KASHISH 2026 Festival Catalog

Québec inclusive

The Government of Québec is committed to advancing the rights of LGBTQ+ people on the international stage.

@Quebec_India

Québec Government Office in Mumbai

© IStock - Défilé de la fierté gaie de Montréal

g g g

Arts, Literature & Music

Arts,

Literature & Music Arts, Literature & Music

Since 2018, the Dwijen Dinanath Arts Foundation (DDAF) been creating spaces for dialogue, learning, storytelling artistic expression through literature & journalism, arts music, skilling & training, and social enterprise initiative

From festivals and workshops to performances and community-led conversations, DDAF works towards building more inclusive and accessible cultural spaces across India.

Over the years, DDAF has skilled & trained 320+ individuals, platformed 300+ speakers & artists, supported 130+ artists across disciplines, & recognised writers & independent voices from across the country. With speakers, performers & participants representing 25+ towns & cities, the Foundation has reached over 3 billion people through its initiatives, collaborations & media outreach, while continuing to support home-run & low-income enterprises & create opportunities for visibility, participation & collective growth.

OUR INITIATIVES

SUPPORTED BY

Shri K.F.Patil was a freedom fighter and a Gandhian, also a follower of Subhash Chandra Bose. Though he was in politics, after India became independent, he had the courage to walk away from power and spend his life in the service of people - all people with no discrimination whatsoever. The K. F. Patil Charitable Trust supports the needy and under-privileged by providing scholarships and awards in the field of education and sports. It also identifies NGOs which work for the marginalized like the mentally challenged, children of commercial sex workers and gives them funds to educate them and bring them into mainstream and also others working for inclusivity and acceptance for any section of people who have been marginalized by society.

K.F. Patil Charitable Trust

2026 Awards

2026

Aditya Nanda Award & Nominees

Ismat Chughtai Award & Nominees

Riyad Wadia Award & Nominees

KASHISH 2026 Poster Contest

Liberty Cinema - Wed, June 3

Liberty Cinema - Thu, June 4

Liberty Cinema - Fri, June 5

Liberty Cinema - Sat, June 6

Liberty Cinema - Sun, June 7

Alliance Française - Thu, June 4

Alliance Française - Fri, June 5

Alliance Française - Sat, June 6

Alliance Française - Sun, June 7

National Gallery of Modern Art - Thu, June 4

National Gallery of Modern Art - Fri, June 5

National Gallery of Modern Art - Sat, June 6

National Gallery of Modern Art - Sun, June 7

FESTIVAL VISION

KASHISH Pride Film Festival (earlier known as KASHISH Mumbai International Queer Film Festival) was founded in 2010 to increase the visibility of Indian and international queer cinema among both LGBTQ+ and mainstream audiences, fostering greater understanding of diverse identities, experiences, and expressions.

Over the years, KASHISH has grown into South Asia’s and India’s largest LGBTQ+ film festival, committed to showcasing outstanding queer cinema while helping bring LGBTQ+ stories and issues into the mainstream.

Beyond its annual festival, KASHISH has played a significant role in promoting Indian LGBTQ+ films internationally, supporting their distribution, and nurturing sensitive queer storytelling through film grants and production initiatives.

Believing in the power of art and cinema to inspire social change, KASHISH uses its platform to advocate for equality, dignity, and inclusion for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, asexual, and non-binary communities. Through films, discussions, and outreach at local, national, and international levels, the festival encourages dialogue, challenges prejudice, and celebrates the diversity of LGBTQ+ lives, contributing to a more equitable and inclusive society.

FESTIVAL BACKGROUND

Voted as one of the Top 5 LGBTQ+ Film Festivals in the world, KASHISH Pride Film Festival is South Asia’s biggest queer film Festival and the first LGBTQ+ film festival in India to be held in a mainstream theatre.

Founded in 2010 and held every year for the past seven years the festival has grown from strength to strength. KASHISH attracts close to 8500 footfalls every year over its five day festival. It is the first Indian LGBTQ+ festival to be held with the approval of the Information & Broadcasting ministry, Government of India.

The festival also attracts topline Bollywood celebrities, filmmakers, critics and academicians from India as well as many international guests from across the world. It receives more than hundred press features every year from the Indian press as well as international press, including the New York Times.

KASHISH since 2010 to 2016 was organized by Solaris Pictures and co-organized by The Humsafar Trust. Since 2017, KASHISH is organized by KASHISH Arts Foundation, in association with Solaris Pictures.¸

INITIATIVES

KASHISH has various initiatives to keep the mainstream engaged in the conversation around LGBTQ+ issues through the year using the medium of films.

KASHISH Forward

India’s first travelling campus queer film festival – is a series of one-day festivals that would travel to campuses across India, aiming to reach out and create awareness about issues of the LGBTQ+ community. The objective is to create an atmosphere of acceptance for queer students who would be grappling with issues of coming out in sometimes hostile environments. KASHISH Forward has held over 65 screenings in colleges across India, not only in Metro cities, but also Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities.

KASHISH Rendezvous

Considering the need for conversations around LGBTQ+, KASHISH Rendezvous is a one-and-a-half hour customized program of films and discussions for corporate companies. The films and discussions will be a window into the broad spectrum of the lives of LGBTQ+ colleagues. Besides sensitizing the audience to the issues of LGBTQ+ persons, it will show that their lives are no different from their own.

KASHISH has been actively holding screenings, alongwith panel discussions, over the past 10 years to numerous corporate houses.

Best of KASHISH

Best of KASHISH film screenings are organized across India at film festivals, events and as part of Pride celebrations in various cities. Short films and documentaries that have won awards or were audience favorites in the previous edition, are programmed at these events to offer a glimpse of the Best of KASHISH.

KASHISH initiative to release 4 Indian LGBTQ+ short films for the first ever time in 2019 Theatrically across 7 cities in partnership with PVR Cinemas was applauded by everyone. It was followed by release of 4 Indian feature films in Theaters across 10 cities in partnership with PVR INOX cinemas in 2024. Best of KASHISH short films are being distributed currently across LesFlicks (USA) and GagaOoLala (Taiwan). It was also available on Disney+Hotstar and MX Player for a few years.

INITIATIVES

KASHISH Global

With a view to provide a platform for Indian filmmakers who make films on queer themes, KASHISH facilitates screenings of Indian LGBTQ+ films at various festivals, universities and cities across the world. KASHISH has screened more than 130 films at film festivals around the world.

KASHISH Chalchitra Utsav

A day long film festival showcasing the best Regional language LGBTQ+ films from across India. This initiative was launched in January 2017 as part of Mumbai Pride events, and was held every year till 2019. In January 2024, it was held as a two-day event and showcased 37 Indian LGBTQ+ films in regional languages like Bengali, Hindi, Marathi, Malayalam, Kannada, Panjabi, Urdu and Sanskrit.

KASHISH QDrishti Film Grant

KASHISH QDrishti Film Grant is an initiative to encourage LGBTQ+ storytelling, especially to bring about greater visibility of South Asian LGBTQ+ narratives. This grant, sponsored by Lotus Visual Productions (a UK/India based production company) was launched in 2016 and has supported production of 11 films already. From 2021 onwards, the grant is being specifically given to LGBTQ+ identifying filmmakers.

KASHISH We Care Fund

KASHISH We Care Fund was launched in 2020 to offer resources to LGBTQ+ focused community based organizations, to assist them in reaching out with help to the LGBTQ+ community, specially the trans* community, during the COVID pandemic. KASHISH has extended this support to 10 organizations across India under this initiative.

To organize a screening at your college, office, city or event, write to us at partners.kashish@gmail.com

ORGANIZERS

KASHISH Pride Film Festival is presented by KASHISH Arts Foundation, alongwith Solaris Pictures

KASHISH Arts Foundation is a not-for-profit public trust that aims to arrange and organize programs in the field of arts, culture, literature, theatre and films. It aims to create awareness and work for the Social, Cultural, Educational awakening of citizens of India who are marginalized on the basis of their gender identity, HIV status, transgender persons and other sexual minorities. Every year KASHISH Arts Foundation presents its flagship event KASHISH Pride Film Festival (earlier known as KASHISH Mumbai International Queer Film Festival). It also organizes KASHISH Forward, a traveling campus LGBTQ+ film festival. The trust facilitates KASHISH Global, programming of Indian LGBTQ+ films at festivals worldwide, and Best of KASHISH, screening at various organizations and pride events across India. Since 2018 the trust also launched KASHISH Chalchitra Utsav, a regional language LGBTQ+ film festival. In 2020, the organization launched KASHISH We Care Fund, offering monetary support to other community-based organizations working with LGBTQ+ communities.

Solaris Pictures is the only Indian film production company focused on producing, distributing and exhibiting LGBTQ+ films. Its award winning films Kuch Sapney Apne, Evening Shadows, Breaking Free, Purple Skies, 68 Pages, Yours Emotionally!, Project Bolo and Gulabi Aaina (The Pink Mirror) have screened at more than 250+ film festivals across the world and won more than 42 international awards. They have laid the foundation for the nascent Indian LGBTQ+ film movement.

Solaris Pictures founded KASHISH Pride Film Festival in 2010 and has been the one of main organizer of the festival for the past 16 years. The festival carries forward Solaris Pictures mission of using cinema as a medium to advocate for equal rights and dignity for the LGBTQ+ community.

Note from the Festival Director

SRIDHAR RANGAYAN Founder Festival Director

Seventeen years ago, KASHISH began with a simple but urgent dream -to create a public space where LGBTQ+ stories could be seen, heard, and celebrated with dignity. Today, as we gather once again for KASHISH 2026, that dream feels more important than ever.

This year marks a special homecoming as the festival returns to the iconic Liberty Cinema, while also opening a new chapter at the National Gallery of Modern Art. Across these venues and Alliance Française de Bombay, we present 153 films from 43 countries-- stories filled with courage, tenderness, resistance, and joy.

At a time when transgender and non-binary communities worldwide continue to face hostility and erasure, KASHISH stands firmly for visibility, solidarity, and freedom of expression. Despite significant financial challenges, we remain committed to keeping this space alive.

KASHISH has always been built by community, for community. And together, we will ensure that this celebration of queer lives, stories, and resistance continues-- louder, prouder, and stronger than ever.

Thanking you,

Sridhar Rangayan Founder Festival Director

ARUNARAJE PATIL

KASHISH ADVISORY BOARD MEMBERS

A critically acclaimed award-winning filmmaker, Arunaraje passed out of the Film Institute of India with a gold medal in 1969 and was the first trained girl technician to join the industry. Some of her features are Shaque, Gehrayee, Situm, Rihaee, Bhairavi, Keh Do Na, Tum and Firebrand produced by Priyanka Chopra & currently showing on Netflix. Apart from teaching, she has been part of decision-making bodies in many film schools. She has served on many juries including National Film Awards and has been a strong voice for documentaries. She has won 6 National awards for her documentaries Mallika Sarabhai, A New Paradigm and Behind the Glass Wall. She has been a Landmark Forum Leader and has led transformational programs as a Life Coach.

Dolly Thakore has worn many hats –starting her career on Radio, she became known as a News Reader on Bombay Doordarshan. And simultaneously, a writer of many personal columns, and reviewer of English and Hindi Films and Theatre – in almost every English daily and periodical of that time. She has been a Communications Consultant for numerous Corporate Houses. Her two passions have remained the stage and social Work. She has been part of the ensemble of actors of the hugely successful Vagina Monologues, which has been running for over 23 years, in English and Hindi. She is on the Advisory Committee of Council for Fair Business Practices, National Sponsorship Council for Education of Destitute and Underprivileged Women and Children. She is also the national coordinator for ‘Laadli Girl Child Campaign Media Award’.

Meghna Ghai Puri is the President of Whistling Woods International (WWI), India’s premier film and media institute. A graduate of King’s College London with a postgraduate diploma in Communications, she returned to India to realize her father, filmmaker Subhash Ghai’s vision of building a world-class film school. Meghna has been central to WWI’s growth since inception, launching seven schools in filmmaking, acting, animation, fashion, music, design, and media, in partnership with TISS. She previously led marketing and international distribution at Mukta Arts, working on films like Taal and Pardes Honoured with an Honorary Fellowship from Bradford College and named among the 75 Indian Achievers by NISAU and the British Council, Meghna is committed to nurturing talent and shaping the global media and entertainment education landscape.

MEGHNA GHAI PURI

DOLLY THAKORE

RENUKA SHAHANE

Renuka Shahane is a popular actress in Indian theatre, television and film for the last 38 years. She is well-known for her role in the iconic Bollywood blockbuster Hum Aapke Hain Kaun?. She has received the Best Actress award for the film Aboli and the Star Screen Best Actress Awards for her roles in the TV series Imtihaan and Sailaab. Her first directorial feature film Rita was critically acclaimed, winning her the Best Director award in the 16th Nokia Star-Screen Awards 2010, and also received the best screenplay award at the 8th Pune International Film Festival, as well as the V Shantaram Award for Best Supporting Actress in 2010. Her latest feature film as director Tribhanga was released on Netflix in 2021. She has written, directed and produced her first Animation short धाावपट्टीी (Loop Line) in 2024, which has one the Best Animation film at the Oscar qualifying Tasveer South Asian Film Festival, Seattle.

ROY WADIA

Roy Wadia hails from the Wadia Movietone family. His brother was the late filmmaker and gay activist Riyad Wadia (Fearless: The Hunterwali Story, BOMgAY ). Roy worked at CNN for 12 years, helping launch and produce much of the global broadcaster’s Asia-Pacific news programming. In 2003, Roy switched careers by joining the World Health Organization’s China office as its communications and advocacy officer, and in 2006 joined the British Columbia Centre for Disease Control in Vancouver. From 2010-2013, he was Executive Director of Heroes Project, the Bombay-based HIV NGO under the Gates Foundation’s Avahan programme. Roy is currently with the World Health Organization, moving in June from the WHO European Regional Office in Denmark to the WHO Western Pacific Regional Office in the Philippines.

Satya Rai Nagpaul, a Mumbai-based cinematographer and alumnus of the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) is the first transmasculine cinematographer to graduate from the national film school. His top honors include the National Award, the Filmfare and the Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography nomination at the Cinema Eye Honors. His acclaimed screen credits are: Anhey Ghode Da Daan (Competition, Venice), Chauthi Koot (Competition, Un Certain Regard, Cannes), Zinda Bhaag [Oscar Entry], Aligarh [Premier, Busan], and Nocturnes [Special Jury Award for Craft, Sundance]. A BAFTA Breakthrough India honoree, Satya is also a pioneering trans rights activist. He is the founder of ‘Sampoorna,’ one of the region’s oldest trans and intersex networks, and continues to be a leading advocate for trans and intersex rights in the Asia Pacific.

Viveck Vaswani has been an entertainment industry professional for the past 42 years. He has been an actor, producer, writer, distributor and has produced 15 films, 3 TV shows and acted in more than 60 films. He has mentored a lot of talent in these 4 decades and made them successful, including Shahrukh Khan, Raveena Tandon, Aziz Mirza, Boman Irani amongst others. After being the Dean of the School of Contemporary Media at Pearl Academy for the last three years, Mr Vaswani is now Distinguished Faculty at the School of Modern Media at UPES. Mr Vaswani is also a full time Director at Curious Eyes Cinema, which has produced its first major feature film Mannu Kya Karegga which has its World Premiere in London on 18th June 2025

SATYA RAI NAGPAUL

VIVECK VASWANI

KASHISH 2026 Awards South Asia’s largest prize money for LGBTQ+ fılms

KASHISH 2026 announces cash prizes of Rs.7,85,000!!!

77 Films compete in 13 Competition categories at the festival, 6 LGBTQ+ filmmakers to pitch for KASHISH QDrishti 2026 Film Grant, an Audience Award and an International Poster contest.

Newly Introduced This year!

Best Genderation Short

Genderation Award is a newly introduced section at KASHISH for stories of growing up - of friendships, questions, and the many ways young people begin to understand themselves and the world around them. The award carries a KASHISH Golden Butterfly Trophy and a cash prize of Rs.25,000 supported by Dwijen Dinanath Arts Foundation.

Audience Award for Best First Feature

Audience Award for Best First Feature celebrates debut filmmakers whose stories create a meaningful connection with viewers at the festival. Unlike the other award categories decided by a jury, this award places the choice directly in the hands of the KASHISH audience, recognising the film that leaves the strongest impact on them. All feature-length debut films completed after January 1, 2025 programmed at KASHISH 2026 are eligible for the Audience Award, including both narrative and documentary films. The award carries a KASHISH Golden Butterfly Trophy.

In Continuation

KASHISH QDrishti Film Grant

In its 10th year now, the path-breaking KASHISH QDrishti Film Grant, which has already facilitated production of 11 LGBTQ+ short films, offers Rs.4,00,000 to a LGBTQ+ identifying filmmaker to make their queer short film, sponsored by Lotus Visual Productions, Vikramaditya Motwane and Guneet Monga. Two runner ups stand to receive Rs.25,000 cash award each supported by Renuka Shahne.

Best Narrative Feature

The best narrative feature award category includes Indian and International narrative features completed after January 1, 2025 and having their Mumbai Premiere at KASHISH 2026. The award carries a KASHISH Golden Butterfly Trophy and a cash prize of Rs.40,000 supported by Tiger Baby Films.

Best Indian Narrative Short

The best Indian narrative short award category includes Indian narrative short films which are under 60 minutes, completed after January 1, 2025 and having their Mumbai Premiere at KASHISH 2026. The award carries a KASHISH Golden Butterfly Trophy and a cash prize of Rs.25,000 supported by Kindling Pictures.

Best International Narrative Short

The best international short award category includes international narrative short films which are under 60 minutes, completed after January 1, 2025 and having their Mumbai Premiere at KASHISH 2026. The award carries a KASHISH Golden Butterfly Trophy and a cash prize of Rs.25,000 sponsored by the GagaOOLala (Taiwan).

Best Screenplay

All the films in all the above 3 categories are eligible to compete for the Best Screenplay Award. The award carries a KASHISH Golden Butterfly Trophy and a cash prize of Rs.25,000 instituted in the memory of distinguished Marathi scholar and writer Dr. Arvind Vaman Kulkarni. The award is instituted by his son, actor Abhay Kulkarni.

Best Performance in a Lead Role

All the films in all the above 3 categories are eligible to compete for the Best Performance in a Lead Role Award. The award carries a KASHISH Golden Butterfly Trophy and a cash prize of Rs.25,000 supported by Samruddhi Studios.

Unity in Diversity Best Documentary Feature

The best documentary feature award category includes Indian and International documentary features completed after January 1, 2025 and having their Mumbai Premiere at KASHISH 2026. The award carries a KASHISH Golden Butterfly Trophy and a cash prize of Rs.30,000 supported by the K.F.Patil Charitable Trust.

Unity in Diversity Best Documentary Short

The best documentary short award category includes Indian and International documentary short films completed after January 1, 2025 and having their Mumbai Premiere at KASHISH 2026. The award KASHISH Golden Butterfly Trophy and a cash prize of Rs.25,000 supported by the K.F.Patil Charitable Trust.

Best Student Short

The best student short award category includes Indian and International short films made by students of film and media schools, completed after January 1, 2025 and having their Mumbai Premiere at KASHISH 2026. The award carries a KASHISH Golden Butterfly Trophy and a cash prize of Rs.25,000 supported by the Whistling Woods International.

Riyad Wadia Award for Best Emerging Indian Filmmaker

Indian narrative and documentary short films that are the filmmaker’s first or second film completed after January 1, 2025, playing at KASHISH 2026 are eligible for nomination to this award category. The award carries a KASHISH Golden Butterfly Trophy and a cash award of Rs.25,000 instituted by Wadia Movietone, in the memory of Riyad Wadia, the pioneering filmmaker who made India’s first gay film BomGay.

Ismat Chughtai Award for Best Indian Woman Filmmaker of South Asian Origin

Instituted in memory of renowned novelist, short story writer, liberal humanist and filmmaker Ismat Chughtai, this award recognizes an emerging woman filmmaker (cisgender or trans woman) of South Asian origin, based in India or abroad, whose first or second short fiction or nonfiction film, completed after January 1, 2025, has been officially selected for KASHISH 2026. The award carries a KASHISH Butterfly Trophy and a cash award of INR 20,000 supported by Ismat Chughtai’s grandson and filmmaker Mr. Ashish Sawhny.

Aditya Nanda Award for Best Film on

Queer Mental Health

Indian & International films playing at KASHISH 2026 – narrative or documentary of short film – with a focus on mental health issues of LGBTQ+ persons, will be considered for the Aditya Nanda Award for Best Film on Mental Health. The award carries a KASHISH Golden Butterfly Trophy and a cash prize of Rs.25,000 supported by Keshav Suri Foundation.

Best Poster Design

This is an award given to the Best Poster Design chosen from an international poster design contest. The winning design is used on all the KASHISH 2026 collaterals. This award carries a KASHISH Butterfly Trophy and a cash prize of Rs.20,000 supported by KASHISH Arts Foundation.

KASHISH QDrishti Film Grant Jury

ASHWINY IYER TIWARI is an Indian filmmaker, writer, and producer known for her emotionally rich storytelling and nuanced understanding of human relationships. After over a decade in advertising, she transitioned to filmmaking with acclaimed works such as Nil Battey Sannata, Bareilly Ki Barfi, Panga, Faadu, and Ankahi Kahaniya, earning national and international recognition. Her latest social drama, System, releases on Amazon Prime Video in May. She is also the author of Mapping Love and co-founder of Earthsky Pictures, which develops meaningful stories across film and streaming platforms. Ashwiny was featured in Forbes India’s “SelfMade Women” list in 2020 and 2024.

ISHITA MOITRA is an award-winning Indian screenwriter and creator known for crafting emotionally resonant, feminist-driven mainstream stories. She gained widespread acclaim for Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani, winning the Filmfare Award for Best Dialogue and IIFA Awards for Best Original Story and Best Dialogue. She is the cocreator and co-producer of Single Papa and creator of Call Me Bae Her notable works also include Four More Shots Please!, Shakuntala Devi, The Test Case, Mere Dad Ki Maruti, and Bade Achhe Lagte Hain She was recently featured in the Forbes W-Power List 2026.

NIKKHIL ADVANI is a National Award-winning Indian filmmaker, producer, screenwriter, and co-founder of Emmay Entertainment and Motion Pictures. Known for films such as Kal Ho Naa Ho, D-Day, Batla House, Patiala House, and Delhi Safari, he has also created acclaimed digital series including Mumbai Diaries, Rocket Boys, and Freedom at Midnight. Over the years, his work has spanned mainstream cinema and streaming platforms, earning critical and popular recognition. Beyond filmmaking, Advani actively supports the arts and social causes through organizations such as the G5A Foundation, Sanctuary Nature Foundation, Women in Film–India, and the Sumitra Gupta Foundation for the Arts.

NEERAJ CHURI is a UK-based film producer of Indian-American origin whose work champions LGBTQ+ storytelling across narrative and documentary cinema in India and the UK. His filmography includes Sabar Bonda (Cactus Pears), winner of the World Cinema Grand Jury Prize at Sundance 2025; A Place of Our Own, Audience Award winner at SXSW 2023; Holy Curse, Oscar-qualified for 2026; and Sheer Qorma, winner at Frameline 2021. Through Lotus Visual Productions, Neeraj supports emerging LGBTQ+ filmmakers in India through grants and mentorship. He also advises the Tasveer Film Market and Film Conclave London, helping build financing and creative networks for independent cinema.

Narrative Jury

PARVATHY THIRUVOTHU is an award-winning Indian actor celebrated for her remarkable performances across Malayalam, Tamil, Kannada, Hindi, and Telugu cinema. She began her acting journey with Out of Syllabus (2006) and gained recognition through films like Bangalore Days, Maryan, Ennu Ninte Moideen, Charlie, Take Off, Qarib Qarib Singlle, and Uyare. A National Film Award recipient and multiple-time Kerala State Film Award winner, she is also known for her advocacy for women’s rights in cinema as a founding member of the Women in Cinema Collective.

RAJSHRI DESHPANDE is an acclaimed Indian actress and social reformer known for powerful performances in internationally recognized films and series including Angry Indian Goddesses, Sexy Durga, Sacred Games, Trial By Fire, and Black Warrant. She has received several prestigious honors, including Filmfare and Asian Academy Creative Awards recognition. Beyond cinema, she founded the Nabhangan Foundation, leading sustainable rural development initiatives across Maharashtra. A law graduate and former advertising professional, Rajshri is also recognized globally for her humanitarian work, social impact leadership, and commitment to empowering rural communities through education, sustainability, and self-reliance.

SHONALI BOSE is an award-winning filmmaker known for her emotionally powerful storytelling and cinematic craft. A graduate of Columbia University and UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television, her acclaimed films include Amu, Margarita with a Straw, The Sky Is Pink, and A Fly on the Wall, all screened at major international festivals. Margarita with a Straw is regarded as a landmark queer film and has won over 30 international honours. Shonali was the first Indian filmmaker to receive the Sundance-Mahindra Global Filmmaker Award. Her work has earned five National Film Awards and over 60 international accolades. She is currently completing The Song of Ka Shara. Above all, she is most proud of being the mother of her two sons, Ishan and Vivan.

Documentary Jury

JAYDEEP SARKAR, a BAFTA Breakthrough Artist (2024), is one of India’s most distinctive filmmaking voices. He has written landmark films, directed the GLAAD-nominated Rainbow Rishta for Amazon Prime Video, and won multiple accolades for his Times Out & Proud campaign. His short film Nayantara’s Necklace, a quietly observed story of female friendship and middle-class longing, remains a touchstone of Indian independent cinema. He is currently in postproduction on Welcome to Khoya Mahal for Amazon Prime Video, which he has co-directed with Konkona Sen Sharma.

MONISHA THYAGARAJAN is an award-winning creative producer, founding partner at Awedacious Originals, and a BAFTA Breakthrough honoree. Her work spans acclaimed fiction and nonfiction storytelling from South Asia, including Netflix’s The Hunt for Veerappan, the International Emmy-winning Delhi Crime Season 1, What Are The Odds, and documentaries such as WOMB and Bhangaar / Obsolete. Her writing credits include Rainbow Rishta, a landmark Indian series on queer love stories, and Clowning with Shakespeare. Monisha has also served as an Editing Mentor at the NFDC WIP Lab and as a jury member for the TFA Awards. She is passionate about socially conscious, gender-driven, and politically engaged storytelling.

SHAUNAK SEN is an Academy Award-nominated filmmaker and writer based in Delhi. His acclaimed documentary All That Breathes received Oscar and BAFTA nominations in 2023, and won major honours including the Peabody Award and awards at Cannes, Sundance, BFI London, IDA, and Cinema Eye. His debut feature documentary, Cities of Sleep, screened at leading international festivals and won six global awards. Shaunak has served on juries for Sundance, Berlin, and Zurich film festivals, and recently produced Shadowbox, which premiered at Berlinale 2025. A recipient of grants from Sundance, Tribeca, IDFA, and Catapult, he also holds a PhD in Cinema Studies from Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi.

Student Shorts Jury

MAANVI GAGROO is an Indian actress known for her work in Hindi films and web series. She has appeared in popular shows like TVF Pitchers, TVF Tripling, Made in Heaven, and Four More Shots Please! She has also garnered great reviews for her performances in films like Ujda Chaman, Shubh Mangal Zyada Savdhaan and 377 Ab Normal, among others. Her most recent release Heer Sara also earned her praise from industry peers and the audience. At the 2023 Filmfare OTT Awards, she won Best Actress in a Comedy Series for TVF Tripling Season 3. Maanvi continues to lead the way with portrayals of relatable and socially responsible characters.

RAHUL PURI is the Managing Director of Mukta Arts Ltd. and Director of Academics at Whistling Woods International. A graduate of King’s College London, he began his career with UBS before moving to Mumbai to work in media, finance, and film production. Over the years, he has produced and distributed more than 25 films across different languages and played an important role in expanding Mukta A2 Cinemas in India and the Middle East. Rahul is also deeply involved in creative education and is a member of the CAPA Regional Council at CILECT and the CII National Committee on Media and Entertainment.

SHAZIA IQBAL is a Mumbai-based writer and director known for her bold, socially conscious storytelling. Her acclaimed short film Bebaak won Best Debut Director at the São Paulo International Short Film Festival and screened internationally, including at MOCA Grand, Los Angeles. Her debut feature Dhadak 2 has sparked significant conversations for its unapologetic engagement with caste and Dalit politics in mainstream Hindi cinema, including discussions at Harvard, Yale, and Columbia universities. She also directed Homecoming for Amazon Prime Video’s Love Storiyaan. Before moving into direction, Shazia spent over fifteen years as a production designer, working on projects such as Sacred Games, Lust Stories, and over 100 television commercials.

Genderation Shorts Jury

ANJALI PATIL, with over 15 years in the Indian film industry, has built a body of work spanning acclaimed independent and international cinema, like Newton, Kaala, Mere Pyare Prime Minister and with screenings at major festivals including Berlinale, Busan, IFFR, MAMI, and IFFK. She received the National Award Special Mention in 2012 for a Telugu film, “Naa Bangaru Talli” and the Silver Peacock for Best Actress at IFFI in 2013 for Srilankan Film, “With You Without You” In 2021, she founded Anahat Films, a production house dedicated to independent storytelling rooted in lived experiences. Its productions include works presented at Sundance, Berlinale, SXSW, and Busan, as well as documentaries, short films, and feature projects currently in development.

SHALS MAHAJAN is a writer, a trans-queer-feminist activist, a layabout, part feline, somewhat hooman genderqueer fellow who lives in Bombay, but mainly in their head. They have worked on issues of gender, sexuality, caste and communalism as a trainer, teacher and activist, and enjoy conducting workshops on writing with university students, folx working on social justice issues, women returning to literacy, and queer and trans persons. They are part of the Bombay based queer & trans collective Hasrat-e-Zindagi Mamuli. Their published works for children include Timmi in Tangles, Timmi and Rizu, and Reva and Prisha. They’ve also co-authored No Outlaws in the Gender Galaxy.

SHARIF D RANGNEKAR is a critically acclaimed author, singersongwriter, and Festival Director of the Rainbow Lit Fest - Queer & Inclusive. He is also the founder of the Dwijen Dinanath Arts Foundation which runs multiple platforms in the space of art, music, literature and films, including the afore-mentioned Festival. Additionally, he fronts Friends of Linger, a band credited with “Head Held High,” India’s first dedication to the LGBTQIA+ community. He is a former journalist and an award-winning communications consultant who lives in Delhi.

Riyad Wadia Award Jury

NARGIS WADIA was the first woman to launch a full–service Advertising Agency in India – Interpub, and was also a Founder Member & Chairperson of Media Monitoring Services which preceded the establishment of Media Research Users Council. In 1991, she became the first woman President of the Advertising Agency Association of India. Nargis Wadia is the mother of late filmmaker Riyad Wadia in whose memory the Riyad Wadia Award for Emerging Indian Filmmaker has been instituted at KASHISH by Wadia Movietone.

ROY WADIA hails from the Wadia Movietone family. His brother was the late filmmaker and gay activist Riyad Wadia (Fearless: The Hunterwali Story, BOMgAY, A Mermaid Called Aida). Roy worked at CNN for 12 years, and then switched careers by joining the World Health Organization’s China office as its communications and advocacy officer. From 2010-2013, he was Executive Director of Heroes Project, the Bombay-based HIV NGO. Roy currently is with the World Health Organization Western Pacific Regional Office in the Philippines.

Ismat Chughtai Award Jury

ASHISH SAWHNY studied Film & Drama in the UK and has since worked across directing, producing, acting, and writing. Moving from advertising into long-format storytelling, his work often focuses on gender and sexuality. He was the Series Director of Netflix India’s first documentary series The Big Day, and hosts The Queer Podcast, now in its third season. As an actor, he has appeared in films and series including Luck By Chance, Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara, Gully Boy, The Archies, Made in Heaven, and Kho Gaye Hum Kahan? Ashish was also creative producer of the queer short Holy Curse, longlisted for the Academy Awards, and practices as a queer-affirmative mental health counsellor, as well as writes & developes a range of work for various platforms.

Aditya Nanda Award Jury

AKSHAY TYAGI is the DGM – Talent Management & DEI at The LaLiT Suri Hospitality Group and a founding member of the Keshav Suri Foundation. His work focuses on building inclusive workplaces and advancing equity for marginalized communities, including LGBTQIA+ persons, people with disabilities, and acid attack survivors. Passionate about queer mental health and safe spaces, Akshay believes visibility, dignity, and authentic representation are central to healing and belonging. Through both corporate leadership and community advocacy, he has consistently championed policies and environments that enable individuals to live and work without fear, exclusion, or discrimination.

Nominations KASHISH 2026

ADITYA NANDA AWARD FOR BEST FILM ON QUEER MENTAL HEALTH

Instituted in memory of Aditya Nanda, a young change maker and queer inclusion advocate, this award honors films that sensitively and authentically engage with mental health within the LGBTQ+ community. Introduced at the 15th edition of KASHISH in 2024, the award is presented to a short film - fiction or documentary that most compellingly portrays the emotional, psychological, and lived realities of queer lives and mental well-being. Through intimate and courageous storytelling, these films create space for reflection, dialogue, and greater compassion, furthering the spirit and purpose for which the award was instituted.

The award carries a KASHISH Butterfly Trophy and a cash award of INR 25,000 supported by Keshav Suri Foundation.

FINAL FRAME

Directors: Andrew Nuno, Adrian Nuno | USA

NOT CRAZY

(No Estamos Locos)

Director: Lucía Criado Rosas | Spain

WATCHING OVER INFINITY

(Vista Sobre O Infinito) Director: Henrique Prudêncio | Portugal

SPIDERS ON MY LASHLINE

Director: Grace Tan | Australia

WHALE 52 - SUITE FOR MAN, BOY, AND WHALE

Director: Daniel Neiden | USA

Nominations KASHISH 2026

ISMAT CHUGHTAI AWARD FOR BEST WOMAN FILMMAKER

OF SOUTH

ASIAN ORIGIN

Instituted in memory of renowned novelist, short story writer, liberal humanist and filmmaker Ismat Chughta, this award is an attempt by KASHISH to acknowledge and encourage women voices in the Indian queer cinema. This prestigious award acknowledges the best emerging voice of a woman or transwoman filmmaker of South Asian origin, based in South Asia or abroad - whose first or second short fiction or nonfiction film, completed after January 1, 2025, is officially selected for KASHISH 2026.

The award carries a KASHISH Butterfly Trophy and a cash award of Rs.20,000 supported by Ismat Chughtai’s grandson and filmmaker Mr. Ashish Sawhny.

ANUSHAY SHEIKH

(Director, Same Time Next Year?)

Anushay Sheikh is a multidisciplinary artist whose work explores the intersections of queerness, faith, and identity through narrative films, documentaries, and immersive installations. In works like Same Time Next Year?, Reclamation, and The Test, Sheikh explores the depth of the human experience by capturing moments of vulnerability, connection, and resilience. Their work has been recognized for its emotional depth and thoughtful representation, earning numerous festival screenings and awards, including the DGC Ontario and WIFT+ Toronto Award at the Reel Asian International Film Festival for Same Time Next Year? Sheikh holds a BA with Distinction in Economics and Political Science from McGill University and an MFA in Documentary Media from Toronto Metropolitan University, where they received the Dean’s Award of Excellence and the TMU Gold Medal, the University’s highest honour. Same Time Next Year? marks their debut as the filmmaker. .

BHAVYA KARTHIKEYAN (Director, Tea Powder)

Bhavya is a communication designer and filmmaker, interested in making work that listens first, creating space for the people in the film to speak their truths in their own voices. Tea Powder (Chayapodi) is her second film and the first fiction short film as the director.

KRIS

(Director, Nisha)

Kris is a Bangalore-based community organizer with over a decade of experience building safe, joyful spaces for FLINTA/LGBTQIA+ communities. She cofounded All Sorts of Queer; a support group based in Bengaluru and manages operations for Maya Bazaar, a vibrant marketplace for queer entrepreneurs. ‘Nisha’ marks her foray into films, where she brings authenticity, warmth, and lived experience to the screen. ‘Nisha’ was written and directed by Kris with mentoring from Mujeer Pasha and Veena Kulkarni.

Nominations for KASHISH 2026

RIYAD WADIA AWARD FOR BEST EMERGING INDIAN FILMMAKER

Instituted in memory of late filmmaker Riyad Wadia, who made India’s first gay film BOMgAY, Riyad Wadia Award for Best Emerging Indian Filmmaker is an attempt by KASHISH to recognize and nurture emerging Indian voices. Indian narrative and documentary short films that are the filmmaker’s first or second film made in 2025/2026 compete for this award which carries a KASHISH Butterfly Trophy and a Rs.25,000 cash award supported by Wadia Movietone – one of the pioneering Indian production companies established in 1933.

Five emerging Indian directors have been nominated under this category for KASHISH 2025. Their films collectively display narratives about the diverse spectrum of the LGBTQ+ community.

ASHUTOSH S. SHANKAR

(Director, Tara)

Ashutosh S. Shankar is a Dalit-Queer filmmaker from Pune, India. His work focuses on exploring the intersectionality of queerness and caste, delving into stories that challenge dominant narratives while celebrating marginalized identities. Ashutosh is currently developing his debut feature and was selected for the QueerFrames Screenwriting Lab 2024 featured on Deadline. He is currently a fellow of the Writers INK Screenwriting Lab 2026. His writing has appeared in publications such as She Says, Them, and LiveWire. With his debut short Tara and upcoming projects, Ashutosh aims to spotlight stories of angst, dignity, and personal triumphs – pushing for more inclusive and resonant representation in mainstream Indian cinema.

BINAY SARKAR

(Director, The Expiry Date)

Binay Sarkar, professionally known as Binsar, is an Indian production designer working in the film industry since 2017. He has contributed to multiple projects across Bollywood and independent cinema, developing a strong foundation in visual storytelling, realism, and production aesthetics. Drawing from this experience, he now steps into direction with his debut project, The Expiry Date. This transition marks a natural progression of his creative journey, where his visual sensibility and narrative understanding come together to tell intimate, human-centric stories. His work reflects a deep interest in emotionally honest cinema, simplicity in storytelling, and meaningful visual expression.

INZAMAM MANJU NIZAM

(Director, Served Cold)

Inzamam M Nizam is a filmmaker and creative director based in Kerala, India. With a Master’s degree in English Literature, he began his career as a college lecturer before moving into advertising. His work focuses on human stories and social realities. This short film marks his directorial debut, following his early involvement in theatre and performance arts during his college years.

SHREY LEENA SHAH

(Director, This Way)

Shrey Leena Shah is an independent trans man filmmaker and photographer from Gujarat, India with over two decades of experience in socially driven storytelling. His work centers on identity, resilience, and the lived realities of marginalized and queer communities. He has created impactful documentary films across the development sector, exploring themes of gender, health, education, and grassroots movements. A self-taught photographer, his visual language is intimate, honest, and deeply human. This film marks his debut as a writer, director, and lyricist in narrative cinema, bringing a personal and authentic queer perspective to fiction. Through his work, Shrey continues to challenge norms and expand inclusive representation in Indian cinema.

SHUBHAM NEGI

(Director, Hills Don’t Dance Alone)

Shubham Negi is a filmmaker from Himachal Pradesh. His debut short Hills Don’t Dance Alone (Winner - Film Companion–Netflix TakeTen grant; TOTO Awards 2026; Best International Short at the Mosaic International South Asian FF) premiered at BFI Flare and several Oscar-qualifying Film Festivals. His short documentary How Much Space Does A Firefly Take? won the Nagari Film Production Grant. His debut feature project Soma Helang was selected for the NFDC Co-Production Market 2024, developed at the Writer’s Ink Lab, and won mentorship from Vikramaditya Motwane. The project is currently being developed through Torino Film Lab’s Green Narratives program. Shubham is a two time QueerFrames Screenwriting Lab fellow and was a writing intern on Black Warrant Season 2. His short Makeup Room won the KASHISH QDrishti Grant 2025 and is being produced by Vikramaditya Motwane, Neeraj Churi, among others.

KASHISH 2026 International Poster Design Contest

The KASHISH 2026 International Poster Design Contest for the 17th KASHISH Pride Film Festival received over 35 submissions from across several parts of India like Gurgram, New Delhi, Bangalore, Mangalore, Kolkata, Assam, Chennai and Navi Mumbai.

Mumbai-based designer Pari Nirmal’s design touched a chord with the organizers of the festival who felt her design resonated well with the festival theme this year.

Sridhar Rangayan, festival director, said, “The design is simple as well as complex –the way the hands almost touching each other connects the past and the present. Also the filmstrip shaped like an hourglass, symbolizes stories across time. Vibrant colours and radiating patterns represent the diversity of LGBTQ+ voices and the emotional ripple of cinema—inviting audiences to reflect on identities, resonate with shared experiences, and rejoice in pride and community.”

She said, “My first experience at KASHISH last year opened up a whole new world for me. When the poster competition was announced and I saw the theme ‘Reflect, Resonate, Rejoice!’, it immediately struck a chord. In a time when we are constantly on the move, it is crucial to pause, reflect, and celebrate what we achieve- both individually and collectively. The design captures the vibrant, shared reality that KASHISH brings to life: a space where voices flow freely, emotions combine, and identities find expression. This energy extends beyond the festival itself, contributing to a larger movement of visibility, understanding, and acceptance. The recognition reaffirms why I design- to listen closely, learn continuously, and create work that connects people. I am grateful that my design is the face of this year’s festival.”

The theme for #KASHISH2026 is “Reflect, Resonate, Rejoice!”, is an invitation to embrace the full emotional spectrum of queer life. It encourages us to look back with honesty and honour our legacy, to let our truths echo through collective experience, and to celebrate the vibrant, resilient joy that binds us as a community. It is a journey that transforms the personal into the universal.

The winner will receive a KASHISH golden butterfly trophy as well as a cash award of Rs.20,000. The design is being used across all creative of the festival, like posters, billboards, cinema slides, T-shirts, Coffee Mugs, etc.

Liberty Cinema

2026 3-7 June

JIMPA

Director: Sophie Hyde

113 min | 2025 | Australia, Netherlands, Finland | English | Asian Premiere

From acclaimed director Sophie Hyde, JIMPA is a semi-autobiographical, uplifting family story starring award-winning actors Olivia Colman and John Lithgow.

Hannah (Olivia Colman) travels to Amsterdam with her teen Frances (Aud Mason-Hyde) to reconnect with her politically engaged gay father —affectionately known as “Jimpa” (Lithgow). Frances dreams of staying with him for a year, but Jimpa’s declining health disrupts those plans. As family tensions resurface, Hannah is forced to confront her past in this warm, humorous, and deeply moving intergenerational drama.

Festivals & Honors:

• World Premiere: Sundance Film Festival 2025

• Frameline 49 - San Francisco International LGBTQ+ Film Festival, 2025

• International Film Festival, Rotterdam, 2026

• Mardi Gras Film Festival, 2026

SOPHIE HYDE

Sophie Hyde is an acclaimed Australian director, screenwriter, and producer. She co-founded the production company Closer Productions and the filmmakers’ initiative The Unquiet Collective. Her debut feature 52 Tuesdays (2013) won awards at Sundance and Berlinale, while later films Animals (2019) and Good Luck to You, Leo Grande (2022) earned international recognition for their innovative storytelling and emotional depth.

Supported by:

9.30 AM

REFLECT, RESONATE, REJOICE! (Festival Theme Package)

Total Duration: 45 MIN

From Singapore’s iconic Bugis Street and a legendary queer bar in Palm Springs to a trans-led community kitchen in Kolkata, these documentaries celebrate queer spaces built through resilience, care and chosen family. Together, they reflect histories often erased, resonate with shared struggles and companionship, and rejoice in the enduring spirit and joy of queer communities across generations and geographiesechoing the theme of #KASHISH2026.

Repeat Screening: Friday, June 5, Alliance Française, 3:30 PM

Directors: Alexe Liebert, Alain Soldeville

11 MIN | 2025 | France, Singapore | English | Short Documentary | Asian Premiere TWILIGHT LADIES

In the 1950s Singapore’s transgender community began to settle in the Bugis street area. Attracted by the street reputation as 'the Montmartre of Singapore' tourists and sailors from all over the world came to enjoy themselves until dawn, sometimes being seduced by trans women dressed like divas. In the early 1980s, an urban renovation project planned to demolish the area.

WELCOME TO TOOL SHED In Competition

Directors: Daniel Talbott, Andrew Klaus-Vineyard

23 MIN | 2025 | USA | English | Short Documentary | Indian Premiere

The documentary takes an in depth, searing dive into the colorful community of queer senior citizens who congregate at the Tool Shed, a long-standing gay bar and sanctuary for queer people in Palm Springs, CA. Many of its denizens are the oldest survivors of the AIDS epidemic. This film talks about the warrior mentality and spirit, the fortitude and the humor, and the queer community’s emphasis on chosen family that has seen them through centuries of hate, discrimination, and persecution. The Tool Shed provides an oasis in the dessert for leather loving, sex-positive seniors and their admirers.

11 MIN | 2025 | India | Bengali, English, Hindi | Short Documentary | Mumbai Premiere PORSHI

Director: Niharika Popli

In the bustling lanes of Kolkata, Porshi (meaning ‘neighbour’ in Bengali), stands as a queer, trans-led community space that opens its doors to everyone, offering food, warmth and the comfort of a place free of judgement. Inside its vibrant ‘Qanteen’ and ‘Qitchen’, voices, stories and laughter intertwine and strangers become friends.

10.45 AM

STUDENT SHORTS COMPETITION 1

Total Duration: 64 MIN (Post screening Q&A)

The first package of Student Shorts in Competition brings together short films by emerging filmmakers from media schools across the world. Fresh, dynamic and emotionally honest, these films explore queer experiences through moments of connection, longing, self-discovery and heartbreak, while showcasing distinctive new voices and perspectives from a new generation of storytellers.

Director: Lula Dahringer

15 MIN | 2026 | Germany, Spain | Spanish | International Premiere i DREAM

Escola Superior de Cinema i Audiovisuals de Catalunya (ESCAC), Barcelona, Spain

During a sweltering summer, a queer teen’s first love fractures, and her subconscious becomes a dreamscape where she fights to set herself free.

Director: Prashant Khade, Sumit Mandal

8 MIN | 2025 | Czechia | No Dialogues | World Premiere THE NIGHT OF FIREFLY

Film and TV School of Academy of Performing Arts (FAMU), Prague, Czech Republic

While directing a Caravaggio film, a filmmaker becomes quietly drawn to his lead actor, observing a romance bloom between his cast. Heartbroken and yearning, He retreats into fantasy, casting himself in the role of the model loved by Caravaggio, until the lines between cinema and desire begin to dissolve.

TEA POWDER (Chayapodi)

*Ismat Chughtai Award Nominee

Director: Bhavya Karthikeyan*

25 MIN | 2026 | India | Gujarati, Malayalam | Asian Premiere

National Institute of Design (NID), Bhopal, India

Set in 1970s Kozhikode, Zuhra and Nila secretly run an independent publication from their neighbouring houses, until a letter addressed to Zuhra threatens the life they have built together. The film reimagines marginalized stories, celebrating their joy, while inviting us to reconsider whose voices have been left out of history and what happens when they write their own.

16 MIN | 2025 | India | Marathi | Mumbai Premiere UPON STARVATION (Upaasmaar)

Director: Saurav Mahind

Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), Pune, India

Vivek exploits the desires of others to mask his own, using seduction to pickpocket men in crowded buses. His emotional control crumbles when he meets Kartik, who offers quiet, genuine intimacy. As their bond deepens, the boundary between hunting and vulnerability blurs, forcing Vivek to face his true desires.

Filmmaker present

GENDERATION SHORTS

Total Duration: 107 MIN (Post screening Q&A)

8 min | 2025 | UK | English | Asian Premiere I HATE HELEN 12.30 PM

Genderation is a newly introduced section at KASHISH for stories of growing up - of friendships, questions, and the many ways young people begin to understand themselves and the world around them. Playful, tender, and at times disarmingly honest, these eight films move through moments of curiosity, confusion, courage, and joy. Intimate yet universal, they remind us that every generation finds its own language to express who they are and who they hope to be.

PRECIOUS FANTASY

Director: Nino Bouhnik

14 min | 2025 | France | French | Asian Premiere

Set in Paris’s 19th arrondissement, Zack is hosting a casual afternoon with friends when his younger brother Elie unexpectedly appears, wearing makeup with quiet confidence. Caught off guard, Zack reacts with discomfort that quickly turns to anger, trying to push Elie away. But his friends respond differently meeting Elie with warmth, acceptance, and playfulness. In an unexpected gesture of solidarity, they begin putting on makeup themselves, gently turning the moment. As the atmosphere shifts, Zack is confronted with his own fears, as acceptance finds its way back to him.

Director: Katie Lambert

I Hate Helen is a snapshot of teenage life, a short film about the tidal wave of queer curiosity some girls feel during growing-up years and letting those feelings just wash over you. But our protagonist Priya isn’t going without a fight. She hates Helen, and she hates the way she is feeling.

Filmmaker present

15 min | 2026 | China, Switzerland | Min Nan Chinese, Cantonese | Asian Premiere SHOWTIME

Director: Lam Can-zhao

In a remote mining village plagued by nightly blackouts, Tia, a teenage girl, expresses herself through Michael Jackson’s dance moves on TikTok—her only outlet in a world defined by restriction. When Wynne, a city woman, becomes her stepmother, their lives begin to intertwine in unexpected and fragile ways.

A HANDSHAKE LATER

Directors: Sneha Singh, Faizan Shah

11 min | 2026 | India | Hindi | World Premiere

Apeksha and Isha carry loneliness in very different ways- one quiet and withdrawn, the other warm and outwardly cheerful. When they connect through anonymous online conversations, they find a space free from judgement or pretence. As their bond deepens, the two discover the courage to express their feelings and navigate a world that often misunderstands them. Filmmakers present

14 min | 2026 | Spain | Spanish | International Premiere HOLDING YOUR BREATH (El bañador)

Director: Cristian Valenciano

Summer 2003. Miguel and Javi, spend their days between swims, video games, and a bet that follows them all summer long: to see who can hold their breath underwater the longest. Javi always wins; he says his swimsuit is magical. Intrigued by the mystery, Miguel begins to see his friend in a different way.

Director: Ghazal Zoghiniya

120 min | 2025 | Iran | Baluchi, Persian | Indian Premiere

Malalai is a teenage girl from the Baloch community in Iran, due to a traditional cultural practice, has been wearing boys’ clothing for years. Now that she has reached puberty, she must return to the world of girls, but she is experiencing an identity crisis.

OF MINE

Director: André Vaara

13 min | 2025 | Sweden | Swedish | Asian Premiere SISTER

Ten-year-old Noel wants to be more like his older sister. A visit to the hairdresser sparks jealousy, bringing sibling rivalry to the surface. A film about longing beyond the norms of 2000s boyhood.

Filmmaker present

WHALE 52 - SUITE FOR MAN, BOY, AND WHALE* * Aditya Nanda Award Nominee

Director: Daniel Neiden

12 min | 2025 | USA | English | Indian Premiere

When a silently grieving 80-year-old school volunteer is assigned to work with Enam, a thirdgrader with selective mutism, the two embark on a poignant journey by means of a magical pen and journal that enable them to communicate until young Enam summons the courage to utter the one word that lifts the weight of the world off his tiny shoulders. Like a whale coming to the surface for air, Enam is finally able to breathe in the film’s emotional reveal.

LOVE & REVOLUTION

(Te estoy amando locamente)

Director: Alejandro Marín

108 min | 2023| Spain | Spanish | Narrative Feature | Asian Premiere

Love & Revolution is a cheekily combative comedy about a devoted Sevillian mother who, after her son comes out, finds herself drawn into the fight for LGBTQ+ rights in 1970s Spain, when homosexuality was still a crime.

Widowed and practical, Reme (Ana Wagener) has always dreamed of a stable future for her son Miguel (Omar Banana). But when his aspirations take a different turn, she finds herself swept into the Andalusian queer movement, gradually transforming into an unlikely yet spirited activist.

Festivals & Honors:

• World Premiere: FIRE!! Barcelona Gay & Lesbian Film Festival, 2023

• Edinburgh Spanish Film Festival, 2023

• OUTshine Film Festival, 2023

Alejandro Marín is a filmmaker and director trained at the ESCAC (Escola Superior de Cinema i Audiovisuals de Catalunya). His acclaimed short films include Laborable and Nacho no conduce, which won several awards including Best Short Film at the Málaga Festival. He later co-created the collective feature La filla d’algú and directed the widely praised series Maricón perdido Love & Revolution is his debut feature film as an independent director

Supported by: Tourism Office of Spain in Mumbai

ALEJANDRO MARÍN

5.45 PM

“A MINUSCULE MINORITY”

Director: Avijit Mukul Kishore

(Post screening Q&A) Filmmaker present

63 MIN | 2025 | India | English, Hindi, Kannada, Marathi | Mumbai Premiere | Documentary Feature

Set against India’s 2024 General Elections, “A Minuscule Minority” follows queer rights activists navigating political spaces and pushing parties to acknowledge LGBTQIA+ rights beyond token gestures.

The General Elections for the 18th Lok Sabha, the lower house of India’s Parliament, were held from April to June 2024. Queer rights remained largely absent from mainstream electoral discourse. While a handful of political parties made token mentions of queer issues in their manifestos, none actively campaigned on them. Documenting a key shift in India’s queer movement, the film captures conversations with second, third, and fourth-generation activists moving beyond judicial advocacy toward direct political engagement.

Festivals & Honors:

• World Premiere: International Documentary & Short Film Festival of Kerala, Trivandrum, 2025

• Bangalore Queer Film Festival, 2025

• Queer Collective Dehradun, 2026

• Centre for Modern Indian Studies (CeMIS), Gottingen, Germany 2026

Avijit Mukul Kishore is a well-regarded Mumbai-based filmmaker, cinematographer, writer, curator, and teacher known for his multidisciplinary approach to moving images. His work explores Indian modernity, urban design, architecture, and the intersections of personal memory and political history. A cinematography graduate from FTII Pune with a History degree from Delhi University, he has also worked in radio, television, and continues to podcasting on subjects dealing with society, cinema and culture. AVIJIT MUKUL KISHORE

LSD 2: Love, Sex And Betrayal 2

(LSD 2: Love, Sex Aur Dhokha 2) (Post screening Q&A)

119 MIN | 2024 | India | Hindi | Narrative Feature

Director:

Dibakar Banerjee

Filmmaker present

In Dibakar Banerjee’s provocative digital-age satire, three interconnected stories unravel the seductive and dangerous realities of online visibility, identity, and validation in contemporary India.

Noor (Paritosh Tiwari), a trans woman competing on a reality show, Kullu Vishwakarma (Bonita Rajpurohit), a metro station cleaner navigating dignity and survival, and GamePaapi aka Shubham Narang (Abhinav Singh), an obnoxious teenage gaming influencer, become interconnected reflections of a hyperconnected society obsessed with screens and spectacle. Through these vastly different lives, the film explores how social media and technology reshape relationships, self-worth, privacy, and the fragile boundaries between performance and reality.

