The KASHISH Mumbai International Queer Film Festival (also known as Mumbai International Queer Film Festival and Mumbai International Queer Film Festival) is an annual

LGBT ' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity. The LGBT term ...

event that has been held in

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' fin ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

, since 2010. The

film festival A film festival is an organized, extended presentation of films in one or more cinemas or screening venues, usually in a single city or region. Increasingly, film festivals show some films outdoors. Films may be of recent date and, depending upo ...

screens

gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late 1 ...

, lesbian, bisexual,

transgender A transgender (often abbreviated as trans) person is someone whose gender identity or gender expression does not correspond with their sex assigned at birth. Many transgender people experience dysphoria, which they seek to alleviate through ...

and queer films from India and around the world. It is voted as one of the top five LGBT film festivals in the world.

Background

2009 was a historic year for the LGBT movement in India. On 2 July 2009, the

Delhi High Court The High Court of Delhi ( IAST: ''dillī uchcha nyāyālaya'') was established on 31 October 1966, through the ''Delhi High Court Act, 1966'', with four judges, Chief Justice K. S. Hegde, Justice I. D. Dua, Justice H. R. Khanna and Justice S ...

court ruling decriminalised homosexual intercourse between consenting adults and judged

Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code Section 377 of the British colonial penal code criminalized all sexual acts "against the order of nature". The law was used to prosecute people engaging in oral and anal sex along with homosexual activity. The penal code remains in many former col ...

to be conflicting with the fundamental rights guaranteed by the

Constitution of India The Constitution of India ( IAST: ) is the supreme law of India. The document lays down the framework that demarcates fundamental political code, structure, procedures, powers, and duties of government institutions and sets out fundamental ...

. This brought a respite to the Indian LGBT community that has been repressed and marginalized. This also led to open celebrations by LGBT persons including pride parades in many of the metros. This was followed by the relaunch of India's first gay magazine, ''Bombay Dost''. The Indian Election Commission decided to recognize transgender as a separate category. All these activities brought media focus and visibility to the LGBT community in India. KASHISH Mumbai Queer Film Festival took this movement forward through the medium of films. It made LGBT persons, their desires and aspirations visible through films and brought about an international perspective to LGBT works. The objective of the festival continues to mainstream the LGBT community and project them as 'normal' human beings who have the capacity to love and live with dignity. The festival offers cinema as a means to understand what being queer means today, and how it impacts both the queer community and the society at large. It was the first Indian LGBT film festival to be held in a mainstream theater. It was also the first LGBT film festival to obtain a clearance from the

Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (India) Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (Ministry of I&B) is a ministerial level agency of the Government of India responsible for the formulation and administration of rules, regulations and laws in the areas of information, broadcasting, the ...

The festival

KASHISH Mumbai International Queer Film Festival, 2010 was held between 22 and 25 April 2010, spread across two venues in Mumbai – one in the city and one in the suburbs. The first edition was organized by

Solaris Pictures Solaris Pictures is an Indian film production company based in Mumbai. It was created by Sridhar Rangayan, and Saagar Gupta in 2001. The two have gone on to create several award-winning films under Solaris Pictures' banner, focusing on LGBT ...

and The Humsafar Trust in association with Bombay Dost. Features, short films, documentaries and

experimental films Experimental film or avant-garde cinema is a mode of filmmaking that rigorously re-evaluates cinematic conventions and explores non-narrative forms or alternatives to traditional narratives or methods of working. Many experimental films, parti ...

were screened that highlighted gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender characters and stories. The films explored the diverse realities, complexities, joys and sorrows that make up the global queer experience. They also celebrated, reclaimed, and explained LGBTQ identities while engaging and entertaining audiences. The film festival brought together the audience, the films and their makers to create social change. In its debut year, founder Festival Director

Sridhar Rangayan Sridhar Rangayan (also spelt Sridhar Rangaihn or Sridhar Rangayyan; born 2 April 1962) is an Indian filmmaker who has made films with special focus on queer subjects. His queer films, '' The Pink Mirror'' and '' Yours Emotionally'', have been ...

said he hoped that the film festival would encourage greater visibility of

queer cinema "New Queer Cinema" is a term first coined by the academic B. Ruby Rich in ''Sight & Sound'' magazine in 1992 to define and describe a movement in queer-themed independent filmmaking in the early 1990s. It is also referred to as the "Queer Ne ...

and bring it into the mainstream discourse. He has said that the festival showcases the films to both queer and mainstream audiences, in order to make them aware of queer thought, desires and expressions. The festival boasts of support from Indian film personalities. Shyam Benegal is the Festival Patron.

