Transformation - online screening Mumbai, India
Transformation - online screening Mumbai, India
Transformation directed by Roman Romanov will be presented at the 11th KASHISH Mumbai Queer IFF in the Documentary Shorts Competition.
Film screening:
Four transgender people share stories of their lives and what it feels like to live in an alien body, as an alien in society and in a family. The film captured a small period of their lives during the filming, the experience of going through the legal process of changing gender, which required attending a government commission consisting of officials completely unrelated to the gender topic, the anxiety it caused. These four stories flow into one narrative about xenophobia, violence and loneliness. Besides transgender people, local LGBT activists and Belarus’ government chief sexologist were interviewed. Not every character’s story has a “happy end”, but all of them managed to find support of friends, all of them “have a dream” and never lose hope.
KASHISH Mumbai International Queer Film Festival
KASHISH Mumbai International Queer Film Festival is an attempt to encourage greater visibility of Indian and International queer cinema among both queer and mainstream audiences as a means to foster better understanding of queer thoughts, desires and expressions.
The Indian queer landscape is undergoing historic changes.
After the landmark 2009 judgement on Sec 377 by Delhi High Court, effectively decriminalizing homosexuality, there was an environment of more openness to have discussions around LGBT issues. On December 11, 2013, the Supreme Court reversed the Delhi High Court verdict, thereby re-criminalizing homosexuality. This decision of the Indian Supreme Court is indeed a big setback to the nascent queer rights movement in the country. The verdict makes lesbian-gay-bisexual and transgender persons vulnerable to not just penal action of imprisonment but also extortion, blackmail and social stigma.
KASHISH Mumbai International Queer Film Festival stands firmly with the global outrage against section 377 of the Indian Penal Code and will work with queer and civil rights organizations to ensure that the law is repealed. KASHISH also believes that films and art are a powerful medium to bring about social change.
Since its debut in 2010, KASHISH has emerged as South Asia’s and India’s biggest LGBT film festival. We are committed to bring the best of international and Indian queer cinema to Mumbai and continue mainstreaming of queer issues and their lives.