Festivals & Honors:

• And Cinema Goes On Film Festival, Delhi 2025

• 7th Self Discovery Via Rediscovering India Festival, New Delhi, 2026

DIBAKAR BANERJEE

Dibakar Banerjee is an Indian film director, screenwriter, producer, and ad filmmaker known for his sharp, satirical explorations of contemporary urban India. Beginning his career in advertising, he continues to work across both commercials and cinema through his banner, Dibakar Banerjee Productions. His acclaimed films, including like Khosla Ka Ghosla! (2006), Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye! (2008), and the Love Sex Aur Dhokha (2010 & 2024) films, examine power, capitalism, inequality, gender, voyeurism, and the impact of digital culture through bold and boundary-pushing storytelling.

Audience

Award

Nominee

INSTABOYS

Director:

Matthew ChessKishore

95 MIN | 2025 | USA | English | Narrative Feature | World Premiere

In Miami’s influencer-driven world, a closeted teenage swimmer forms an unexpected connection with a charismatic gay influencer, forcing both to confront identity, intimacy, and the risks of being truly seen.

Eighteen-year-old Diego navigates family expectations, religion, and the uncertainty of being undocumented while growing closer to Roman, a confident influencer masking his own loneliness. Moving between online personas and real-life vulnerability, Instaboys is a tender coming-of-age story about desire, visibility, and authenticity.

Festivals & Honors:

• World Premiere: KASHISH Pride Film Festival, 2026

Matthew Chess is a filmmaker and designer who earned a degree in Film and Television from Ohio University. In Columbus Ohio USA, he worked in public access television, producing an award-winning game show. He wrote Instaboys during the COVID-19 lock downs after discovering the BL genre. After spending most of his life in Ohio, he relocated to Florida three years ago with producing Instaboys in mind. Besides film making, Chess restores classic cars and runs a pop culture driven design business.

BEST OF IRIS

Total Duration: 47 MIN 9:30 AM

Celebrating KASHISH’s long-standing partnership with the Iris Prize LGBT+ Film Festival since 2010, Best of Iris 2025 brings together three award-winning LGBTQ+ shorts ahead of Iris Prize’s 20th anniversary in October 2026. Featuring bold stories of love, identity, and belonging, the programme showcases films connected to one of the world’s largest LGBTQ+ short film awards, for which KASHISH’s Best Indian Narrative Short winner is nominated annually.

Director: Chris Urch 15 MIN | UK | English, No Subtitles BLACKOUT (2025 Best British Winner)

When a young man living in a high-rise is disturbed by domestic violence in the flat next door, he comes to realise that violence isn’t always on the outside – sometimes it’s with us all along.

WITH LOVE, LOTTIE

(2025 Youth Award winner)

Director: Lily Drummond 14 MIN | Australia | English, No Subtitles

When a disabled teenager fears she will never find love, she enlists her friends to become her mentors in the unpredictable world of dating and discovers that love can come in unexpected ways and different forms.

ONE DAY THIS KID

(2025 Iris Prize Winner)

Director: Alexander Farah 18 MIN | Canada | English, Farsi with English Subtitles

As told by filmmaker Alexander Farah through a deftly composed array of small yet pivotal moments, a first-generation Afghan Canadian man takes steps toward establishing an identity of his own while always conscious of his father’s shadow.

10.45 AM

In Competition Audience

Award

Nominee

WARLA

Director:

Kevin Zarate Alambra

83 MIN | 2025 | Philippines | English | Narrative Feature | Indian Premiere

A young transgender woman finds belonging in a gang of Filipino trans women who kidnap foreign men to fund gender-affirming surgeries, forcing her to question the cost of survival and sisterhood.

After fleeing her family, 19-year-old Kitkat joins a group of vigilante trans women led by Joice. While the others see surgery as essential to becoming their true selves, Kitkat, who has never known familial acceptance, finds belonging with these women both healing and complicated, as she struggles with the group’s violent methods and her own understanding of womanhood.

Loosely inspired by true events, this socio-realist drama explores trauma, survival, and the desperate search for belonging.

Festivals & Honors:

• World Premiere: Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival, 2025

• BFI Flare: London LGTBQIA+ Film Festival, 2026

• Fairy Tales Queer Art & Film Festival, Calgary, Canada, 2026

Kevin Zarate Alambra is a filmmaker at ABS-CBN Studios known for his work in real-life storytelling across television and independent cinema. He was a head researcher and director for Maalaala Mo Kaya (Memories), Asia’s longest-running drama anthology. In 2019, he co-created The Last Manilaners , an acclaimed docuseries about Jewish Holocaust survivors in the Philippines, and directed the second season of Zoomers , recognized at the 2024 ContentAsia Awards 2024. His debut feature Warla is currently touring the international festival circuit.

KEVIN Z. ALAMBRA

Cortos españoles - SPANISH SHORTS

Total Duration: 104 MIN

This curated package of six Spanish shorts pulses with energy, spontaneity, and romantic intensity. Spanning ages, identities, and relationships, from tender intimacies to moments of rupture, these films capture lives in all their messy, passionate, and unapologetic glory, offering a vibrant glimpse into contemporary Spanish filmmaking.

Supported by: Tourism Office of Spain in Mumbai

Directors: Rafael Giner Sánchez, Alex Cuellar 15 MIN | 2025 | Spain | Spanish | Indian Premiere

Naza is secretly obsessed with Paula. She decides to download “My Personal U”, a new app that works with AI and creates virtual clones of real people to carry around on your smartphone. Now, the virtual and real worlds become so mixed up in Naza’s life that she can’t tell them apart.

FAIR DANCE (Baile de feria)

Director: Bernabé Bulnes

19 MIN | 2025 | Spain | Spanish | International Premiere

Aurelio and Alicia, father and daughter, want to go to the fair. Each has their own reasons. Each carries their own burdens.

THEY, WITH AN AXE (Entró Con Un Hacha)

Director: Cande Lázaro 13 MIN | 2025 | Spain | Spanish | Asian Premiere

The residents of a village are interviewed after the shock happened the night before: an axe, a woman with a dress and hairy legs, like a man.

KILLJOTE

Director: Ángel Villahermosa

12 MIN | 2025 | Spain | Spanish | Asian Premiere

The neighbors on Cristo Street gossip in the cool evening until they hear loud moans coming from Carmen’s house. At first, they sound like pleasure, but soon they turn into something much stranger.

MAYBE YES OR MAYBE NOT (Potser sí o potser no)

Director: Agustí Estadella

27 MIN | 2026 | Spain | Catalan | World Premiere

Joan, a mature businessman obsessed with youth, and Víctor, a young singer full of dreams, live a relationship that defies conventions and the passage of time. Everything seems stable until Sara, Víctor’s mother, enters the scene - a free, funny and unpredictable woman - who drags a past full of secrets. An apparently chance meeting between her and Joan will unleash a series of revelations that will shake the foundations of their love story.

FRANCISCO

Director: Sergio Avellaneda Belmonte

18 MIN | 2025 | Spain | Spanish | Asian Premiere

Antonia, a soccer coach, receives a visit from her sisters after the death of their father, the club’s founder, to fulfil his last wish. What should be a peaceful farewell turns into a tense night.

DOCUMENTARY SHORTS COMPETITION

Total Duration: 74 MIN

(Post screening Q&A)

These four vibrant short documentaries foreground trans and queer lives navigating ageing, acceptance, relationships, and belonging at the intersection of religion, family, and society. Intimate yet deeply political, these films trace journeys of resilience, selfhood, care, and companionship, while revealing the emotional complexities of being seen, heard, accepted, and loved across different stages of life.

THANKS BABS!

Directors: Jen Rainin, Rivkah Beth Medow

14 MIN | 2025 | USA | English | Asian Premiere

Thanks, Babs! follows Babs Daitch, an optimistic octogenarian who lives her life in perpetual motion. From lap-dancing at her “41st anniversary of her 39th birthday” to reflecting on mortality in San Francisco’s AIDS Memorial Grove, Babs embraces aging with mischief, humor, and curiosity. A story of reinvention, resilience, and refusing to slow down, Thanks, Babs! celebrates a woman who proves that life at eighty isn’t about endings, but about steering into the next adventure.

NEVER STAND DOWN: THE QURAISHI FAMILY

Director: Elena Chang

17 MIN | 2025 | USA | English, Urdu | Mumbai Premiere

Having lived through the partition, endured persecution, and faced the harrowing possibility of losing his daughter Zunaira to illness, octogenarian Khalid, now settled in the U.S., has never doubted what his values have always taught him: that love for family matters above all else. Zunaira’s announcement that she is ready to marry the woman of her dreams becomes a moment of profound joy, almost miraculous, reaffirming everything he has long believed.

LIFE OF KAI

Director: Fox Fisher

22 MIN | 2025 | UK | English | World Premiere

A decade-long chronicle of Kai, a young trans boy coming of age amidst a shifting landscape of trans rights in the UK, as he navigates the complexities of identity, acceptance, medical transition and the pursuit of happiness.

Filmmaker present

THE SAILOR & THE CHEF

Director: Ashish Sawhny

21 MIN | 2026 | India | English, Hindi | World Premiere

Piyush & Sushil met entirely by chance 30 years ago at a theatre in Mumbai, India. Unbeknownst to each other, they were both gay & seeking partners in a time when the internet was nascent, and there was barely any out & proud queer community. This short independent documentary narrates how they came to be a couple who created a space for themselves, as well as their discovery of dance as a way to combat aging- which has led to them winning hearts as ‘Dancing Daddies’.

Filmmaker present

FAMILY MATTERS

Total Duration: 61 MIN 4:30

Across cultures and countries, families are always at the epicenter of drama – some joyous, some sad, some dark and some extremely funny! Here is a mix package of five films offering a take on how queer people’s lives are intrinsically connected with their families.

(Post screening Q&A)

HOMECOMING

Director: Grae Meek

14 MIN | 2024 | New Zealand | English

A transgender woman returns home to finally come out to her parents, but as dinner spirals out of control, her anxieties manifest in sinister ways.

SAME TIME NEXT YEAR?

*Ismat Chughtai Award Nominee

Director: Anushay Sheikh*

8 MIN | 2025 | Canada | Arabic, English, Urdu | Indian Premiere

A short coming of age drama about Safa, a young woman navigating the lingering ache of a past relationship. At a social gathering, she unexpectedly encounters her ex-girlfriend, Maha, forcing a confrontation with the choices and fears that shaped their breakup.

12 MIN | 2025 | USA | English, American Sign Language | International Premiere PEPPER

Director: Taylor Ri’chard

PEPPER is a poignant and emotionally charged tale of identity, love, and the undeniable bond between father and son. In a small-town nightclub, Pepper, a rising drag performer, captivates audiences with her electrifying performances and magnetic presence. Her artistry is adored by many, but it is met with unrelenting disapproval from one person: her father, Robert Brown. A proud, deaf war veteran, Robert’s world is built on tradition, and he believes that his son’s journey in drag is an affront to his values and legacy.

MY BIG FAT GAY WEDDING

Director: Lara Schmitz

11 MIN | 2026 | Canada | English | World Premiere

After an exhausting weekend as a bridesmaid, Alex and her partner unexpectedly decide to plan their own wedding! Not one second later, all chaos breaks loose because everyone in Alex’s life has an opinion on hashtags to wedding parties to when to start trying for kids. Overwhelmed and hungry, Alex has to navigate the absurdity of wedding planning to celebrate their love in their own way.

YELLOW BUCKET

Director: Simon Brooke

16 MIN | 2025 | UK | English | Asian Premiere

When a news report reveals a scientific breakthrough that exposure to the colour yellow and a powerful female singing voice on a boy’s sixth birthday determines future homosexuality it shakes Conor and his family. The household reacts with unease as Max’s birthday approaches. Max is asked to choose his favourite colours for decorations; a full spectrum of paints is laid out. Max selects pink, purple, and green. Yellow is left untouched.

Filmmaker present

QUEERING INDIA

(Post screening Q&A)

Audience Award Nominee

Directors:

Lakhinandan Boruah, Swapnesh Dubey

63 MIN | 2025 | Australia, India | English, Hindi Marathi | Documentary Feature | World Premiere Filmmaker present

As India debates marriage equality, Queering India captures queer voices reclaiming love, dignity, and belonging in the world’s largest democracy.

Set against the backdrop of India’s marriage equality movement, the film follows journalist and actor Swapnesh Dubey through conversations with activists, parents, lawyers, and religious leaders. Blending personal journeys with political realities, Queering India examines colonial hangovers, social divides, and the ongoing fight for visibility and equal rights.

Festivals & Honors:

• World Premiere: KASHISH Pride Film Festival, 2026

Lakhinandan Boruah is a filmmaker, writer, and producer focused on independent and socially engaged storytelling. Holding degrees in Journalism and Science, Technology, and Innovation Policy, his work across Assamese feature films, shorts, music videos, and theatre explores the intersections of the personal and political while foregrounding underrepresented voices.

Swapnesh Dubey is a Melbourne- and Mumbai-based actor, producer, and filmmaker with over a decade of experience in media and storytelling. A former news anchor and interviewer, his work amplifies underrepresented voices, particularly within queer communities in India. He is currently developing Dhoop Chhanv, a queer rom-com series set in regional North India.

Director: Sai Deodhar 7.15

Audience

Award

Nominee

A (DIS)LIKED STORY

(Na Aavadti Goshta)

(Post screening Q&A)

120 MIN | 2025 | India | Marathi, English | Narrative Feature | World Premiere Filmmaker present

A warm coming-of-age tale, the film explores love, identity, and the quiet strength of chosen and inherited family.

Na Aavadti Goshta is the story of two small-town cousins, Avantika (Mrunmayee Deshpande ) and Soha (Sayali Sanjeev), who are complete opposites and constantly at odds. Yet beneath their differences lies a shared dream to build a life in London and discover who they truly are. When they finally get the chance to leave, distance and displacement begin to reshape their relationship. As Soha comes out as a lesbian, Avantika must confront her own fears and assumptions, gradually becoming her sister’s fiercest ally.

Festivals & Honors:

• World Premiere: KASHISH Pride Film Festival, 2026

Sai Deodhar is an acclaimed Indian actor, director, writer, and producer known for her versatile work across film and television. Starting as a child actor in Prahaar and Lapandav, she gained fame with Saara Akaash and Kasautii Zindagii Kay. As a filmmaker, her award-winning shorts D.A.T.E. and Silent Ties received global recognition. She produced The Sholay Girl and Sata Lota Pan Sagla Khota. Na-Avadti Goshta is her debut feature. SAI DEODHAR

ASTRONAUT LOVERS

(Los amantes astronautas)

Director: Marco Berger

116 MIN | 2024 | Argentina, Spain | Spanish | Narrative Feature | Asian Premiere

Set against sun-soaked holidays and youthful uncertainty, Marco Berger’s Astronaut Lovers is a tender queer rom-com about intimacy, confusion, and the fragile space between friendship and love.

Transpiring over a languid summer by the sea in Argentina, openly gay Pedro reconnects with Maxi, a childhood friend curious about pushing boundaries. When Maxi asks Pedro to pretend to be his boyfriend to make an ex jealous, their flirtatious game begins to stir unexpected emotions, blurring the line between performance and desire.

Festivals & Honors:

• World Premiere: Buenos Aires International Festival of Independent Cinema (BAFICI)Framline

• Queer Screen Film Fest, Sydney, Australia

• Vancouver Queer Film Festival, Canada

• Mezipatra Film Festival, Czech Republic

MARCO BERGER

Marco Berger is an acclaimed Argentinian filmmaker whose work has become a defining voice in contemporary queer cinema. His films, including Plan B , Absent, Taekwondo, The Blonde One, and Horseplay, have screened at major festivals such as Berlin International Film Festival, International Film Festival Rotterdam, and Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, earning awards including the Teddy Award and the Sebastiane Latino Award.

Supported by: Tourism Office of Spain in Mumbai

9.30 AM

TINY TAILS

Total Duration: 63 MIN

In these little lives with minds of their own, nothing is ever quite simple.

TINY TAILS brings together stories where pets are more than companions-- they are confidants, catalysts, and delightful disruptors. From quiet tug-of-wars of the heart to moments of everyday mischief, these films explore how our cohabitants shape relationships, routines, and emotional worlds. Because sometimes, the smallest presences leave the deepest imprints!

Directors: Carmen Meitín Moreno, Corona

Alonso Rebaque

7 MIN | 2025 | Spain | No Dialogues | Animation Short | Asian Premiere APRIL

April is a witch preparing a surprise birthday party for her girlfriend, Liz. Unfortunately, her girlfriend`s cat Limón, has other plans. Moved by jealousy, he will do anything to ruin it and mess with April, who will try to stop him with her magic, only to make things worse. It isn’t until chaos spreads through that he realizes he has gone too far.

Supported by: Tourism Office of Spain in Mumbai

Director: Marc-Antoine Lemire

25 MIN | 2024 | Canada | French | Asian Premiere MAD DOG (Molosse)

Johanie, the single mother of a dysfunctional family, takes a dim view of the arrival of Ian and his dog in the neighbourhood. Like a trench dividing the two camps, the back alley becomes the witness of a rivalry where prejudice, fascination and frustration mingle slyly with the sound of barking.

Also screening at: Sunday June 7, 11.45 AM with QTOONS | NGMA

HOW’S ARCHIE?

Director: Jessie Posthumus

17 MIN | 2025 | Canada | English | Asian Premiere

Exes Charlie and Mere try to maintain a peaceful relationship while co-parenting their dog, Archie. As tensions begin to grow between them, Archie’s behaviour turns aggressive, forcing a difficult decision on the exes.

NIPPLE (Teth)

Director: Peter Darney 14 MIN | 2024 | UK | English | Mumbai Premiere

Following surgery, Ioan and his father adapt to their new relationship as father and son that is until the dog mistakes a nipple for a chew toy.

10.45 AM

In Competition

Audience

Award

Nominee

Director:

James Lewis, Lexi Powner

OUT LAWS

(Post screening Q&A)

79 MIN | 2025 | UK, Namibia | English | Documentary Feature | Asian Premiere Filmmakers present

Three queer activists confront colonial-era laws and rising global hate as they fight for dignity, freedom, and the right to exist openly.

At the centre is Friedel Dausab, whose legal challenge to Namibia’s criminalisation of same-sex relationships becomes a landmark fight for equality. Facing threats, public scrutiny, and growing hostility, he joins activists Rosanna from Sri Lanka and Raven from Barbados in London as they advocate for queer rights on a global stage. Interwoven with historical perspectives on colonial-era laws, the film highlights resilience, solidarity, and the ongoing struggle for freedom.