Celina Jaitly Celina Jaitly (born 24 November 1981) is an Indian actress who mainly appears in Bollywood films. She won the Miss India in 2001 and was the 4th runner-up at Miss Universe 2001. She made her acting debut with the 2003 thriller '' Janasheen''. ...

was the Festival Ambassador until 2020. The advisory board of the festival is composed of eminent personalities like

Aruna Raje Aruna Raje (born 1946) is an Indian film director and editor known for her works in Hindi cinema. Early life Aruna Raje was born on 17 October in 1946 in Pune, India. Education and career Aruna enrolled initially at Grant Medical College in ...

Patil, Dolly Thakore, Meghna Ghai Puri,

Onir Onir (born Anirban Dhar, 1 May 1969) is an Indian film and TV director, editor, screenwriter and producer. He is best known for his film '' My Brother…Nikhil'', based on the life of Dominic d'Souza, starring Sanjay Suri and Purab Kohli ''i ...

Renuka Shahane Renuka Shahane (born 7 October 1966) is an Indian actress working in the Bollywood film industry and in Indian television, best known as the co-presenter of the Doordarshan TV show '' Surabhi'' (1993–2001). Early life Renuka Shahane was bor ...

and Roy Wadia. In the past years Nandini Sardesai,

Shernaz Patel Shernaz Patel is an Indian film and theatre actor, who works in Hindi and English films, most known for her roles in films like ''Black'' (2005) and '' Guzaarish'' (2010) and English language theatre in Mumbai. She made her theatre debut with ' ...

and Jenni Olson (USA) also served on the advisory board. Some of the chief guests and guests of honour at the festival have been Sir Ian McKellen,

Sonam Kapoor Sonam Kapoor Ahuja (; born 9 June 1985) is an Indian actress who works in Hindi films. She has won a National Film Award and a Filmfare Award, and from 2012 to 2016, she appeared in ''Forbes India'' Celebrity 100 list based on her income and ...

Arjun Kapoor Arjun Kapoor (born 26 June 1985) is an Indian actor working in Hindi films. Born to the Surinder Kapoor family, he is the son of film producer Boney Kapoor and Mona Shourie. Kapoor made his acting debut in 2012 with romance '' Ishaqzaade'' whic ...

, Konkana Sen Sharma,

Nawazuddin Siddiqui Nawazuddin Siddiqui (; born 19 May 1974) is an Indian actor known for his work in Hindi cinema. He is an alumnus of the National School of Drama. Siddiqui's feature film debut was alongside director Prashant Bhargava in ''Patang'' (2012). He ga ...

Rajkumar Rao Rajkummar Rao (born Raj Kumar Yadav; 31 August 1984) is an Indian actor known for his work in Hindi films. He has appeared in more than 30 films since 2010, and is the recipient of several accolades including a National Film Award, three ...

Swara Bhaskar Swara Bhasker (also spelled Bhaskar; born 9 April 1988) is an Indian actress who works in Hindi films. Best known for her supporting work in mainstream productions and starring roles in independent films, she has won two Screen Awards and has ...

Divya Dutta Divya Dutta (born 25 September 1977) is an Indian actress and model. She has appeared in Hindi and Punjabi cinema, in addition to Malayalam and English-language films. She has received many awards including a National Film Award, a Filmfare Awa ...

Pratik Gandhi Pratik Gandhi is an Indian actor. He worked in Gujarati theatre before entering Gujarati cinema. He received wide acclaim for portraying Harshad Mehta in Sony LIV series ''Scam 1992''. He acted in several Hindi films thereafter. Early life G ...

Ranveer Brar Ranveer Singh Brar (born 8 February 1978) is a Lucknow-born and bred Indian celebrity chef, Masterchef India judge, author and restaurateur. He is well known as the host of popular Television food shows and as a judge in two seasons (four & six ...

, Shalmali,

Pooja Bhatt Pooja Bhatt (born 24 February 1972) is an Indian film director, actress, voice over artist and film maker. Born into the Bhatt family, she is the daughter of Indian filmmaker, Mahesh Bhatt. Bhatt played her first leading role in Mahesh Bhatt's ...

