshine, directed by her; transgender filmmaker & actress Bonita Rajpurohit won the Riyad Wadia Award for Best Emerging Indian Filmmaker for her short film IYKYK, as well as special mention for Ismat Chughtai Award for Best Indian Woman Filmmaker, and also won a special mention as actress in the same film; and another transgender filmmaker Abu Sohel Khondekar won special mention for Riyad Wadia Award for Best Emerging Indian Filmmaker for their short film Mehroon. Non-binary filmmaker Edythe won the inaugural Aditya Nanda Award for Best Indian Film on Mental Health for their short film Sifar; non-binary filmmaker Leo Pappam won the Best Documentary Short award for their film Dear Sahitya;
While the French film You Promised Me The Sea by won the best narrative feature award, and the Brazilian film Neirud by won the best documentary film, Night Queen directed by Naireeta Dasgupta won the Best Indian narrative short award. MASC4MASC by Felix Greisinger and Poisoned Well by Radek Sevcik were joint winners for Best Student Short award; the Best Screenplay award went to Peter Ahlén and Jakob Holtet Stridbæk for the Danish short film The Wake.
Priyank Gangwani, the lead actor of Gujarati feature film Kaatla Curry was given an audience award for best performance for his brave portrayal of a married homosexual man.
Samyuktha Vijayan, director and lead actor of Blue Sunshine “When I made Blue Sunshine, I never thought it would receive such acceptance and recognition worldwide. To win an award for best performance at KASHISH is icing on the cake. I thank my wonderful team whose efforts helped me make the movie. I thank KASHISH for their relentless support to amplify queer voices. Thank you so much!”
AWARD WINNERS
BEST NARRATIVE FEATURE
For exploring the concept of an arranged marriage between a gay man and a straight woman with subtlety and finesse, for portraying with
candour and sensitivity the complexities of navigating queerness in an orthodox family, and for etching nuanced relationships and characters
like Hadjira and Saïd’s, the Best Narrative Feature Award goes to the French film
YOU PROMISED ME THE SEA directed by Nadir Moknèche
BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
A poetic and provocative excavation of personal archives and intergenerational memory, the film celebrates the love and partnership of two
iconic women from Brazil’s underground circus history. For its seamless play with form and critical engagement with micro-histories of race,
identity, and religion, the Jury awards the K.F.Patil Unity in Diversity Best Documentary Feature to the Brazilian film NEIRUD directed by
Fernanda Faya.
BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT
Bearing witness to a person’s transformation and gracefully portraying moments of vulnerability and courage, the film documents a poignant
narrative of trans reality. For its gentle assertion of bodily autonomy and a delightful celebration of community, the Jury awards the K.F.Patil
Unity in Diversity Best Documentary Short to the Indian film, DEAR SAHITHYA directed by Leo Paapam.
BEST INTERNATIONAL NARRATIVE SHORT
For depicting, with elegance and economy, a young woman’s struggles to come to terms with her father’s unwillingness to accept her when she
comes out to him. Exploring with humour and empathy the intersections of culture, race and sexuality in the protagonist’s identity, this film has
memorable characters and performances, and is technically and aesthetically excellent. The Best International Narrative short film Award goes
to the debutant director Siham Bel’s BREAKING THROUGH from France.
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