Festivals & Honors:

• World Premiere: BFI Flare, London, UK, 2026

• InsideOut Toronto 2SLGBTQ+ Film Festival, Canada, 2026

• ALT+ LGBT+ Documentary Film Festival, Mexico City, Mexico, 2026

James is co-founder of The Good Side and Head of Productions, where he steers the agency’s film work. James has 20 years of experience as a producer in TV news, branded content and impact documentary film-making. Out Laws is James’ first feature documentary, and is a result of a decade working to support the decriminalisation movement.

Lexi is a director and editor working across documentary and branded content. With a deep commitment to justice-centred narratives, Lexi shapes projects that amplify underrepresented voices with honesty and imagination. Out Laws is her first feature as director and second as editor (Dogs are People Too, 2024).

JAMES LEWIS

LEXI POWNER

IVAN & HADOUM

(Iván & Hadoum)

In Competition Audience Award Nominee

Director: Ian de la Rosa

101 MIN | 2026 | Spain, Germany, Belgium | Spanish | Narrative Feature | Asian Premiere

In the greenhouses of southern Spain, a young worker’s growing love for his new co-worker is tested when ambition and desire begin pulling him in opposite directions.

Set against the vast agricultural landscapes of southern Spain, Iván & Hadoum follows Iván (Silver Chicón) a young trans man as he falls for Hadoum (Herminia Loh Moreno), a newly hired co-worker at the greenhouse where they work. But when a long-awaited promotion places Iván in a position of power, their relationship becomes increasingly strained, forcing him to confront questions of class, responsibility, and the kind of person he wants to become.

Festivals & Honors:

• World Premiere: Berlin International Film Festival, 2026 (Teddy Award for Best Feature Film)

• Málaga Film Festival, Spain, 2026 (Special Jury Prize, Best Screenplay, Special Mention for Best Actor - Silver Chicón)

• Seattle International Film Festival, 2026

Ian de la Rosa is a director and screenwriter from Almería, Spain. His short films Víctor XX (2015) and Farrucas(2021), screened at major festivals including Cannes Film Festival and earned nominations and awards at the Goya and Gaudí Awards. He has also written and directed for acclaimed Spanish series Veneno (2020), and Vestidas de azul (2023). His debut feature Iván & Hadoum premiered at the 2026 Berlin International Film Festival, where it won the Teddy Award.

Supported by: Tourism Office of Spain in Mumbai

IAN DE LA ROSA

2.30 PM

INDIAN MASALA MIX - 1

Total Duration: 79 MIN

The first part of Indian Masala Mix brings together four narrative shorts that deeply explore the ache of unrequited emotions and fractured relationships. Moving through longing, denial, memory, and heartbreak, these stories capture intimacies that linger long after they are gone. Tender and deeply human, the films reflect on silences, unspoken feelings, and the emotional traces that continue to shape us. Together, they offer a poignant glimpse into relationships in their most fragile and vulnerable forms.

(Post screening Q&A)

BILLI

Director: Kamal K

Filmmakers present

20 MIN | 2025 | India | Hindi | World Premiere

Kalpu was in her early teens when her cousin touched her, believing she was asleep, though she was not. At the time, she did not have the words or understanding to make sense of what had happened, only a quiet confusion that stayed with her. Unable to find peace within her unanswered thoughts, Kalpu decides to meet and confront her cousin after years of silence.

Director: Sunita Malpani

23 MIN | 2025 | India, UK, USA | English | World Premiere SHAPE OF A DESIRE

Shape of a Desire is a tender, whimsical tale of longing and human connection told through a queer sci-fi lens. A lonely Mumbai girl, Bably, writes a heartfelt letter that is discovered a thousand years later by Cincinnati, a woman living under oppressive surveillance. When they meet, their playful bond deepens into intimacy as they escape into misty hills and quiet lakes, fulfilling the wishes in the letter — leaving Bably quietly transformed by the inexplicable encounter.

THE RED UMBRELLA

Director: Furkan Ali

13 MIN | 2025 | India | Hindi, English, Marathi | Indian Premiere

Priya and Zara, two teenage girls share a secret love. Their idyllic world is shattered when Zara abruptly vanishes from school and cuts all contact with Priya. Confused and heartbroken, Priya embarks on a quest to find Zara, a journey that will uncover the reasons behind Zara’s sudden withdrawal and force their hidden relationship into the open.

Director: Sagar Mashalkar

22 MIN | 2025 | India | English, Hindi

A promising gay Kathak dancer, secretly suffering from a chronic skin condition, faces the dilemma when asked to perform, revealing his skin to the world, risking his love life and acceptance he longs for.

5.45 PM

INDIAN NARRATIVE SHORTS COMPETITION - 1

Total Duration: 56 MIN

The first part of this year’s Indian Narrative Shorts package brings together three moving stories that underline one of the most fundamental human needs- to be seen, cared for, and loved. Set across the western, eastern, and southern regions of India, these heart-warming films offer intimate slices of lives navigating love, identity, and belonging in deeply personal yet universally relatable ways.

(Post screening Q&A)

THIS WAY (Iss Taraf)

Filmmakers present

*Riyad Wadia Award Nominee

Director: Shrey Leena Shah*

9 MIN | 2025 | India | Hindi | Mumbai Premiere

Iss Taraf offers a glimpse into the quiet struggles and momentary victories of a trans man living in a cisnormative world, navigating the journey of acceptance in daily life. This short film is a restrained and evocative exploration of perception, identity, and the fragile space between how we are seen and how we exist within ourselves.

THE CRACK (Fatol)

Director: Sankhajit Biswas

17 MIN | 2026 | India | Bengali | World Premiere

In a suburban town in West Bengal, the rift enters into a small group of Hijras and threatens to break the tradition of a centuries old marginal practice. However, compassion wins in the end.

*Ismat Chughtai Award Nominee

Director: Kris*

30 MIN | 2025 | India | English, Hindi, Kannada, Malayalam | Mumbai Premiere NISHA

Nisha, a Bangalorean in her late 20s, is trying to move on from a long and intense relationship with her ex, Nidhi. Armed with dry humour, good friends, and terrible dating app matches, she gets back into the game- awkwardly, hesitantly, and with surprising honesty. Each date opens a window into Nisha’s emotional landscape- from absurd mismatches to fleeting sparks. Amid these, MJ stands out: a thoughtful, genuine person who sees Nisha clearly. But Nisha, still entangled in memories of her Ex, Nidhi, can’t allow herself to truly reciprocate.

7.15 PM

Audience

Award

Nominee

Director:

CACTUS PEARS

Rohan Parashuram Kanawade

(Sabar Bonda)

(Post screening Q&A)

117 MIN | 2025 | India | Marathi | Narrative Feature Filmmaker present

Compelled to spend a 10-day mourning period for his father in his ancestral village, a city dweller reconnects with a childhood friend, and their growing intimacy begins to challenge the lives expected of them.

Forced to spend ten days mourning his father in rural western India, Anand (Bhushaan Manoj) finds himself under mounting pressure from relatives to get married. Amid the rituals and expectations, he reconnects with Balya (Suraaj Suman), a childhood friend struggling against similar pressures tied to his sexuality. As their daily walks through the mountains deepen into intimacy, Anand must confront the possibility of a life shaped by desire rather than duty.

Festivals & Honors:

• World Premiere: Sundance Film Festival, 2025 (Winner - Grand Jury Prize, World Cinema Dramatic)

• SXSW London, UK, 2025 (Grand Jury Prize for Best Film)

• Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles, USA, 2025 (Audience Choice Award for Best Feature & Acting Honorary Mention)

• International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK), India, 2025

• Bengaluru International Film Festival (BIFFes), India, 2026 (First Best Indian Film)

Rohan Parashuram Kanawade is a self-taught filmmaker from Mumbai and a KASHISH alumnus. His short films Ektya Bhinti (Lonely Walls), Sundar (Beautiful), and U Ushacha (U for Usha) received recognition at KASHISH between 2013 and 2019. His work often explores emotionally complex lives in rural and semi-urban settings. His debut feature, Sabar Bonda (Cactus Pears), released theatrically in 2025 and is screening at KASHISH 2026.

ROHAN PARASHURAM KANAWADE

ON THE ROAD

(En el camino)

Director:

David Pablos

93 MIN | 2025 | Mexican | Spanish | Narrative Feature | Indian Premiere

Set against the rugged landscapes of northern Mexico, a tender yet suspenseful road romance unfolds between a rebellious drifter and a solitary truck driver navigating the dangerous, hyper-masculine world of long-haul trucking.

Veneno (Victor Prieto Simental) survives by drifting between roadside diners and fleeting encounters with truck drivers, until he persuades Muñeco (Osvaldo Sanchez), a guarded long-haul driver, to take him on the road. As intimacy slowly develops between the two men across the harsh landscapes of northern Mexico, unresolved shadows from Veneno’s past begin to surface, threatening both their fragile connection and their safety. Festivals & Honors:

• World Premiere: Venice International Film Festival, 2025 (Winner - Orizzonti Award for Best Film, Queer Lion Award for the Best LGBTQ film)

• Morelia International Film Festival, 2025 (Winner Best Cinematography, Best Actor -Victor Prieto Simental)

• Bangkok International Film Festival, Thailand, 2025

• Warsaw International Film Festival, 2025

• Miami Film Festival, 2026

DAVID PABLOS

David Pablos is a Mexican writer and director known for acclaimed films including The Chosen Ones (2015) and Dance of the 41 (2021, Netflix). His work has screened at major festivals such as Cannes Film Festival and earned multiple Ariel Awards and a Goya nomination. He has also directed for Amazon’s The Head of Joaquín Murrieta (2023) and is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

9.30 AM

QTOONS

Total Duration: 41 MIN

QTOONS returns with a vibrant bouquet of animated tales that are tender, playful, and wonderfully imaginative. From poetic abstractions and magical dreamscapes to cheeky humour and transformative discoveries, these queer ‘toons’ in all their colours and textures celebrate identity, desire, and the courage to become oneself-- one frame at a time!

(Post screening Q&A)

Also screening at: Sunday June 7, 11.45 AM with TINY TAILS | NGMA

Filmmakers present

WITHIN (Bheetar)

Directors: Anwesh Kumar Sahoo, Harsh Raj Gond

2 MIN | 2023 | India | English | World Premiere

Bheetar (Within) is a poetic animated short that explores identity, love, and freedom through abstract visuals and verse. It portrays a journey from silence to self-acceptance, uncovering a truth that transcends fear, binaries, and expectations.

CLEANLINESS

(Tīrība)

Director: Andrejs Brīvulis

5 MIN | 2025 | Latvia | Latvian | Asian Premiere

A diary of an office worker’s day. A humorous look at his casual queer adventures turns bitter when it is revealed that he is already in a relationship with a deeply depressed, alcoholic man.

THE EATING OF AN ORANGE

Director: May Kindred-Boothby 8 MIN | 2024 | UK | English | Indian Premiere

In a large manor house identical figures eat the same, move the same, look the same. But everything will change for one woman when she gets given an orange by an unknown figure. She has never seen an orange. In the exploration of this new and exciting discovery, she gets transported into another realm of lichens, slugs and sensuous fluidity. But how can she balance this with the world she knows? She must make a choice: abandon her discovery, or step forwards into a new way of being.

Director: Bassem Ben Brahim 12 MIN | 2026 | Tunisia | Arabic | Asian Premiere

Salima, accidentally discovers that she is intersex. A young ballerina, she escapes into an imaginary world where a magical unicorn becomes her guide. Together, they travel through a parallel universe in search of a buried truth: her identity, and the essence of who she is.

GIGI

Director: Cynthia Calvi 14 MIN | 2023 | France | French

From the tormented little mermaid to the fulfilled woman she is today, Gigi tells us about her gender transition with humour and sensitivity.

INTERNATIONAL NARRATIVE SHORTS COMP - 3

Total Duration: 86 MIN

The third offering of this year’s International Narrative Shorts Competition explores longing, intimacy, and the delicate space between desire and heartbreak. Set across strikingly different landscapes, from quiet fishing villages and hidden countryside encounters to restless city nights, these films unravel the emotional chaos of love, obsession, memory, and belonging, where every connection leaves behind a mark.

(Post screening Q&A)

THE PRICK ( 莿 )

Director: Yi Hsun YU

12 MIN | 2025 | Taiwan | Mandarin Chinese | World Premiere

Heartbroken and unable to move on, Hsing travels from southern Taiwan to Taipei seeking an apology from his unfaithful ex-boyfriend. But amid rekindled desire and painful memories, apology, forgiveness, and revenge blur together, pushing Hsing toward an irreversible act.

THE DEVIL’S GARDEN (El jardí del diable)

Director: Pol Rebaque

20 MIN | 2025 | Spain | Catalan | Asian Premiere

Lucas wanders into a late-night party looking for Tiago, a love from the past. Desire meets uncertainty, especially when Tiago shares that he is HIV-positive.

KRIZALIT

Directors: Naz Tokgöz, Aranxta Ibarra

17 MIN | 2026 | Turkey | Turkish | Asian Premiere

Krizalit follows Deniz, an enigmatic young woman drawn into the vibrant life of modern Turkey. Alternating between the euphoria of her intricate love with a Turkish woman, Melisa, and the weight of feeling like an outsider, the story weaves subtle hints about Deniz’s true nature — inviting contemplation on identity and belonging.

MOTORCYCLE (La Moto)

Director: Matteo Giampetruzzi

18 MIN | 2025 | Denmark, Italy, Spain | No Dialogues | Asian Premiere

During a scorching summer in the mountains of southern Italy, introvert Luca develops an attraction for Valerio, who is passionate about motorcycles. The two meet in secret, in the quiet of the countryside just outside the small town where they live. Chasing a desire that slowly escalates into obsession, Luca is forced to come to terms with the blurred boundary between pleasure and violence.

Director: John Sheedy

19 MIN | 2025 | Australia, UK | English | Asian Premiere

In a quaint Welsh fishing village, a young Shirley Bassey impersonator and a fisherman are swept into a secret romance, battling the tides of family and tradition as they search for the courage to claim their own happiness.

12.30 PM

INDIAN MASALA MIX - 2

Total Duration: 63 MIN

The second part of Indian Masala Mix brings together three narrative shorts that navigate love, identity, and belonging in contemporary India. Tender, thought-provoking, and deeply human, these stories explore the emotional complexities of relationships shaped by family expectations, technology, caste, and the courage to embrace one’s true self.

(Post screening Q&A) Filmmakers present

CUPBOARD PICKLE

(Almari ka Achaar)

Director: Raakesh Rawat

20 MIN | 2025 | India | Hindi | Mumbai Premiere

Almari Ka Achaar is a tender short film about a middle-aged same-gender couple caught between love and family expectations. Set in a warm, everyday world, the film gently explores acceptance, tradition, and the quiet courage needed to stay true to one’s bond, celebrating a love that endures despite emotional and societal pressures.

THE EXPIRY DATE

*Riyad Wadia Award Nominee

Director: Binay Sarkar*

20 MIN | 2025 | India | English, Hindi | World Premiere

In a near-present world, Sam and Aditya form an emotional connection after meeting on a dating app, but their deep reliance on an AI that assigns conflicting expiry dates to their relationship quietly takes control-- leading to distance, confusion, and an abrupt, unexplained end.

TARA

*Riyad Wadia Award Nominee

Director: Ashutosh S. Shankar*

23 MIN | 2025 | India, UK, USA | English

At a social do Tara meets a charming young man, Aman and is instantly enamoured by his charm and comfort that he shares about her trans-identity. Tara, on the same night learns that Aman is an upper caste man and thus she decides to keep her lower caste identity to herself with the fear of Aman losing interest in her. What follows is Tara’s struggle of discretion and coming to terms with her own identity and facing her real self at the cost of losing love.

2.45 PM

INDIAN NARRATIVE SHORTS COMP - 2

Total Duration: 66 MIN

The second part of this year’s Indian Narrative Shorts Competition brings together three moving stories of quiet resistance, unspoken desires, and deeply personal truths. Set within homes, schools, and everyday family spaces, these films explore how moments of care, courage, and connection can become powerful acts of self-acceptance and liberation. (Post screening Q&A)

HILLS DON’T DANCE ALONE

*Riyad Wadia Award Nominee

Director: Shubham Negi*

24 MIN | 2025 | India | Hindi | Mumbai Premiere

At a school in the Himalayas, Sachin is bullied for cross-dressing in a folk dance performance. Anju, the middle-aged vice principal of the school, steps in, but it unravels more than she anticipated. As both quietly navigate their secret struggles, their lives begin to intertwine, forming a bond that neither can name but both of them need.

SERVED COLD

*Riyad Wadia Award Nominee

Director: Inzamam Manju Nizam*

27 MIN | 2026 | India | Malayalam | World Premiere

Trapped in a loveless marriage with her domineering husband Raghu, homemaker Ammu moves through the routines of her household with quiet resignation. In a home where even food becomes a symbol of control and neglect, she is often denied the care and dignity she deserves. Ammu finds solace in Pathu, her neighbor and the wife of Raghu’s rival. Pathu expresses her affection through food quietly shared across boundaries, offering Ammu the nourishment and warmth withheld from her own home.

JO’S TURN! (Tumhari Baari, Jo!)

Director: Vinoo Choliparambil

15 MIN | 2025 | India | Hindi| Mumbai Premiere

Every Sunday, Jo and her traditional family come together for their cherished Scrabble ritual, filled with chatter and quiet comfort. But this Sunday, Jo uses the game to reveal a truth about herselfthat she is a lesbian.

INDIAN NARRATIVE SHORTS COMP - 3

Total Duration: 34 MIN 4.30 PM

The final offering of this year’s Indian Narrative Shorts Competition presents yet another story of companionship, vulnerability, and emotional longing.

(Post screening Q&A)

YOUR FRAGRANCE (Tumhari Khushboo)

Director: Onir

34 MIN | 2026 | India | Hindi | World Premiere

Sunil, a visually impaired masseur, lives independently in Mumbai. He spends his time doing household chores, playing the flute, and having phone conversations with his mother. The one thing he looks forward to is the hushed conversations he shares with his sports-teacher client, Kamran, during massage sessions. These conversations move beyond the massage room, and their bond deepens into intimacy. But a buried past unsettles Sunil, testing his desire, his boundaries, and the future of their relationship.

Filmmaker present

MASPALOMAS

115 MIN | 2025 | Spain | Spanish | Asian Premiere

Directors:

Aitor Arregi, Jose Mari Goenaga

Set against the stunning backdrop of Gran Canaria, a 76-year-old gay man is forced to confront his past and identity after a life-changing event turns his world upside down.

