JOIN USArun Fulara's 'Sunday' makes it to Queer film festival
Five Films For Freedom, an online short film program supporting LGBTIQ+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, queer) rights, is returning for its eighth year between March 16-27.
Like every year, BFI Flare: London LGBTQIA+ Film Festival and the British Council continue their collaboration to make five LGBTIQ+ themed short films available online to audiences across the world for free, over 11 days each year.
This year, the Indian short film 'Sunday' by Mumbai filmmaker Arun Fulara is part of the #FiveFilmsForFreedom selection with films from China, India, Croatia, Panama, and the UK.
"I didn't expect The British Council to choose it at such a late stage of the film's festival journey. It's a complete surprise; it's a bonus. I am so grateful to be a part of it as it validates so much of the entire team's thoughts. Through #FiveFilmsForFreedom, 'Sunday' can be viewed worldwide, even in countries where LGBTQI+ content is banned or censored," said Arun Fulara to DH.
The film, which has already traveled to more than 50 world festivals, explores the desire and loneliness of a middle-aged man Kamble (Shrikant Yadav). On his weekly visit to the neighborhood barbershop, Kamble gets a shave and an opportunity to be touched by Jaan (Prakash Joshi), the new barber-boy on whom he has a crush. It's the only highlight in the otherwise dull life of a married man in a society that resists homosexuality.
"Most of our cinema is focused on younger people while there are a lot of stories left untold about people from other age brackets," said Fulara on being asked why he picked a middle-aged man as his protagonist.
"In the last few years, there has been a growing number of stories about queer people, but earlier there was no representation of the community in the larger society. It was difficult for people like the protagonist to come out. So, while he accepts his heterosexual relationship, he acknowledges his sexual leaning and starts being open about his true feelings and desires. A middle-aged protagonist made more sense, who didn't have a role model like queer people do today."
In India, British Council has partnered with The Queer Muslim Project, South Asia's largest virtual network of Queer, Muslim, and allied individuals, to amplify the films.
The films will not just be shown online but screened in cities such as Delhi, Chennai, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Kharagpur, Kolkata, and Guwahati. The offline screenings will be in association with LGBTQIA+ student-led groups across three Indian universities, Queer creators and youth media platforms, Yuvaa, We The Young India, and Gaysi Family.
"We wanted to take the film beyond festivals, to more colleges and institutions where audiences do not typically attend festivals. That's where we would meet and face people who are not completely in sync with the LGBTQI+ movement," said Fulara.
"The film can generate some thought or dialogue in these communities. It would be interesting to listen to their point of view--from my parents, parents of the crew to the slightly older generation and people from conservative communities," he added.
Ever since Five Films For Freedom launched in 2015, over 17 million people from more than 200 countries have viewed the program. People have watched it online in countries where homosexuality can be prosecuted and, in some cases, punishable by death.
British-Nigerian director Joy Gharoro-Akpojotor's short film "For Love," Croatian comic artist and director Marko Dješka's animated film "All Those Sensations In My Belly," Panamanian Director Judith Corro's first film as scriptwriter and director, "Birthday Boy (Vuelta al Sol)," and Chinese Director Hao Zhou's "Frozen Out" are the other films in the list.
(Gurpreet Kaur is a journalist who writes about lifestyle, entertainment, and culture)
Watch the latest DH Videos here: