Kashish announces theme for 2022 edition of the Mumbai International Queer Film Festival

The 13th edition of the Kashish Mumbai International Queer Film Festival, South Asia's biggest LGBTQIA+ film festival, will be celebrated online from 1–5 June 2022.

Although the festival dates have been announced, it is yet to be decided if an on-ground event in Mumbai will accompany the online festival. That decision will be taken in mid-March.

The theme of Kashish 2022 is 'Flights for Freedom', underlining the contemporary aspirations of the LGBTQIA+ community in India and around the world who believe in diversity in its truest sense and are now flying towards newer horizons on wings of hopes and dreams.

Filmmaker Sridhar Rangayan, festival director, said, “These are challenging times when everyone is trying to look beyond the pandemic and forge new journeys ahead. Kashish 2022 promises just that with its theme ‘Flights for Freedom’, where all of us together can take a flight to newer horizons. We hope to bring a hybrid film festival bringing the best of both online and on-ground events to kickstart Pride Month in June.”

The festival is also inviting artists and graphic designers from around the world to participate in the Kashish 2022 Wendell Rodricks International Poster Design Contest to design the official festival poster and look for the upcoming edition.

Started by the late couturier Wendell Rodricks in 2012 and continued in his memory by his partner Jérôme Marrel, the contest offers a cash award of Rs25,000 (approximately US$340) and a Kashish Butterfly trophy. The winning design will be used on all Kashish 2022 properties. The contest deadline is 31 January 2022.

Film submissions, too, are open. Filmmakers with LGBTQIA+ themed films can submit their entries to the festival. Considering the challenging situation filmmakers are going through, the festival has decided to waive the submission fee in all categories.