Vicente (Jose Ramon Soroiz) has spent the last 25 years building a happy life with his partner in Maspalomas after coming out at 50, until a stroke leaves him in a coma. When he awakens, he finds himself relocated to a nursing home in his hometown by his daughter. Choosing silence over confrontation, Vicente slowly slips back into the closet, witnessing the painful erosion of the identity and freedom he fought so hard to claim.

Festivals & Honors:

• World Premiere: San Sebastián International Film Festival, Spain, 2025

• Spanish Academy’s Goya® Awards 2026, (BEST LEADING ACTOR - Jose Ramon Soroiz for Maspalomas)

• Toulouse Spanish Film Festival (Cinespaña), 2025 - Opening Film

• BFI London Film Festival, 2025 - ‘Special Presentations’ programme

• Sonoma International Film Festival, California, 2026 (Grand Jury Award- Best Narrative Feature)

Aitor Arregi and Jose Mari Goenaga are Spanish filmmakers and longtime collaborators whose acclaimed films, including The Endless Trench and Marco, have screened at major international festivals and received multiple Goya Award nominations.

AITOR ARREGI & JOSE MARI GOENAGA

Supported by: Tourism Office of Spain in Mumbai

Alliance Française

2026 4-7 June

ON THE PATH TO LEO

(En camino a Leo)

Director:

Ana Bárcenas Torres

97 MIN | 2025 | Mexico, Italy | Italian, Spanish | Documentary Feature | Indian Premiere

As a teenager begins his gender transition, his mother is forced to confront her fears, beliefs, and understanding of identity while learning to stand beside her son.

At 17, Leo, a Fine Arts student, begins his transition toward a male identity, challenging his mother Ana’s deeply held beliefs about gender and biology. Struggling initially to accept his decision, Ana gradually embarks on an emotional journey of reflection and understanding. Through memories, home videos, and the anticipation of Leo’s upcoming surgery, mother and son navigate love, fear, and the evolving meaning of acceptance. Festivals & Honors:

• Cuenca International Film Festival, Ecuador (Jury Mention)

• FICFUSA 2025, Colombia (“Women who Fight” Orchid Award)

• Atequiza Film Festival, Jalisco, Mexico (Best Documentary)

• Latino & Native American Film Festival 2026, Connecticut, USA

• Queer Film Festival 2026, Kathmandu, Nepal

• III LesFest Lesbian Film Festival 2026, Lima, Peru

• ALT* LGBT+ Documentary Film Festival 2026, Mexico

ANA BÁRCENAS TORRES

Ana Bárcenas Torres is a Mexican filmmaker and screenwriter whose documentaries explore identity, memory, and social realities. Her films Regiocolombia (2012), Songs of Love and Contempt (2018), and On the Way to Leo (2025) have screened and won awards at several international festivals. A promoter of cinema therapy (winner of PROCINE 2025), she is an active member of Women in Film and Television and CEDECINE Mexico.

11.45AM

INTERNATIONAL NARRATIVE SHORTS COMPETITION - 1

Total Duration: 105 MIN

The opening package of this year’s International Narrative Shorts Competition brings together five striking stories of longing, memory, identity, and human connection. Moving across continents and emotional landscapes, these films capture moments of tenderness, humour, desire, and quiet rebellion, where love and self-discovery emerge in the most unexpected spaces.

FLIGHT

RISK

Director: Mohammad Awad

16 MIN | 2025 | Australia | English | Asian Premiere

Muhammad’s fruity holiday plans hit a roadblock when he gets stopped by airport security and is accused of running off to join ISIS. While he desperately needs to catch his flight, he’d still like to have some fun along the way. Based on a true story.

THE BLAME SILENCE (Além da Culpa)

Director: Israel Cordova

20 MIN | 2025 | Brazil | Portuguese| Asian Premiere

After his father’s death, Mauro, a rural farmer, finds himself facing a freedom he never dared to live. Caught between guilt and desire, he confronts his fears to finally embrace who he truly is.

CATS CAN TEACH YOU TO DIE ALONE

Director: Hanuš

22 MIN | 2025 | Pakistan | Urdu | Indian Premiere

‘Cats Can Teach You’ to Die Alone unfolds as a tender yet fractured portrait of love, regret, and solitude in the quiet corridors of memory and longing. After three years of silence, Ali receives an unexpected call from Zain, his ex-lover from three years ago, who takes him on a nostalgic trip back to the night they met, a night of playfulness and intimacy.

23 MIN | 2025 | UK | English| Asian Premiere MOLLY

Director: Darius Shu

A chance meeting at a launderette sparks an intense emotional intimacy between Vinnie and Ryan. As closeness blurs into desire, unspoken expectations surface, forcing them to confront what love demands before it fractures everything they have built.

Director: Gaël Kamilindi

21 MIN | 2026 | France | French| Asian Premiere TAXI MOTO

Prevented from making his film, a director reinvents its images elsewhere, with another actor. As they search for each other, cinema becomes an act of love and intimate poetic resistance.

STUDENT SHORTS COMP 2

Total Duration: 55 MIN

20 MIN | 2026 | Brazil | Portuguese | Narrative Short |Asian Premiere BLUE (Azul) 1.45 pM

This second package features a diverse selection of narrative and documentary short films by student filmmakers from media schools across Asia, South and North America.

Exploring queer struggles at societal, familial, and personal levels, these three thought-provoking films reveal moments of resilience, vulnerability, and quiet courage as the protagonists navigate and at times succumb to everyday challenges.

Director: Jessi Goh

20 MIN | 2025 | Singapore | English | Documentary Short | Asian Premiere

Wee Kim Wee School of Communication & Information, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore

‘Ibu’ follows 57-year-old entertainment legend and drag mother Kak Nina Boo, one of Singapore’s pioneering trans performers. A beloved fixture of the country’s drag scene, Nina reflects on her relevance, legacy, and ageing in a space shaped by newer, bolder acts, while celebrating the enduring importance of community, visibility, and chosen family.

Director: Luísa Pinheiro de Andrade

Universidade Federal Fluminense, Brazil

Celine, a young singer, finds herself devastated by an unexpected loss. In a mysterious twist of fate, she is given the chance to finally say goodbye and find solace in the only person who could help her: the very one who hurt her.

15 MIN | 2025 | China, USA | Mandarin Chinese | Narrative Short | Indian Premiere DELAY

Director: Wang Han-Xuan

Columbia University School of the Arts, New York, USA

A Chinese gay father tries to go to his heterosexual son’s wedding in Paris, but his trip gets unpredictably delayed.

3.30 PM

South Asian Spectrum

Audience Award

Nominee

Directors:

JAMEELA

Zainab Malik, Mina Isabella Jafri Malik

93 MIN | 2025 | Pakistan | Urdu | Narrative Feature | Mumbai Premiere

In the unforgiving streets of Karachi, a young transgender woman fights to survive, pursue her dreams, and live life on her own terms.

‘Jameela’ follows a transgender woman navigating love, loss, and survival in a society that refuses to fully accept her. Carrying the struggles and resilience of her community, she embarks on a journey toward dignity, selfhood, and hope. Rich in colour and emotion, the film celebrates authenticity, resistance, and the courage to embrace one’s truth.

Festivals & Honors:

• Cannes World Festival - Finalists June Online Edition, 2025 (Best LBGTQ Film & Best Cinematography)

• 9th New Delhi Film Festival-NDFF, 2026 (Green Rose Award & Best Costume Design Award)

Mina Jafri Malik is a multi-award-winning filmmaker whose work amplifies marginalized voices through stories of identity, resilience, and social justice. With Jameela, she co-directed a deeply personal film exploring the struggles and strength of Pakistan’s transgender community through emotionally resonant storytelling.

Zainab Malik, transitioned from legal studies to filmmaking after co-directing The Asifa Bano Story with her mother, Mina Jafri Malik. Through Jameela, she brings an empathetic and nuanced lens to the lives and resilience of Pakistan’s transgender community.

MINA JAFRI MALIK & ZAINAB MALIK

THE CROWD

(Jamaat)

In Competition, Audience Award Nominee

Director: Sahand Kabiri

70 MIN | 2025 | Iran | Persian | Narrative Feature | Asian Premiere

In Tehran’s hidden underground queer scene, a young gay man’s farewell party for his migrating partner spirals into a tense confrontation with family, secrecy, and survival.

Hamed, an upper middle-class Iranian gay man, plans an underground party with friends in his family’s abandoned garage before his partner leaves the country. But when his orthodox brother discovers the gathering and attempts to shut it down, buried tensions erupt within the confines of a deeply restrictive society.

Filmed independently over 12 days in Tehran under extreme secrecy and personal risk, The Crowd stands as a rare and courageous work of Iranian underground cinema.

Festivals & Honors:

• World Premiere: Rotterdam International Film Festival, Netherlands, 2025

• Istanbul International Film Festival, Turkey, 2025 (Special Jury Prize)

• Seattle International Film Festival, United States, 2025 (Grand Jury Prize)

• Biarritz Film Festival, Biarritz, France, 2025 (Queer Gaze Award)

• Melbourne Queer Film Festival, Australia, 2025 (Best First Feature Award)

• Pontevedra IFF, Spain, 2025 (Best Film Special Mention/ Youth Jury Award)

Sahand Kabiri is a Tehran-based director, screenwriter, and actor known for his nuanced portrayals of gender, masculinity, and contemporary Iranian society. A screenwriting graduate from the Art University of Tehran, his short films, including Bro (2021), have screened at several festivals. Since 2017, he has also served as a jury member for ISFA, Iran’s leading short film award. The Crowd (2025) is his debut feature film.

SAHAND KABIRI

10.00 AM

PROGRAMMERS’ PICKS

Total Duration: 89 MIN

This package has come into existence from a deeply personal as well as collective urge. Not everything meaningful can be contained by format, category, or criteria.

Programmers’ Picks gathers films that slipped through the cracks of competition, but not our attention. These are stories that linger, expand, and resist neat boxes, existing freely, just as they should. No labels, no limitations, just pure cinematic connection.

Directors: Camille Tricaud, Franziska Unger

20 MIN | 2023 | Germany | English, French, German | Asian Premiere SLOW DOWN THE FALL (Ralentir La Chute)

In the light of the Alps, a great ski-jumping hill flashes metallically. Two ski jumpers synchronously rehearse movements in the valley, answer generic questions in front of a green screen and pose on the hill while being watched by a film crew. It is the first reunion for the two athletes since their separation.

ONLY THE DEAD FISH GO WITH THE FLOW

(Seuls Les Poissons Morts Suivent Le Courant)

Director: Christophe Gomes

10 MIN | 2025 | France | French | Mumbai Premiere

Camille is a boy, but feels like a girl. For Carnival, Camille goes dressed as a princess, despite the school’s refusal to acknowledge Camille as a girl. The principal summons Camille’s mother for a final confrontation.

LANDFILL

Director: Jess Lee

18 MIN | 2024 | Canada | English | Asian Premiere

Alice, a headstrong elder butch believes her terminal cancer is connected to a greater evolutionary cycle. When a relentless documentarian tries to expose the cause of her illness, Alice’s facetious outlook is called into question. LANDFILL is a dark comedy about queer legacy, selfdetermination and labor under neoliberalism.

18 MIN | 2024 | Brazil | Portuguese | Indian Premiere LINGER (Ponto e Vírgula)

Director: Thiago Kistenmacker

João and Vitor used to be paramours but haven’t spoken to each other for 30 years. At 70, they reunite and reconcile past, present, and a possible future after the passing of Vitor’s wife, at a moment when so much of their lives seem to have reached an end.

23 MIN | 2024 | France | French | Asian Premiere CHICO

Director: Théo Abadie

Jojo, a clumsy and bumbling young gay squatter, sets out to repair a washing machine in order to satisfy Lucien, whom he desires. He roams Brussels in a frantic quest, ready to take any risk to achieve his goals.

Sam Feder

HEIGHTENED SCRUTINY

89 MIN | 2025 | USA | English | Documentary Feature | Indian Premiere

As the U.S. Supreme Court prepares to rule on transgender healthcare rights, lawyer Chase Strangio confronts both the legal system and the media narratives shaping public opinion and policy.

‘Heightened Scrutiny’ follows ACLU attorney Chase Strangio, the first openly trans person to argue before the U.S. Supreme Court, as he challenges Tennessee’s ban on gender-affirming healthcare for transgender youth. Through conversations with journalists, activists, and cultural voices including Laverne Cox, the film examines how media disinformation fuels anti-trans legislation and public hostility, revealing the urgent fight for bodily autonomy, dignity, and democratic rights.

Festivals & Honors:

• World Premiere: Sundance Film Festival, 2025

• Hot Docs Festival, 2025

• Frameline 49: San Francisco International LGBTQ+ Film Festival

• Salem Film Festival, 2025 (Audience Award, Runner-Up)

• Connecticut LGBTQ Film Festival, 2025 (Best Documentary)

• Freiburg Gay Film Festival, 2025 (Special Jury Award)

• Honolulu Rainbow Film Festival, 2025 (Best Documentary)

• BFI Flare London LGBT Film Festival, 2025

• Bentonville Film Festival, 2025 (Jury Award Documentary Feature)

• Cleveland International Film Festival, 2025

Sam Feder (Director/Producer) is a Peabody Award-nominated film director and writer. Sam’s films explore the intersection of visibility and politics along the lines of race, class, and gender. Sam directed the awardwinning Netflix Original documentary Disclosure (2020) and the widely acclaimed documentary Kate Bornstein is a Queer & Pleasant Danger. SAM FEDER Director:

THE LAST FIRST TIME

(El fin de las primeras veces)

Director: Rafael Ruiz Espejo

76 MIN | 2024 | Mexico | Spanish | Narrative Feature | Indian Premiere

A shy young man’s first taste of freedom in a new city leads him toward unexpected encounters, desire, and self-discovery.

Far from the watchful eyes of home, Eduardo arrives in Guadalajara to take his college entrance exam and unexpectedly encounters Mario, a confident city boy who introduces him to an unfamiliar world of parties, intimacy, and possibility. As the day unfolds into a restless night of first experiences, Eduardo’s shyness slowly gives way to curiosity and abandon.

‘The Last First Time’ is a tender coming-of-age story about sexuality, longing, and finding oneself in an unfamiliar city.

Festivals & Honors:

• World Premiere: San Francisco International Film Festival, 2025

• Pink Apple Film Festival, Zürich, Switzerland, 2025

• León International Queer Film Festival, Mexico, 2025

• Vancouver Queer Film Festival, Canada, 2025

• Festival Mix Brasil - São Paulo, Brazil, 2025

• Chéries Chéris LGBTQIA+ Film Festival Paris, France, 2025

• Semana de Cine & Memoria Queer, Guadalajara, Mexico, 2026

• Mardi Gras Film Festival, Melbourne, Australia, 2026

• Freiburg Gay Film Festival, Germany, 2026

Rafael Ruiz Espejo is a graduate in Audiovisual Arts from the University of Guadalajara, a beneficiary of the Young Creators Program of the National Fund for Culture and Arts Mexico. Enthusiastic in making mistakes and soft porn, their works have competed at numerous film festivals around the world.

RAFAEL RUIZ

ESPEJO

3.30 PM

FACE 2 FACE

Total Duration: 89 MIN

In a world that often turns away from what it doesn’t understand, sometimes the only way forward is to confront it head-on. Face2Face is a striking selection of short films where protagonists come face to face with fear, prejudice, shame, or loss— whether in themselves or in the world around them. These stories reflect moments of personal reckoning, resilience, and empowerment, showing how meaningful change often begins with a courageous confrontation.

Director: Ramón Medina Orellana

11 MIN | 2025 | Mexico | Spanish | International Premiere RAMIRO

Ramiro has developed an unexpected bond with his therapist, Alejandra. After months of silence, he decides to share something he’s never dared to say before.

ANYWAY, I PISS SITTING DOWN

(Bref, j’pisse assis)

Director: Zak Slattery

16 MIN | 2024 | Canada | French | Asian Premiere

Three friends embark on a journey back to their hometown while Sasha, recovering from his gender-affirming surgery, dreams of swimming shirtless at his childhood beach.

Director: Tanu Gago

12 MIN | 2024 | New Zealand | English, Samoan | Asian Premiere PICKING CREW

Tomasi craves connection amidst the isolation of a rural apple orchard manned by a picking crew of young guys. He befriends Api and together they navigate the pressures of masculinity, slowly revealing to each other their deep desire for acceptance.

SPIDERS ON MY LASHLINE*

*Aditya Nanda Award Nominee

Director: Grace Tan

8 MIN | 2025 | Australia | English | Asian Premiere

Following an attack, genderqueer pole dancer Ash seeks catharsis through a church confessional, where childhood memories resurface and help them find strength again.

CHEERS CAMDEN

Director: Joshua Black

12 MIN | 2026 | UK | English | International Premiere

Theo has a secret he’s never shown his laddish football mates. On his way to a party, he steps into a lift wearing heels and a dress for the first time in years. As memories and doubts surface floor by floor, the ride becomes a tense confrontation between societal expectations and his true self.

30 MIN | 2025 | Germany | German | International Premiere SATYR

Director: Tim Klinger

When introverted Theo meets confident Silvan, who has two horns, he’s drawn into a vibrant new world. But as small horns begin to grow from his own head, Theo must confront the fears and secrets he’s been hiding.

Director:

Lucas Santa Ana

BLUE LIGHTS (Luces azules)

100 MIN | 2024 | Argentina | Spanish | Narrative Feature | Indian Premiere

A seemingly warm birthday gathering slowly unravels as buried tensions, hidden relationships, and uncomfortable truths emerge around the dinner table.

At his 70th birthday dinner, Alejandro (Ernesto Larrese) gathers friends and family for an intimate evening that gradually turns emotionally charged as conversations around queerness, marriage, HIV, polyamory, and parenthood surface. As wine loosens inhibitions and old secrets come to light, simmering prejudices and unresolved desires ripple through the group, transforming the celebration into a sharp and tender portrait of intimacy, generational divides, and chosen family.

‘Blue Lights ’ explores the generational exchange of experiences between older gay and straight people and younger lesbians and gay people bringing new forms of relationships to the table.

Festivals & Honors:

• World Premiere: Mardi Gras Film Festival, Sydney, Australia, 2024

• Rio LGBTQIA+ International Film Festival, 2024

• OUTshine LGBTQ+ Film Festival: Miami Edition, 2024

• Wicked Queer- LGBTQ+ Film Festival, Boston, 2025

Lucas Santa Ana is an Argentinian director, screenwriter, and producer known for queer-themed films and documentaries. His works include Bromance (2016), Memories of a Teenager (2020), and the acclaimed documentary Carlos Jauregui: The Unforgettable Fag (2017), which won audience and directing awards at LesGaiCineMad. He also co-directed Ilse Fuskova (2021), a documentary on the pioneering Argentine feminist lesbian activist.