, Nisa Godrej, Anupam Kher,

Kunal Kapoor Kunal Kapoor may refer to: * Kunal Kapoor (actor, born 1959), Indian film actor * Kunal Kapoor (actor, born 1977), Indian actor, writer and entrepreneur * Kunal Kapoor (cricketer) (born 1987), Indian cricketer * Kunal Karan Kapoor (born 1982), In ...

Juhi Chawla Juhi Chawla (born 13 November 1967) is an Indian actress, film producer and entrepreneur. She established herself as one of the leading actresses of Hindi cinema from the late 1980s through the early 2000s. Recognised for her comic timing and v ...

Manisha Koirala Manisha Koirala (; born 16 August 1970) is a Nepalese actress who works in Indian films, predominantly in Hindi and Tamil films and has also worked in few Telugu, Bengali, Malayalam, Nepali and English films. Known for her work in both commerci ...

Nandita Das Nandita Das (born 7 November 1969) is an Indian actress and director. She has acted in over 40 feature films in ten different languages. Das appeared in the films ''Fire'' (1996), ''Earth'' (1998), '' Bawandar'' (2000), '' Kannathil Muthamittal' ...

, Sai Paranjpye,

Kabir Bedi Kabir Bedi ( pa, ਕਬੀਰ ਸਿੰਘ ਬੇਦੀ; born 16 January 1946) is an Indian actor. His career has spanned three continents covering India, the United States and especially Italy among other European countries in three media: f ...

Kalpana Lajmi Kalpana Lajmi (1954–2018) was an Indian film director, producer and screenwriter. Lajmi was an independent filmmaker working more on realistic, low-budget films, which are known in India as parallel cinema. Her films were often woman-oriente ...

Zeenat Aman Zeenat Khan (born 19 November 1951), better known as Zeenat Aman, is an Indian actress and former fashion model. She first received recognition for her modelling work, and at the age of 19, went on to participate in beauty pageants, winning both ...

Moushumi Chatterjee Moushumi Chatterjee (born Indira Chattopadhyay) is an Indian actress who is recognised for her work in Hindi as well as Bengali cinema. She was one of the highest paid actresses in Hindi films during the 1970s. She joined the Bharatiya Janata ...

Tanuja Chandra Tanuja Chandra (born 1969) is an Indian film director and writer. Chandra is the daughter of writer Kamna Chandra and sister of author Vikram Chandra and film critic Anupama Chopra. She co-wrote the screenplay of Yash Chopra's ''Dil To Pagal H ...

Neeraj Ghaywan Neeraj Ghaywan is an Indian film director and writer who works in Hindi films. He is the winner of several accolades including a National film Award and two Filmfare Awards. Ghaywan assisted filmmaker Anurag Kashyap on ''Gangs of Wasseypur ...

Sanjay Suri Sanjay Suri (born 6 April 1971) is an Indian actor and film producer of Hindi cinema. He made his debut in the film '' Pyaar Mein Kabhi Kabhi (1999)''. He went on to star in many supporting roles, but finally got his big break with '' Jhankaar ...

Neelam Kothari Neelam Kothari Soni is an Indian actress and jewellery designer from Mumbai, known mononymously as Neelam. She made her acting debut with '' Jawaani'' (1984) opposite debutant Karan Shah. Since then she starred in various films alongside Govind ...

Varun Badola Varun Badola (born 7 January 1974) is an Indian actor, known largely for his roles in television. Early life Varun Badola was born on 7 January 1974. His father is a known artist, Vishwa Mohan Badola. He has two elder sisters – Alka, who is ...

Shweta Kawatra Shweta Kawatra (born 10 February 1976) is an Indian actress, model and television presenter. Personal life She is married to TV actor Manav Gohil. They participated in the dance competition show Nach Baliye where Manav was awarded best dancer ...

Sona Mohapatra Sona Mohapatra (born 17 June 1976) is an Indian singer, music composer and lyricist. In addition to her own material, Mohapatra has recorded remixes of songs by David Bowie, with " Let's Dance", and INXS, with "Afterglow", with the latter provin ...

Anant Mahadevan Anant Mahadevan (born 28 August 1950), also credited as Ananth Narayan Mahadevan, is an Indian screenwriter, actor, and film director of Malayalam, Hindi, Marathi, Tamil films and television shows. Having been an integral part of the Indi ...

Dalip Tahil Dalip Tahil (born as Dalip Tahilramani; 30 October 1952) is an Indian film, television and theatre actor. He studied at Sherwood College in Nainital, India. After attending Aligarh Muslim University for a year, he graduated from St. Xavier's C ...

