Ritesh Batra, Gauri Shinde join Kashish 2021 jury

The 12th edition of the Kashish Mumbai International Queer Film Festival, which is being organized online from 19 August to 5 September, will screen 221 LGBTQIA+ films from 53 countries. Fifty-five of these films are in competition, vying for a cash award of Rs1,90,000. The virtual festival will be spread over three weekends.

BAFTA Award-nominated writer-director Ritesh Batra, filmmaker Gauri Shinde and National award-winning cinematographer Satya Rai Nagpaul will be on the festival’s Narrative Jury panel along with the festival director of the London Indian Film Festival, Cary Rajinder Sawhney, and the festival director of River to River Florence Indian Film Festival, Selvaggia Velo.

Sridhar Rangayan, festival director, Kashish, said, “We are super pleased to have such eminent and accomplished personalities on the Kashish 2021 jury panels, who bring in their very own rich and diverse experiences in the jurying process. Our team is mighty thankful to them for their amazing support and co-operation in the jurying process, during these challenging times. May the best film win, but let us celebrate the uniqueness of each and every film that is in competition, but also all the films screening at the 12-day film festival. Each one of them makes us reflect on our own privileges and shortcomings and offer a mega-blockbuster of entertainment."

Batra, who has helmed films such as The Lunchbox (2013) and Photograph (2019), said that in these challenging times, if all we can do is keep the flame of art and culture burning, that’s what we must do. "Because art will reflect back on these times and art bears witness. I am very excited to be part of this amazing jury for this amazing festival," he said.

The Kashish 2021 Documentary Jury panel includes two-time National Award-winning editor Bina Paul and three-time National award-winning filmmaker Nandan Saxena along with the documentary filmmaker, curator, producer and distributor, Gargi Sen.

Bina Paul, vice-chairperson of the Kerala State Chalachitra Academy, said, “I have heard of the path-breaking programming of Kashish over the years and it's an honour to be a part of it this year, as a part of the Documentary Jury. As a member of the film community, one recognises that the health of good cinema rests on the diversity of stories told, the inclusiveness of all human experience and respect toward all. Kashish offers me an opportunity to watch films that often get left out of mainstream discourse…I am so thrilled.”  

National award-winning writer, filmmaker and academician Anjali Monteiro; writer, filmmaker and educator Ketki Pandit and well-known actor, producer and teacher Viveck Vaswani are part of the Kashish 2021 Student Shorts Jury panel.