LGBT film fest Kashish to feature 180 films from 44 countries

The sixth edition of the Kashish Mumbai International Queer Film Festival, India's only mainstream Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transsexual (LGBT) film fest, has announced a line-up of around 180 films from 44 countries.

The gala will be held between May 27-31 at three venues -- the iconic art deco Liberty Cinema, Alliance Francaise de Bombay and the Max Muller Bhavan here.

"We are indeed very happy to continue to organise our festival at Liberty as the main venue. Its grandeur and scale is befitting the ambitious scale of Kashish this year. Considering the sheer number of entries we received and the diversity of experiences each of them offered, we decided to expand the framework of Kashish.

"We have included one more venue to accommodate more films, so that the audience has more varied choice of films to pick and view. In terms of venues, films, allied events there is a lot the festival has to offer this year," festival director Sridhar Rangayan said in a statement.

There will be film screenings, book readings, panel discussions and performances, all of them highlighting the cultural diversity of its host city Mumbai. The theme for this year is 'Reaching Out, Touching Hearts' which reflects the urgent need for all to reach across barriers and boundaries and reach out to everyone -- parents, families, friends, colleagues and peers.

"This year the influx of film submissions was so high, the preview panel had to work hard to pick the best. Our festival is slowly and steadily becoming a platform for filmmakers and audience to come together to share and experience quality LGBT cinema," said Saagar Gupta, director of programming.

Founded in 2010, Kashish is the first Indian LGBT festival to be held with approval from India's information and broadcasting ministry.