Shaina NC Shaina Nana Chudasama (born 1 December 1972), better known by her abbreviated name Shaina NC, is an Indian fashion designer, politician, and social worker. Daughter of the former Sheriff of Mumbai, her father, Nana Chudasama, was a well known c ...

, Aleque Padamsee,

Apurva Asrani Apurva Asrani (born 21 March 1978) is a National Award, Filmfare Award & Screen Award winning filmmaker based in Goa, India. He has written the human rights drama ''Aligarh'' (2016), the courtroom drama Criminal Justice: Behind Closed Doors (20 ...

, Suchitra Pillai-Malik,

Purab Kohli Purab Kohli is an Indian television and film actor, model and former video jockey. Career Television Kohli started his career as an actor with the 1998 television show '' Hip Hip Hurray'' on Zee TV and earned recognition through video jockey ...

, Adhuna Bhabani, Prince

Manvendra Singh Gohil Manvendra Singh Gohil (born 23 September 1965) is an Indian people, Indian prince who is the son and probable heir of the honorary Maharaja of Rajpipla in Gujarat. He is the first openly gay prince in the world. He runs a charity, the Lakshya Tr ...

, and Laxmi Narayan Tripathi. KASHISH since 2010 to 2016 has been organized by

and co-organized by The

Humsafar Trust Humsafar Trust ( meaning 'companion' in Hindustani: hi, हमसफ़र, ur, ہمسفر) is an NGO in Mumbai which promotes LGBT rights. Founded by Ashok Row Kavi, Suhail Abbasi, and Sridhar Rangayan in 1994, it is one of the largest and ...

. Since 2017, KASHISH is organized by KASHISH Arts Foundation, in association with

Calendar

* The 1st edition of the festival was held in April 2010 at PVR Cinemas and screened 110 films from 25 countries. Its theme was 'See A Different World'. * The 2nd edition of the festival was held in May 2011 at

Cinemax Cinemax is an American pay television, cable, and satellite television network owned by the Home Box Office, Inc. subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. Developed as a companion "maxi-pay" service complementing the offerings shown on parent ...

Versova & Alliance Francaise de Bombay, and screened 124 films from 23 countries. Its theme was 'Bigger, Bolder & Queerer'. * The 3rd edition of the festival was held in May 2012 at Cinemax Versova & Alliance Francaise de Bombay, and screened 120 films from 30 countries. Its theme was 'For Everyone'. * The 4th edition of the festival was held in May 2013 at Cinemax Versova & Alliance Francaise de Bombay, and screened 132 films from 40 countries. Its theme was 'Towards Change'. * The 5th edition of the festival was held in May 2014 at

Liberty Cinema Liberty Cinema is an Art Deco 1200 seater single screen Movie theatre in Mumbai, India. Since the cinema was built in 1947, the year of Indian Independence, its founder ''Habib Hoosein'' decided to name it "Liberty". Liberty screens Bollywood Hin ...

& Alliance Francaise de Bombay, and screened 154 films from 31 countries. Its theme was 'Dare To Dream'. * The 6th edition of the festival was held in May 2015 at Liberty Cinema, Alliance Francaise de Bombay & Max Mueller Bhavan, and screened 180 films from 44 countries. Its theme was 'Reaching Out, Touching Hearts'. * The 7th edition of the festival was held in May 2016 at Liberty Cinema, Alliance Francaise de Bombay & Max Mueller Bhavan, and screened 182 films from 53 countries. Its theme was '7 Shades of Love'. * The 8th edition of festival was held in May 2017 at Liberty Cinema & Alliance Francaise de Bombay, and screened 147 films from 45 countries. Its theme was 'Diverse, One'. * The 9th edition of festival was held in May 2018 at Liberty Carnival Cinemas & Metro INOX, and screened 140 films from 45 countries. Its theme was 'Together, With Pride'. *The 10th edition of festival was held in June 2019 at Liberty Carnival Cinemas & Metro INOX, and screened 160 films from 43 countries. Its theme was 'Over The Rainbow'. *The 11th edition of festival was held online in July 2020 and screened 157 films from 42 countries. Its theme was 'Moving Forward, Together'. *The 12th edition of festival was held online in August/September, 2021 and screened 221 films from 53 countries. Its theme was 'Unlock With Pride'. *The 13th edition of festival was held as a physical festival from June 1–5, 2022 at Liberty Cinema and Alliance Francaise de Bombay and as an online festival from June 3–12, 2022; and screened 184 films from 53 countries. Its theme was 'Flights for Freedom'.