LUCAS SANTA ANA

A DEEPER LOVE: THE STORY OF MISS PEPPERMINT

(El fin de las primeras veces)

In Competition, Audience Award Nominee

Director: Oriel Pe’er

86 MIN | 2025 | USA, Germany | English | Documentary Feature | Asian Premiere

A Deeper Love intimately follows trailblazing performer and activist Peppermint through fame, transition, and the personal cost of visibility as a Black trans woman.

Filmed over almost ten years, A Deeper Love traces the journey of Peppermint from New York’s underground nightlife to global recognition through RuPaul’s Drag Race and Broadway. Blending observational footage with personal reflection, the documentary explores identity, resilience, chosen family, and the emotional realities of living authentically in the public eye.

Festivals & Honors:

• World Premiere: Frameline International Film Festival, 2025

• Newfest, New York (Centerpiece & Audience Award Runner-Up)

• Seattle International Film Festival

• Image + Nation Film Festival, Montreal

• Wicked Queer: Docs Film Festival, Boston (Winner Audience Award)

• Mardi Gras Queer Screen, 2026 (Special Presentation)

• Out On Film, Atlanta, 2026 (Opening Night Film)

• Roze Filmdagen, Amsterdam (Best Documentary Nomination)

• Inside Out Film Festival, Toronto, 2026

ORIEL PE’ER

Oriel Pe’er is an award-winning filmmaker and visual artist, and founder of The Llama Studio, a production house focused on documentaries and branded content. His work has appeared in publications including The Guardian, TIME, The Hollywood Reporter, and NOWNESS.

Director:

Caroline Fournier

AMANTES

106 MIN | 2025 | France | French | Narrative Feature | Asian Premiere

In contemporary Paris, three lesbians navigate love, commitment, jealousy, and desire as their relationships unravel in unexpected ways.

Nour, an impulsive musician, falls for a guarded woman resistant to her intensity. Laura hopes a child will stabilise her fragile throuple, while therapist Gabrielle drifts toward emotional danger as she bonds with one of her patients. Set against the rhythms of modern Paris, these intertwined stories explore intimacy, insecurity, and the contradictions of love, asking whether to hold on, let go, or risk everything for connection.

Festivals & Honors:

• World Premiere: Vancouver Queer Film festival, 2025

• Chéri-Chérie Paris, France, 2025

• 36th Hamburg Queer Film festival, 2025

• Melbourne Queer Film Festival, 2025

• Montreal Image+Nation Festival, Canada, 2025

• Queer Screen’s Mardi Gras, Sydney, 2026

• 40th BFI Flare London, 2026

• Roze Filmdagen Amsterdam, 2026

• 15th Rio LGBTQIA+ Film Festival, 2026

• Poland LGBT+ Film Festival, 2026

Caroline Fournier is a French director and screenwriter whose work blends humor, pop culture, romantic comedy, and explorations of identity and social justice. She created the queer-centered projects Q la série and Amantes , celebrating complex lesbian characters through feminist and inclusive storytelling. She is also co-founder of the independent children’s publishing house On ne compte pas pour du beurre that challenges stereotypes and champions diverse representation from an early age.

Supported by: French Institute in India, Embassy of France

CAROLINE FOURNIER

SAPPHIC SNAPSHOTS

Total Duration: 79 MIN

From moments of bold flirtation to quiet gestures of tenderness, this vibrant collection of short films captures the many hues of love, desire, heartbreak, and self-discovery between women. Whether navigating messy exes, the lingering ache of toxic intimacy, unexpected awakenings, or the anxieties of artistic longing, these stories move between the carefree and the complicated with honesty and charm. Together, they create a vivid snapshot of sapphic connection in all its vulnerability, chaos, and beauty.

(Post screening Q&A)

DINNER FOR SIX (Jantar Pra Seis)

Director: Isabela Lisboa 18 MIN | 2025 | Brazil | Portuguese | Asian Premiere

1:45 PM

Duda is a young lesbian who collects breakups. She is determined to make her next relationship work and decides to invite all her ex-girlfriends and her best friend to dinner. As soon as the guests arrive, secrets and surprises are brought to the table.

WATCHING OVER INFINITY (Vista Sobre O Infinito)* * Aditya Nanda Award Nominee

Director: Henrique Prudêncio 16 MIN | 2025 | Portugal | Portuguese | Asian Premiere

After a difficult breakup with Júlia, Leonor retraces the memories of their complicated love, trying to understand how she became entangled in this toxic relationship. In an intimate dialogue with herself, she untangles the intensity of the moments that make her miss the very person who brought her so much misery.

MAYFLIES

Director: Lydia McNulty

17 MIN | 2026 | UK | English | World Premiere

Six months after graduating, oddball Cath travels to the countryside to scatter their pet rabbit’s ashes with former best friend Willow. Over one weekend, a drunken river swim leads to an unexpected kiss. But when morning comes, Cath retreats, leaving Willow awakened to feelings she never knew she had.

Filmmaker present

Director: Gail Willumsen

28 MIN | 2025 | USA | English | Asian Premiere

At mid-career, queer artist Eve Wood still chases success. “The art world is a horrible business, so why do I keep doing this?” With a solo exhibition looming, she waits in anxious anticipation: “Will anyone come? Will they like my work?” Will Eve ever get the recognition she craves?

Matters of Heart

Total Duration: 99 MIN 3:30

From spontaneous crushes to emotional collisions, this collection explores the messy, tender, and often chaotic terrain of queer longing. Whether it’s a hesitant heart, an unresolved past, or the confusion of choosing between connection and caution—these films lay bare the vulnerability of love in all its awkward, beautiful, and unexpected forms.

(Post screening Q&A)

8 MIN | 2025 | Canada (Quebec) | No Dialogues | Asian Premiere MUSES

Director: Simon Vermeulen

A dancer struggles to break free from the hold of his choreographer now attracted to another. This silent film explores the complex dynamics of inspiration, power, and replacement within the LGBTQ+ dance community through body language and music.

19 MIN | 2025 | Netherlands | Dutch, English | Asian Premiere PAKKA

Director: Iniyavan Elumalai

Four friends share an unbreakable bond on a Dutch cricket field. But when one agrees to an arranged marriage in India, their chosen family begins to unravel.

WITHIN A QUIET BODY

Director: José Manuel Vélez

14 MIN | 2025 | USA | English | Asian Premiere

Alex, a jaded janitor at an underground club, happens to spy on the private encounter of Maxx, a frequent visitor at the club, with another patron. Feeling jealous and desperate, he searches the same for himself. But after a hookup goes too far, ashamed, he denies himself the intimacy he didn’t think he needed.

MY AGE NOW

Director: Daniel Talbott

15 MIN | 2025 | USA | English | Indian Premiere

On a Sunday that is a brief respite from everyday life, a young man is haunted by a final voice message, a break up, and a ‘goodbye’ he can’t take back.

MUSE

Director: Chad Zemel

18 MIN | 2025 | USA | English | International Premiere

A withdrawn teenager searches for inner peace at a desert meditation center, only to be paired with a picture perfect roommate.

Director: Lilly Zhuang

25 MIN | 2025 | UK | English | Indian Premiere

An unlikely romance between Kaden and Lucas, two teenagers resigned to work the East Riding strawberry fields over the Summer, is threatened by the shame and violence of being discovered.

105 MIN | 2025 | Peru | Spanish, French, English | Narrative Feature | Asian Premiere

After being deported from France, a trans woman returns to Lima and unexpectedly finds herself caught between survival, privilege, and an intimate connection that could alter her future.

With no money and nowhere to go after her deportation from France, Elsa returns to Lima and is taken in by Naomi and Pamela. Her life shifts when she begins working for Yena, an Argentinian actress living in an affluent neighbourhood, caring for her dog. Moving between worlds of precarity and privilege, Elsa develops a growing bond with Yena’s French husband Aymerick, opening unexpected emotional possibilities and tensions.

Festivals & Honors:

• Peruvian Film Festival in Paris, 2025

• OutFest Peru, 2025

SANTI ZEGARRA

Santi Zegarra is a screenwriter, director, and producer based between Lima and Paris. His films explore migration, sexual minorities, and marginalized communities through a politically engaged and deeply personal lens. He has directed the feature films Rebirths (2018) and Pucallpa (2025), and is currently in postproduction on his documentary feature The Unknown Hero.

PUCALLPA (Pucallpa la europea)

Director:

Santi Zegarra

10.00 AM

In Competition, Audience Award

Nominee

Director:

Kani Lapuerta

NINXS (Niñxs)

83 MIN | 2025 | Germany, Mexico | Spanish | Documentary Feature | Indian Premiere

Set in a small Mexican town, a transgender teenager navigates adolescence, identity, and transformation under the gaze of family, community, and camera.

In the rural town of Tepoztlán, at the foot of Tepozteco, a sacred hill that governs the winds and fertility, fifteen-year-old Karla experiences the emotional and physical changes of adolescence while navigating her gender transition. Filmed over eight years, Niñxs follows Karla and filmmaker Kani Lapuerta through moments of uncertainty, growth, and joy, creating an intimate portrait of trans youth, friendship, and self-discovery against the rhythms of small-town life.

Festivals & Honors:

• World Premiere: Visions du Réel International Film Festival, Nyon, Switzerland, 2025

• Cinélatino, Rencontres de Toulouse (Best Documentary and Audience Award)

• Melbourne Queer Film Festival (Best First Feature Documentary)

• NewFest (Special Mention)

• MiX Festival Milano (Special Mention)

• Pink Screens - Brussels Queer Film Festival,

• Outfest - Los Angeles LGBTQ Film Festival,

• EQUIS Festival de Cine Feminista de Ecuador,

• Verzió International Human Rights Documentary Film Festival

Kani Lapuerta is a trans filmmaker and researcher with a Master’s degree in Documentary Film from UNAM (Mexico), where he is currently a Professor on the same subject. His work navigates projects that challenge hegemonies around gender, sexuality and embodiment. KANI

REPEAT SCREENING

WARLA

Film details can be found under its first screening on Friday, June 5 at 10:45 AM at Liberty Cinema.

REPEAT SCREENING

DREAMERS

Film details can be found under its first screening on Saturday, June 6 at 5:45 PM at NGMA

3:30 PM

TRANSOME LIVES

Total Duration: 94 MIN

Some lives are just awesome! With the focus on trans people across the globe, this package of four thought-provoking short documentaries celebrates journeys of identity, love, friendship, resilience, and self-discovery. Honest, tender, and empowering, these films explore the courage it takes to embrace oneself while seeking acceptance in a world that often resists difference

(Post screening Q&A)

CAN’T MAKE A FLOWER GROW BY PULLING ON IT

(On tire pas sur une plante pour qu’elle pousse)

Director: Gabrielle Bergeron-Leduc

16 MIN | 2025 | Canada | French | Asian Premiere

During a summer in their chosen Haute-Gaspésie, Rosie-Roch confides in us about their complex relationship with their body and the recent unfolding of their identity.

KISS KISS BANG BANG (Kus kus beng beng)

Director: Ollie Launspach

28 MIN | 2025 | Netherlands | Dutch | Indian Premiere

In Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, a cinematic love portrait composed of home videos, photographs, diary entries, audio recordings and interviews, director Ollie Launspach explores the impact of his gender transition on his girlfriend, Sterre. As he attempts to make sense of her emotional world, the chaos within his own mind becomes increasingly apparent.

Filmmaker present

BABLI BY NIGHT

Director: Neel Soni

25 MIN | 2024 | India | Hindi

Babban, transgender forest guard navigates life in a rural Indian forest with a family that doesn’t understand them, with animals that may be the only hope and an unexpected HIV diagnosis.

Directors: Lily Vetch, Rahemur Rahman 25 MIN | 2026 | UK, Bangladesh, India | Bengali, Hindi | International Premiere

Amidst the vibrant chaos of South Asia, we meet three Hijra - Momo, Neshi and Jannat - as they explore friendship, freedom, and self-expression in a world that seeks to erase transgender women. While Momo garners recognition through performance, Neshi finds solace online and Jannat seeks financial independence and love elsewhere. But a golden thread binds the three together - their resilience, humour, and fierce selfdetermination in the face of violence and erasure.

Filmmakers present

LIVING, LOVING, POSITIVE

Total Duration: 70 MIN

A moving collection of documentaries, with select fiction works, that centre the lived experiences of people navigating life with HIV. These stories go beyond stigma and statistics to reflect resilience, relationships, and the many ways of living fully-- with dignity, courage, and hope.

16 MIN | 2024 | Canada| French | Documentary Short | Asian Premiere IT WILL ALWAYS END IN THE END (Ça va finir par finir)

Director: Nancy Pettinicchio

Gabriel Drolet-Maguire, a queer fashion designer living in Montréal, takes us into their artistic world to speak vulnerably about their HIV diagnosis and the process of acceptance that led them to reach out to the HIV-positive community. IT WILL ALWAYS END IN THE END is a timely and hopeful look at past and present day HIV activism in Quebec.

15 MIN | 2026 | Ireland | English, Hindi, Spanish | Documentary Short | World Premiere OUT OF SHADOWS

Director: Pradeep Mahadeshwar

Out of Shadows is a short documentary exploring the lives of three queer immigrants living with HIV. Luis from Venezuela, Jordi from Barcelona, and Prateek from northern India. Three people who each made Ireland their home in search of safety, acceptance, and renewal. Set against the landscapes of Wicklow, the Dublin Mountains, and Dublin city, the film celebrates resilience, solidarity, and self-love within Ireland’s increasingly diverse and vibrant queer community.

Director: Pilar García Elegido

23 MIN | 2025 | Spain | Spanish | Documentary Short | Asian Premiere STIGMA (Estigma)

Does stigma towards HIV still exist? Testimonies from experts and people living with HIV answer this question. One of the participants is Josep María Tomás who in 2000 starred in POSITIVO, a documentary nominated for the Goya award and winner of multiple awards. STIGMA returns to the topic 25 years later.

Director: Ángel Molina

16 MIN | 2025 | France, Nicaragua, Paraguay | Spanish | Narrative Short | Asian Premiere BOLERO ROJO

A Paraguayan Drag Queen singer gets ready for a show when his boyfriend tells him he is HIV+. The singer takes it easy, but his fears arise on stage and he realizes he isn’t as open-minded as he thought he was.

DESIRES & DISCOVERIES

Total Duration: 58 MIN

In the realm of desire, the mind wanders and often arrives at unexpected discoveries about situations, about others, and most importantly, about oneself. Through four sensual and thought-provoking narratives, this package journeys through longing, attraction, curiosity, and connection, revealing how desire can become a catalyst for self-discovery and transformation.

(Post screening Q&A)

Director: Victor Vinícius

16 MIN | 2024 | Brazil | Portuguese | Narrative Short NO AIR (Sufoco)

After being caught off guard by the end of a years-long relationship, Bruna relives her final moments with Sabrina in an attempt to understand the reasons behind the breakup and find a way to cope with the pain.

Director: Shiao-ya Maggie Huang

8 MIN | 2024 | South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore | Korean, Spanish | Narrative Short | Indian Premiere

Returning to sell her old family home, a Korean Guatemalan immigrant confronts buried memories and lingering emotions, ultimately finding closure within its familiar walls.

WHAT THE SKY FORGOT

(Khawab Ho Tum Ya Koi Kabootar)

Directors:

Akshit, Amrita

15 MIN | 2026 | India | Hindi | Narrative Short | World Premiere

Over the course of an evening, Zoya and Bhanu share a quiet space where small gestures and fleeting moments carry the weight of their shared history. Fragments of conversation, distant music, and lingering pauses slowly fill the room, allowing memories to surface between what is present and what has already begun to fade.

Filmmaker present

Director: Debarati Gupta

19 MIN | 2026 | India | Bengali | Narrative Short | World Premiere I AM NOT HER LOVER

A promising gay Kathak dancer, secretly suffering from a chronic skin condition, faces the dilemma when asked to perform, revealing his skin to the world, risking his love life and acceptance he longs for.

Filmmaker present

FAMILIES WE BECOME

Total Duration: 73 MIN

Not all families are given. Some unfold, some are chosen, and some gently grow into being. Across these stories, bonds take shape in unexpected ways: through companionship, quiet acts of care, and moments of hard-won acceptance, often shaped by lived experiences and intersecting realities. What begins as distance, doubt, or difference slowly turns into connection and understanding. In these tender journeys, family is not defined. It is discovered.

(Post screening Q&A)

UNDER THE SAME MOON

Director: Abhinav Sharma

21 MIN | 2025 | UK | English | Documentary Short | Indian Premiere

In a culture where silence is survival, a queer man and a mother of queer children risk everything to speak their truth, challenging generations of tradition, defying societal judgment, and reshaping what love and family mean in South Asia.

I HAVE TWO DAUGHTERS

(Meri Do Betiyan Hain)

Director: Aashish Kumar

22 MIN | 2025 | USA, India | Bengali, English| Documentary Short | World Premiere

Anindita may not have known what the word “queer” meant when her daughter Megha came out to her, but her unconditional love didn’t need a vocabulary. ‘Meri Do Betiyan Hain’ is a heart-warming exploration of the life of a divorced mother sharing a roof with her queer daughter and her partner, challenging norms and expectations around abuse, loss, and reclaimed happiness.

Directors: Shefali Khan, Sakshi Salil Chavan 29 MIN | India | Hindi| Documentary Short BECAUSE I COULDN’T STOP FOR DEATH

Because I Couldn’t Stop For Death offers an exploration of the lives of Sapna and her friend and co-worker Preeti. Sapna works as a grave painter, to support her son’s education. Set against the backdrop of Delhi’s oldest graveyard — where the film embarks on an introspective journey through her extraordinary existence. It chronicles her unwavering quest for an improved lifestyle, driven by aspirations, and the bureaucratic impediments and societal intricacies she confronts.

Filmmaker present

GUNYO CHOLO: THE DRESS

Director:

127 MIN | 2025 | Nepal | Nepali | Narrative Feature | Indian Premiere

Rejected by his strict army father for defying tradition, a young Nepali must reinvent himself as Gulabi while searching for identity, dignity, and belonging.

Born as the only son of a retired army official in a conservative Nepali village, Dev (Najir Hussen) is expected to follow a military path laid out by his father. But when his aspirations to live as a trans woman are discovered, he is cast out and forced to flee to Kathmandu. Adopting the name Gulabi, he navigates a difficult life on the margins while embracing his true identity.

