Queer film festival draws crowd

The fourth edition of Bangalore Queer Film Festival was flagged off on Friday at the Alliance Francaise de Bangalore.

Unruffled by the Union government claiming that it has “no stand” on th LGBT rights, the three-day festival received warm response from the public.

Bangaloreans do not find ‘queer’ peculiar anymore? “Touch Wood,” says, Vinay Chandran, founder of Swabhava. Despite political fluctuations, Bangalore has evolved much in accepting LGBT rights. In fact, it is one of the better cities when it comes to the freedom of expressing sexuality, he opines. Politics have not yet posed a threat here for activism, he says hoping that it shall remain the same. He gives the instance of the film ‘Fire’, which got into controversies across India, but managed to have “normal screening” in Bangalore.

For him, Queer is about reclaiming lost spaces. In calling oneself queer, one is taking away the power of people to humiliate, Chandran says. He set up Swabhava in 1999, an NGO working on providing support services to Lesbian, Gay, Transgender and Intersex (LGBTI) people in Bangalore.

A Queer photograph exhibition was also organised in the Alliance premises, as part of the festival. Photographs on display spoke about the challenges and the turmoil that the LGBT community is made to undergo. Andrea Fernandes, one of the photographers, received much acclaim from the visitors.

Speaking to Deccan Herald, Fernandes said she had to do a lot of research before the photographs took shape. She travelled, met people and had to earn the trust of the person, before she could photograph them. “A few shared their stories, but did not want to be photographed. In such cases, I have made use of models,” says Fernandes, who has taken up fashion photography as her profession.

‘All About Our Famila’ was a film to look forward to in the fest. Directed by Chalam Bennurakar, the film tells the story of Famila from the Hijra community who was one of the winners of the annual beauty contest for Hijras held in Tamil Nadu. Famila, an activist was well known and respected in her community for all the cudgels she took up for the welfare of Hijras. The film speaks about her life and tragic end a few years ago. On the Centre’s stance, Bennurukar told Deccan Herald that progressive governments make space for everybody’s rights and that the community hoped this sense would prevail. Karim, a student and member of LGBT community said: “Section 377 should remain decriminalised. Many families have been broken because of the confined perception of sexuality. The decision should be in the hands of the Supreme Court and it should be unbiased.”

Tanishtha Das Gupta, a volunteer said: “There will be a strong reaction to attempts to criminalise the sexuality of LGBT community. People are trapped in a narrow mentality. They must understand that there are all kinds of people in society.”