Festival jury

KASHISH Mumbai International Queer Film Festival has, in its attempt to mainstream queer visibility, engages a jury panel to judge the award categories. The jury has consisted of actors, directors, critics, theater and media personalities and festival curators from India and abroad.

Wendell Rodricks Wendell Rodricks (28 May 1960 – 12 February 2020) was an Indian fashion designer and author based in the Indian state of Goa. He was also an activist for social causes, the environment and gay rights. In 2014, the Government of India c ...

, celebrity fashion designer, has been the judge every year from 2012 to 2020 of the KASHISH Poster Design Contest that invites designers from around the world to create the look of the festival, which will be used in posters, billboards and other promotional materials. Since 2020, after passing away of Wendell Rodricks, his husband Jerome Marrel is the judge.

Awards

Best Narrative Feature Film

*2022: ''Naanu Ladies'' - Shailaja Padindala , India, UK *2021: ''Forgotten Roads'' - Nicol Ruiz , Chile *2020: ''Music For The Bleeding Hearts'' - Rafael Gomes , Brazil *2019: ''Jose'' - Li Cheng , Guatemala *2018: ''Mater'' - Pablo D’Alo Abba , Argentina *2017: ''Gloria and Grace'' - Flávio R. Tambellini , Brazil *2016: ''How To Win At Checkers (Every Time)'' - Josh Kim , Thailand, USA, Indonesia *2015: '' Boys (Jongens)'' -

Mischa Kamp Mischa Kamp (born in Rotterdam on 7 August 1970) is a Dutch film director best known for the 2014 TV film ''Jongens'' (English title ''Boys''). Career In 1989, Kamp studied communications science at the New School for Information Services in Amst ...

, The Netherlands *2014: ''Tru Love'' - Kate Johnston and Shauna MacDonald , Canada *2013: ''Morgan'' - Michael Akers , USA *2012: ''My Last Round (Mi Ultimo Rounde)'' - Julio Jorquera Arriagada , Chile *2011: ''

I Am I Am or I'm may refer to: Language and literature * " I Am that I Am", a common English translation of the response God used in the Hebrew Bible when Moses asked for His name ** I am (biblical term), a Christian term used in the Bible * "I Am" (p ...

'' -

, India

Best Documentary Feature Film

*2022: ''LA Queencianera'' - Pedro Peira , Mexico, USA *2021: ''Canela'' - Cecilia del Valle , Argentina *2020: ''One Taxi Ride'' - Mak CK , Mexico *2019: '' Until Porn Do Us Part'' - Jorge Pelicano , Portugal *2018: ''Boys For Sale'' - Itako , Japan *2017: ''No Dress Code Required'' - Cristina Herrera Bórquez , Mexico *2016: ''Pansy'' - Jean-Baptiste Erreca , France *2015: ''

Do I Sound Gay? ''Do I Sound Gay?'' is a 2014 American documentary film by David Thorpe that explores the existence and accuracy of stereotypes about the speech patterns of gay men,We Were Here'' - David Weissman , USA *2010: ''

Prodigal Sons ''Prodigal Sons'' is a studio album by the Irish folk group The Dubliners. Produced by Bill Whelan, who later became famous for ''Riverdance'', this album featured cellist Nigel Warren-Green as guest musician. Although Luke Kelly recorded his ...

'' - Kimberly Reed , USA

Best Documentary Short Film

*2022: ''Beirut Dreams In Colour'' - Michael Collins , Lebanon, USA *2021: ''Tracing Utopia'' - Nick Tyson & Catarina de Sousa , Portugal *2020: ''Breakwater'' - Cris Lyra , Brazil *2019: ''Laadli'' - Sudipto Kundu , India *2018: ''Little Potato'' - Wes Hurley , USA, Russia *2017: ''Naked Wheels'' - Rajesh James , India *2016: ''Transindia'' - Meera Darji , India, UK *2015: ''Novena'' - Anna Rodgers , Ireland *2014: ''Families Are Forever'' - Vivian Kleiman , USA *2013: ''Two Girls Against The Rain'' - Sopheak Sao , Cambodia *2012: ''Are We So Different (Aamra Ki Etoi Bhinno)'' - Lok Prakash , Bangladesh *2011: ''Bullied'' - Bill Brummel and Geoffrey Sharp , UK *2010: ''XXWHY'' - Dr.Bharathy Manjula , India

