Mumbai Queer Pride Month kicks off with KASHISH Pride Film Screening | Mumbai News

Mumbai Queer Pride Month kicks off with the KASHISH Pride Film Festival on January 9th, featuring award-winning short films by emerging filmmakers. These diverse stories explore LGBTQ+ experiences, hope, and resilience. The month culminates in the Mumbai Queer Pride March on January 31st at August Kranti Maidan.

As January arrives, Mumbai once again bursts into rainbow hues with a vibrant lineup of events marking Mumbai Queer Pride Month. Organised by a range of community groups and organisations across the city, the month-long celebrations will culminate in the Mumbai Queer Pride March on Saturday, January 31, from 3 pm to 5 pm at August Kranti Maidan.Setting the tone for the celebrations is the KASHISH Pride Film Festival, a key member of the Mumbai Queer Pride collective. The festival will launch Pride Month with a special LGBTQ+ film screening titled ‘KASHISH Forward @ Sophia’ on Friday, January 9, from 1 pm to 3.30 pm at the convention centre of a women’s college in Mumbai.The screening will feature seven acclaimed short films by emerging filmmakers, all of which have won awards or received recognition at the annual KASHISH Pride Film Festival. Together, the films reflect the diversity of queer experiences across the LGBTQ+ spectrum in contemporary society, offering stories rooted in hope, resilience, and affirmation.The films being screened include MAKEUP MY SHIELD (Marathi, directed by Kunal Vijaykar), TUTTI FRUTTI CAKE (Hindi, directed by Rohit Prajapati), THE WITCH OF VIHAR LAKE (Marathi, directed by Joey Kaushik), PROJECT PRIYO (Assamese, Bengali, Malayalam, Hindi, directed by Shoi), HOLY CURSE (English, Hindi, directed by Snigdha Kapoor), JASMINE THAT BLOOMS IN AUTUMN (Bengali, directed by Chandradeep Das), and BECAUSE (Hindi, English, directed by Sunita Malpani).Each film explores a distinct narrative. Makeup My Shield is a powerful music video portraying a trans Lavani dancer who uses makeup as both armour and expression. The Witch of Vihar Lake weaves together themes of environmental conservation and folklore, while Project Priyo—a co-winner of the Ismat Chughtai Award for Best Woman Filmmaker—amplifies the voices of queer and trans* individuals across India, addressing intersections of caste, religion, and marginalisation.Tutti Frutti Cake celebrates the strength of chosen families among LGBTQ+ individuals sharing a home, while Because sensitively depicts the bond between a visually impaired man and his closeted friend. Jasmine That Blooms in Autumn, winner of the Best Indian Narrative Short award, presents a quiet and evocative story of companionship between two women in an elderly shelter home.The highlight of the screening is Holy Curse, a short film that was in consideration for the Best Live Action Short category at this year’s Academy Awards. The film follows an 11-year-old grappling with their gender identity in India, as their family attempts to “cure” what they believe to be a curse.With its compelling selection of films, KASHISH Forward @ Sophia promises a meaningful and inclusive start to Mumbai’s Queer Pride Month, reaffirming the city’s commitment to visibility, dialogue, and celebration of queer lives.