Best International Narrative Short Film

*2022: ''Warsha'' - Dania Bdeir , Lebanon *2021: ''Snake'' - Andrej Volkashin , Macedonia *2020: ''Touchscreen'' - Arthur Halpern , USA *2019: ''Our Way Back'' - Moshe Rosenthal , Israel *2018: ''Marguerite'' - Marianne Farley , Canada *2017: ''Stay'' - Milka Mircic Martinovic , Germany *2016: ''San Cristóbal'' - Omar Zuniga Hidalgo , Chile *2015: ''09:55 - 11:05 Ingrid Ekman Bergsgatan 4b'' - Cristine Berglund and Sophie Vukovic , Sweden *2014: ''Naked'' - José Antonio Cortés Amunarriz , Spain *2013: ''Polaroid Girl'' - April Maxey , USA *2012: ''Through The Window (Me’ever La’chalon)'' - Chen Shumowitz , Israel *2011: ''Let The World Know About Me'' - Marianna Giordano , Argentina *2010: ''Steam'' - Eldar Rapaport , USA

Best Indian Narrative Short Film

*2022: ''Muhafiz'' - Pradipta Ray , India *2021: ''Are We There Yet?'' - Bhanu Babbal & Kashyap Swaroop , India *2020: ''The Song We Sang'' - Aarti Neharsh , India *2019: ''The Booth'' - Rohin Ravendran Nair , India *2018: ''Ajay'' - Vikrant Dhote , India *2017: ''Maacher Jhol (Fish Curry)'' - Abhishek Verma , India *2016: ''Daarvatha (The Threshold)'' - Nishant Roy Bombarde , India *2015: ''Sundar'' - Rohan Kanawade , India and ''Mudivai Thaedum Muttrupulli (A Full Stop That Searches For Its End)'' - Vivek Vishwanathan , India *2014: ''Mitraa'' - Ravi Jadhav , India *2013: ''Urmi'' - Jehangir Jani , India *2012: The jury decided not to award any film in this category. *2011: ''

Amen Amen ( he, אָמֵן, ; grc, ἀμήν, ; syc, ܐܡܝܢ, ; ar, آمين, ) is an Abrahamic declaration of affirmation which is first found in the Hebrew Bible, and subsequently found in the New Testament. It is used in Jewish, Christian, and ...

'' - Judhajit Bagchi and Ranadeep Bhattacharyya , India *2010: ''Lost & Found'' - Shrenik Jain , India

Riyad Wadia Award For Best Emerging Indian Filmmaker

*2022: Nemil Shah for ''Dal Bhat'' , India *2021: Radhika Prasidhha for ''Begum Parvathi'', India *2020: Arun Fulara for ''Sunday'' *2019: Sugandha Bansal for ''A Little More Blue'' *2018: Preet for ''Gray'' *2017: Rajesh James for ''Naked Wheels'' and ''Vishal Srivastava'' for ''Selfhood (Wajood)'' *2016: Vikrant Dhote and Srikant Ananthakrishnan for ''Any Other Day'' *2015: Vaibhav Hatkar for'' Ek Maaya Ashi Hi (A Love Such As This)'' *2014: Sharon Flynn for ''I'dentity'' *2013: Manava Naik for ''Dopehri'' and Rohan Kanawade for ''Lonely Walls (Ektya Bhinti)'' *2012: Pradipta Ray for ''The Night Is Young (Raat Baaki)'' *2011: Shumona Banerjee for ''The Flower Bud (Kusum)''

Best Performance in a Lead Role

*2022: Yu Ishizuka for ''The Fish With One Sleeve'' , Japan *2021: Maria Eduardo Maia for ''Advent of Mary'', Brazil *2020: Benjamin Daimary for ''Fireflies (Jonaki Porua)'' , India *2019: Felix Maritaud for ''Sauvage'' , France *2018: Chetan Kanwar in ''Pashi'' , India *2017: Petrice Jones in ''Play The Devil'' , Trinidad & Tobago *2016: Ingkarat Damrongsakkul in ''How To Win At Checkers (Every Time)'' , Thailand, USA, Indonesia *2015: Kristina Hernandez in ''Stealth'' , USA *2014: Kate Trotter in ''Tru Love'' , Canada *2013: Crystal Annette in ''Polaroid Girl'' , USA

Best Screenplay

*2022: ''Muhafiz'' written by Pradipta Ray and Ashutosh Pathak , India *2021: ''The Man With The Answers'' written by Stelios Kammitsis , Cyprus, Greece, Italy *2019: ''Music For The Bleeding Hearts'' written by Rafael Gomes , Brazil *2019: ''Jose'' written by Li Cheng , Guatemala

Best Student Short Film

*2022: ''The Third Solar Term'' - Zhanfei Song , China, UK *2021: ''On A Path'' - Lihi Lubetkin , Israel *2020: ''The Summer of 12'' - Kuan-Ling Kuo , Taiwan *2019: ''Three'' - Lior Soroka , Israel *2018: ''Celebrate Eileen'' - Judith Westermann , Germany *2017: ''Still Devout'' - Melissa Perez , USA

KASHISH QDrishti Film Grant

*2021: Bhargav Lahkar for ''The Caress'' , India *2020: Arun Fulara for ''My Mother's Girlfriend'' , India *2019: Rohin Raveendran Nair for ''The Booth'' and Sudipto Kundu for ''Laadli'' *2018: Siddharth Chauhan for ''Pashi'' , India *2017: Debadrita Bose for ''Clarinets (Shehenaiiya)'' , India *2016: V. Ramanathan for ''Normalcy'' , India

Special Jury Mention

*2022: ''Wet Sand'' - Elene Naveriani , Georgia, Switzerland (in the category Narrative Feature) *2022: ''Coming To You'' - Gyuri Byun , South Korea (in the category Documentary Feature) *2022: ''Marcel'' - Gastón Calivari , Argentina (in the category Documentary Short) *2022: ''Dal Bhat'' - Nemil Shah , India (in the category Indian Narrative Short) *2022: ''Breathe'' - Harm van der Sanden , Netherlands (in the category International Narrative Short) *2022: ''The Fish With One Sleeve'' - Tsuyoshi Shôji , Japan (in the category International Narrative Short) *2022: ''Mazel Tov'' - Eli Zuzovsky , Israel (in the category Student Short) *2022: Sagar Minde for ''Her Canvas'' , India (in the category Riyad Wadia Award for Best Indian Emerging Filmmaker) *2022: Anureet Watta for ''Kinaara'' , India (in the category Riyad Wadia Award for Best Indian Emerging Filmmaker) *2021: '' Rebel Dykes'' - Harri Shanahan & Siân A. Williams , UK (in the category Best Documentary Feature) *2021: ''Nothing But A Human'' - Swati Jaiswal , India (in the category Best Documentary Short) *2021: ''Keep Punching'' - Kirnay Bhatt , India (in the category Best Indian Narrative Short) *2021: ''Stray Dogs Come Out At Night'' - Humza Bangash , Pakistan (in the category Best International Narrative Short) *2021: ''Today'' - Francis Chillet , France (in the category Best Student Short) *2020: ''March For Dignity'' - John Eames , UK, Georgia (in the category Best Documentary Feature) *2020: ''My Brother Is A Mermaid'' - Alfie Dale , UK (in the category Best International Narrative Short) *2020: ''We Are Dancers'' - Joe Morris , UK (in the category Best International Narrative Short) *2020: ''Neon Hearts'' - Ana Jakimska , Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of (in the category Best Student Short) *2019: Amruta Shubhash in ''The Booth'' , India (in the category Best Performance in a Lead Role) *2019: Parna Pethe in ''The Booth'' , India (in the category Best Performance in a Lead Role) *2019: Lior Ashkenazi in ''Our Way Back'' , Israel (in the category Best Performance in a Lead Role) *2019: ''Shaadi Ke Kapde'' - Sonal Giani , India (in the category Riyad Wadia Award for Best Emerging Indian Filmmaker) *2019: ''Rangeen'' - Shaikh Ayaz , India (in the category Riyad Wadia Award for Best Emerging Indian Filmmaker) *2019: ''Hands & Wings'' - Sungbin Byun , Republic of Korea (in the category Best Student Short) *2019: ''Prisoner Of Society'' - Rati Tsiteladze , Georgia (in the category Best Documentary Short) *2019: ''Visibles'' - Enrique Rey , Spain (in the category Best Documentary Short) *2019: ''Fifth Floor On The Left'' - Renata Lucic , Croatia (in the category Best Screenplay) *2018: ''Birds Of Paradise'' - Rahul MM , India (in the category Riyad Wadia Award for Best Emerging Indian Filmmaker) *2018: ''Sunken Plum'' - Gu Xiang , China (in the category Best Performance in a Lead Role) *2018: ''Sunken Plum'' - Roberto F. Canuto & Xiaoxi Xu , China (in the category Best International Narrative Short Film) *2018: ''Goldfish'' - Yorgos Angelopoulos , Greece (in the category Best International Narrative Short Film) *2018: ''Mathias'' - Clara Stern , Austria (in the category Best Student Short Film) *2017: ''Beautiful Figure'' - Hajni Kis , The Netherlands (in the category Best Student Short Film) *2016: ''Beautiful Something'' - Brian Sheppard , USA (in the category Best Performance in a Lead Role) *2016: Antonio Altamirano ''San Cristóbal'' , Chile (in the category Best Performance in a Lead Role) *2016: ''Trade Queen'' - David Wagner , Germany (in the category Best International Narrative Short Film) *2016: ''Technical Difficulties of Intimacy'' - Joel Moffett , USA (in the category Best International Narrative Short Film) *2016: ''That's My Boy'' - Akhil Satyan , India (in the category Riyad Wadia Award for Best Emerging Indian Filmmaker) *2012: ''We The Outsiders... (Aamhi Ka Tisre...)'' - Ramesh Laxman More , India (in the category Riyad Wadia Award for Best Emerging Indian Filmmaker) *2010: ''Holding Hands'' - Tonnette Stanford and Katherine Wilkinson , Australia (in the category International Narrative Short) *2010: ''Flying Inside My Body'' - Sushmit Ghosh, Rintu Thomas, Sumit Sharma and Ajeeta Chowhan , India (in the category Documentary Short) *2010: ''Speak Up! It is Not My Fault'' - Deepika Lal , India (in the category Documentary Short) *2010: ''Dirty Magazines'' - Jay Levy , USA (in the category International Narrative Short) *2010: ''I Am Gay (Jag Ar Bog)'' - Nicolos Kolovos , Sweden (in the category International Narrative Short)

Special Jury Award

*2012: ''Rites of Passage'' - Jeff Roy , USA *2011: ''I Am'' - Sonali Gulati , USA

KASHISH Coffee Break Audience Award

*2013 onwards this competition was not held. *2012: ''Logging Out'' - Nakshatra Bagwe , India *2011: ''Nothing Happened'' - Julia Kots , USA

Best Poster Design

*2021 : Ajoy Kumar Das , Mumbai, India *2020 : Joyston Moreira , London, UK *2019 : Domenico De Monte , Milan, Italy *2013 : Ashutosh Vyas , Mumbai, India *2017 : Benny Mathew , Mumbai, India *2016 : Ajoy Kumar Das , Mumbai, India *2015 : Niharika Rastogi , New Delhi, India *2014 : Punith Mahesh , Hyderabad, India *2013 : Prachi Patil-Kotkar , Mumbai, India *2012 : S Ayyappa , Vijayawada, India

KASHISH Rainbow Warrior Award

*2019 :

Hoshang Merchant Hoshang Dinshaw Merchant (born 1947) is a poet from India. Most of his writings are in English. He is best known for his anthology on gay writing titled ''Yaarana''. Early years and education Hoshang Merchant was born in 1947 to a working clas ...

, Hyderabad, India *2018 : Pawan Dhall , Kolkata, India *2017 : Laxmi Narayan Tripathi , Mumbai, India and Manavendra Singh Gohil , Rajpipla, India *2016 : Ruth Vanita , Montana, USA and (late) Saleem Kidwai, Lucknow, India *2015 : (late)

Betu Singh Betu Singh (25 November 1964 to 4 October 2013) was a lesbian rights activist, born in an Army family in Kolkata. She set up the Sangini Trust, an NGO based in Delhi under the umbrella of the Naz Foundation, in 1997 to fight for lesbian rights. Th ...

, New Delhi, India *2014 : (late)

, Goa, India and Ashok Row Kavi , Mumbai, India

KASHISH Rainbow Champion Award

*2019 : The

References

External links

* {{Asia topic, LGBT rights in Recurring events established in 2010 LGBT film festivals in India 2010 establishments in Maharashtra Film festivals established in 2010 Film industry in Mumbai Festivals in Mumbai LGBT culture in Mumbai Film festivals in Maharashtra