(Gunyo Cholo is a traditional dress worn by girls in the Nepali culture that marks the ‘coming of age’.)

Festivals & Honors:

• World Premiere: Nepal International Film Festival, Kathmandu, 2026 (Winner –Best Film, Best Director)

• Cambodia International Film Festival, Phnom Penh, 2026

• Nepal Rural Film Festival, 2026

Samundra Bhatta is a Nepali film director and writer known for socially grounded, human-centered storytelling focused on marginalized communities and contemporary issues. She made her feature debut with Ringroad (2013) and followed it with Aadhapage (2015), establishing her voice in social realism. Her recent feature Gunyocholo: The Dress explores identity, inclusion, and freedom of expression and received major recognition at the Nepal International Film Festival (NIFF), winning Best Film, while she was awarded Best Director for the same work. She has also directed documentaries and short films on gender equality and social justice.

SAMUNDRA BHATTA

Samundra Bhatta

5.45 PM

Director:

Niladri Sekhar Dassarma

THE THIRD (Tritiya)

61 MIN | 2025 | India | Bengali | Documentary Feature | Mumbai Premiere

Transgender poet and activist Rani Mazumdar confronts social prejudice and political barriers, using her voice, art, and resilience to claim space for dignity and self-expression.

TRITIYA (The Third) traces the remarkable journey of transgender poet and social activist Rani Mazumdar as she navigates a society shaped by stigma and exclusion. Blending personal reflection with political realities, the documentary captures her struggles, achievements, and unwavering commitment to advocacy. Through poetry, activism, and lived experience, Rani emerges as a powerful voice for equality, acceptance, and the rights of the transgender community.

Festivals & Honors:

• World Premiere: 14th Chennai International Documentary and Short Film Festival, 2026

• 18th SiGNS National Festival of Documentary and Short Films, Kerala, 2026

Niladri Sekhar Dassarma is an independent filmmaker whose short films, documentaries, and music videos have screened at festivals across India and Bangladesh. His works, including Dayal (Compassionate) and Solitary Sex, explore artistic and social themes. Also active in writing, photography, theatre, and music, he is the founder of ADDA Film and Media Institute.

NILADRI SEKHAR DASSARMA

Director: Digvijay Andhorikar

40 MIN | 2025 | India | Marathi, Hindi | Narrative Featurette

Set in Mumbai’s red light area, film narrates the journey of a sisterhood between Gita a trans-sex worker & her next-door neighbor Deepali. While Gita plans to elope with her lover Ravi, Deepali mistakes Ravi’s gestures towards her as love but, in reality Ravi has no feelings towards Deepali. Now it’s up to Gita to show the truth & make Deepali realize the harsh reality of the world they live in.

10.00 AM

In Competition, Audience Award Nominee

Director: Yuqing Lai

WHISPERINGS OF THE MOON

85 MIN | 2025 | Cambodia, China, Hong Kong, India | Central Khmer | Narrative Feature | Indian Premiere

Returning to Phnom Penh after her father’s death, theatre actor Nisay reunites with Thida, the woman she once loved, stirring memories of a relationship that flourished on stage but could not survive beyond it.

Moving between the present and the past, the film traces Nisay and Thida’s bittersweet romance through shared performances and lingering memories. Blending intimate storytelling with acting workshops, it explores identity, self-expression, and the enduring impact of first love as Nisay confronts loss, longing, and the complexities of understanding herself.

Festivals & Honors:

• World Premiere: Busan International Film Festival 2025, BFI Flare: London LGBT Film Festival,

• Slamdance Film Festival (Jury Award - Best Narrative Feature)

Lai Yuqing was a Chinese director, actor, and musician whose work explored love, identity, and belonging. Her feature directorial debut Whisperings of the Moon premiered at the Busan International Film Festival, while her films were also recognized by the Toronto International Film Festival and BFI Flare: London LGBTQIA+ Film Festival. Just as international attention was turning to her work, the young filmmaker passed away in December 2025. LAI YUQING

BARBARA FOREVER

In Competition

Director:

Brydie

O’Connor

103 MIN | 2026 | USA | English | Documentary Feature | Asian Premiere

An archive-driven exploration of the life, work, and legacy of iconic, pioneering lesbian filmmaker Barbara Hammer.

Queer cinema pioneer Barbara Hammer (1939–2019) started making films at the age of 27, coming out as a lesbian in her early 30s: “My life has been lived in film.” The sheer wealth of film material of her life also forms the basis for Barbara Forever, Brydie O’Connor’s debut feature which achieves the mammoth task of doing justice to her dazzling and charismatic personality: a pioneer of lesbian and queer self-representation “in a world where we are invisible”, a seductive lover – and a both experimental and daring filmmaker. Above all this: a lust for life.

Festivals & Honors:

• World Premiere: Sundance, 2026 (Best EDITING Award)

• Berlinale Forum (TEDDY Award for Best Documentary) BFI Flare, 2026

DC/DOX Film Festival, 2026

• Wicked Queer Boston, 2026 (Jury Award, Audience Award)

• 27th Buenos Aires International Festival of Independent Cinema (BAFICI), 2026

Brydie O’Connor is a Kansas-born, New York-based filmmaker whose award-winning documentaries focus on women-driven and queer stories. Her films Love, Barbara (2021) and Friends Of Dorothy (2020) have screened at major festivals including Outfest and DOC NYC. Much of her work draws inspiration from archival histories and has been supported by leading arts and film organizations. BRYDIE

O’CONNOR

Director: Daniel Ribeiro

I AM GOING TO MISS YOU

(Eu Vou Ter Saudades de Você)

87 MIN | 2025 | Brazil | Portuguese | Narrative Feature | Asian Premiere

After seven years together, transgender couple Amanda and Caio take the next step by moving in, only to discover that their evolving ambitions and desires may be pulling them in different directions.

While Caio longs for stability and a shared future, Amanda is determined to build her legal career and embrace new possibilities. As the pressures of daily life mount and Amanda forms a connection with a colleague, their relationship is tested in unexpected ways. Faced with difficult choices, they must decide whether love means holding on or letting each other grow.

Featuring an entirely transgender cast - possibly making this the first feature film to do so!

Festivals & Honors:

• World Premiere: BFI Flare: London LGBTQIA+ Film Festival, UK, 2026

• Festival Internacional de Cine en Guadalajara, Mexico, 2026

Daniel Ribeiro is a Brazilian director best known for The Way He Looks (2014), winner of the Teddy Award and FIPRESCI Prize at the 2014 Berlin International Film Festival. His acclaimed body of work includes Perfect Endings (2024), several award-winning short films screened at over 180 festivals worldwide, and the HBO series Todxs Nós (2020), which he created, wrote, and directed.

DANIEL RIBEIRO

GENDERATION SHORTS

Film details can be found under its first screening on Thursday, June 4 at 12:30 PM at Liberty Cinema.

Director:

Naveen Kishore

PERFORMING THE GODDESS: CHAPAL BHADHURI’S STORY

44 MIN | 1999 | India | Bengali | Video Biography

Chapal Bhaduri alias Chapal Rani or Queen Chapal, leading lady of Bengal’s traditional folk travelling theatre-in-the-round, the Jatra, spent his life playing women. Until history changed tradition and women began to play female roles themselves. Out of work, ageing, he turned to a new livelihood: that of playing Sitala, the dreaded goddess of pox and disease, in dramatized performances of the goddess’s sacred saga. This intimate video biography introduces us to a great performer, reminiscing about the world of Jatra, discussing what it meant to be a woman night after night, talking for the first time of the woman inside his male body, of troubled sexuality, of a long domestic partnership with his older lover, of the essential loneliness of living as a human being on the edges of conventional society.

Naveen Kishore is a Kolkata-based publisher, photographer, poet, and theatre practitioner. Founder of Seagull Books and the Seagull Foundation for the Arts, he has played a significant role in promoting Indian arts and international literature. His photography, focused on gender, performance, and identity, has been exhibited internationally, and his contributions have been recognized with honours including the Goethe Medal (2013), France’s Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (2014), and the Ottaway Award for the Promotion of International Literature (2021).

Shobhaa De in conversation with biographer Sandip Roy, author of Chapal Rani: The Last Queen of Bengal FOLLOWED BY

NAVEEN KISHORE

INTERNATIONAL NARRATIVE SHORTS

COMPETITION 2

Total Duration: 66 MIN

From the streets of Cape Town and the gymnasium of a judo tournament to the quiet spaces of memory and longing, these four narratives explore lives shaped by moments of challenge and transformation. As their characters grapple with questions of identity, belonging, and self-determination, they reveal the courage it takes to confront both the world around them and the truths within.

20 MIN | 2026 | Lebanon, France, Croatia | Arabic | Asian Premiere BIRTHMARK ( هوهش)

Director: George Peter Barbari

A woman makes her way to a sex worker to discover something about her world, about herself. Behind those walls, another war is being fought - one of truth, one of being.

Directors: Loren Loubser, Gabe Gabriel

10 MIN | 2025 | South Africa | UK | English | Asian Premiere DREAD

A Black transmasculine Uber driver’s car becomes dangerously possessed when a German hippie offloads her trauma demon on a ride through the racially segregated, tourist-infested Cape Town.

Director: Kun SUN

18 MIN | 2025 | China | Mandarin Chinese | Indian Premiere THE WIND IN ASH

A tomboy returns to her hometown for a funeral, sparking a journey of self-discovery and a shift in her perception of her mother.

NO CONTEST (La Premiére Marche)

Director: Olivier Wright

18 MIN | 2025 | France | French | Asian Premiere

Victoire, a 20-year-old judoka, has her trans identity outed in the middle of a tournament. Sonia, her next opponent, refuses to fight her. In the following hour, the gym turns into a battleground where athletes, parents, and officials clash. As debates over fairness and safety escalate, Victoire refuses to become a symbol and focuses on what matters most: her next match.

QUEERIOSITIES

Total Duration: 79 MIN

A kaleidoscopic collection of shorts that celebrate the offbeat, the tender, the bold, and the beautifully bizarre within queer lives. These stories capture moments of connection, identity, mischief, longing and yes, even dreams of love and commitment offering playful yet poignant peeks into the endlessly diverse spectrum of LGBTQ+ experiences.

A THING ABOUT KASHEM

Director: Bijon Imtiaz 17 MIN | 2025 | Bangladesh, India | Bengali | Narrative Short |Mumbai Premiere

A married man’s unexpected bodily reaction, at the wrong time and in the wrong place, plunges him into a midlife crisis, forcing him to confront his identity and desires.

Director: Eoghan McQuinn

16 MIN | 2025 | Ireland | English | Narrative Short |Asian Premiere PLEASE BE NORMAL

An insecure 30-something year-old demands others on a dating app be “normal” however, he himself is about to be exposed as being anything but.

STALLION AND A CRYSTAL BALL

(Stallion Y La Bola De Cristal)

Director: Christian Avilés 19 MIN | 2026 | Spain | Spanish | Narrative Short |Indian Premiere

In his dark, silent room, a secluded teenager sick with a burning desire casts a spell. As violent visions warp his reality, a bubble threatens to burst; something must break.

Director: Max Kutschenreuter

14 MIN | 2025 | Germany | English, German | Narrative Short |Asian Premiere WYD?

Richie however does not ignore the message of the stoic and direct Bodybuilder, who has an odd request for him. Because Richie believes he is done with vapid hook-up culture of Berlin, he takes the bodybuilder up on his request, although he still suspects he is going towards a hot date.

Director: Ashok Vish

13 MIN | 2025 | India, France | Kannada | Narrative Short AUTOMAGIC

On his return home, androgynous-looking Madhu attempts to seduce Ratnakar, his rickshaw driver, who is practicing celibacy in preparation for a religious pilgrimage.

THE VOICELESS WATERS

(Sililare) (Post screening Q&A)

Director: Shirly Samarasinghe

90 MIN | 2026 | Sri Lanka | Sinhala | Narrative Feature | Asian Premiere

In a rural village, young dancer Durga dreams of his stage debut, but a series of betrayals and a wrongful arrest force him onto an unexpected path of self-discovery, love, and resilience.

As Durga (Sangeeth Prabhu) navigates desire, family expectations, and village rivalries, a violent incident alters the course of his life. Rescued from a correction centre by Tekla and her son Johannes, he finds support, belonging, and a chance to imagine a different future. Moving beyond the constraints of his past, Durga gradually builds a new life shaped by love and self-determination.

Filmmaker present

Festivals & Honors:

• World Premiere: 28th UK Asian Film Festival, London, 2026

Shirly Samarasinghe is a Sri Lankan filmmaker, screenwriter, and academic who began his career in theatre before moving into film. After gaining recognition for his award-winning short film Ahasa (The Sky), he directed the feature films Piyabanna Ayeth (2022) and Sililare (2026). He also teaches communication studies and serves as a judge and committee member for national arts and film awards.

5.45 PM

In Competition, Audience Award

Nominee

DREAMERS

Director:

Joy Gharoro-Akpojotor

85 MIN | 2025 | UK | English | Narrative Feature | Indian Premiere

Inside a UK asylum removal centre, a Nigerian migrant fighting for freedom discovers unexpected love and the courage to resist a system determined to confine her.

After living undocumented in the UK for two years, Isio is detained at the Hatchworth Removal Centre while awaiting an asylum hearing. Believing the system will reward obedience, she clashes with her rebellious roommate Farah, who has little faith in fairness or procedure. As friendship deepens into love and the threat of deportation grows, Isio must decide whether survival means following the rules or breaking free from them.

Festivals & Honors:

• World Premiere: 75th Berlin International Film Festival, 2025

• Pink Apple, Zurich, Switzerland

• Frameline 40, San Fransisco, USA

• Reeling Chicago LGBTQ+ International ilm Festival, USA

• Queer Lisboa International Film Festival, Lisboa & Porto, Portugal

• BFI London Film Festival, UK

• Sao Paulo International Film Festival, Sao Paulo, Brazil

• MIX Copenhagen LGBTQIA+ Film Festival, Denmark

• Seoul Inter Pride Film Festival, South Korea

• LesGaiCineMad, Madrid, Spain

• Melbourne Queer Film Festival, Australia

Joy Gharoro-Akpojotor is a filmmaker and founder of Joi Productions, whose credits include Blue Story and Boxing Day, the UK’s first all-Black Christmas film. Named a BAFTA Breakthrough and Screen International Star of Tomorrow in 2020, her short film For Love premiered at the BFI London Film Festival and screened at several international festivals.

ENDINGS, REWRITTEN

Total Duration: 89 MIN

Stories don’t always unfold the way the world expects them to but they can be reclaimed, reshaped, and reimagined. In these films, queer lives move through uncertainty and upheaval toward endings that feel earned, surprising, and deeply affirming. Because sometimes, the most powerful act is to rewrite how the story ends.

Directors: Mari Penteado, Eduardo Campos 19 MIN | 2025 | Brazil | Portuguese | Indian Premiere REVENGE (Vingança)

Virginia, a 43-year-old transgender woman works as a community health agent in Guarulhos, Brazil. Over the course of a single day, the film traces her routine as she navigates the physical and emotional demands of her job, moving through neighborhoods where care, vulnerability, and resilience intersect. While her work is often exhausting, it also brings moments of connection that reveal the depth of her empathy and strength.

16 MIN | 2025 | USA | English | Asian Premiere TOP

Directors: Jake Morgan-Scharhon, Danielle Morgan-Scharhon

Finally at the hospital for his long awaited gender affirming top surgery, Matt Levit, with lively girlfriend Leisha Meyer by his side, navigates the bureaucracy of the top surgery process. But once Matt is thrown deep into surgery day, he suddenly finds his present intertwining with his past self, Kimberly. Plunging through past and present, Matt is dropped into confronting his relationship with his chest and sudden loss of his mother, Nancy.

Director: Juan Grabosch 11 MIN | 2025 | Argentina | Spanish | Asian Premiere UNACCEPTABLE (Inimputable)

Lucy is a trans girl, who travels for gender reassignment surgery. Faces discrimination from everyone but a young thief, who puts her dream in danger.

Director: Rotem Mashash

10 MIN | 2024 | Israel | Hebrew | International Premiere

Jonathan, not yet out as a gay man, works at his father Aharon’s car repair shop. Today Jonathan wants to leave early to attend the gay pride parade, but needs to hide this from his viciously intolerant father. Aharon suspects Jonathan’s intentions and tries to prevent him from leaving. In the end, Jonathan will have to make a choice that is about much more than today’s crisis.

FINAL FRAME

*

* Aditya Nanda Award Nominee

Directors: Andrew Nuno, Adrian Nuno

14 MIN | 2025 | USA | English| Asian Premiere

Carlos, a film editor, is quickly trying to finish editing a film when he gets a call from a friend urging him to get to the hospital where his partner, Ben, is about to have a critical surgery. Carlos hesitates because he and Ben need the money from this job to keep them afloat financially. As the countdowns between the project deadline and Ben’s surgery collide, Carlos finds himself torn between turning in the film and being there for his partner.

19 MIN | 2025 | Spain | Spanish| Asian Premiere NOT CRAZY (No Estamos Locos)*

* Aditya Nanda Award Nominee

Director: Lucía Criado Rosas

At almost 20 years old, Juan apparently has a life like any other person of his age, studying the career he had always wanted, being the joy of his house and everyone’s friend, with a bright future and clear ideas. But something breaks this normality.

QTOONS

Film details can be found under its first screening on Sunday, June 7 at 10:00 AM at Liberty Cinema.

PRECEDED BY

TINY TAILS

Film details can be found under its first screening on Saturday, June 6 at 10:00 AM at Liberty Cinema.

REFLECT, RESONATE, REJOICE! (Festival Theme Package)

Film details can be found under its first screening on Thursday, June 4, at 9:30 AM at Liberty Cinema.

Panel Discussions & Allied Events at KASHISH 2026

Thursday, June 4

4:30 – 5:30 PM | Liberty Cinema

Panel Discussion | Behind the Celluloid, Beyond the Binary Cinema has helped bring queer and transgender lives into public view, but visibility alone does not guarantee dignity, rights, or equality. As conversations around gender identity, bodily autonomy, family acceptance, and transgender rights continue to evolve in India, this panel asks a crucial question: what comes after representation? Bringing together voices from activism, filmmaking, family, and lived experience, the discussion will explore the gap between screen portrayals and everyday realities, the stories that remain unheard, the challenges faced by trans and non-binary communities, and the role of allyship in creating meaningful change. Because after the credits roll, the real journey continues.

Panelists: Meghna Kulkarni, Radhika Nandgiri, Raj Kanuijiya, Ryyan Monkey

Moderator: Harish Iyer

Supported by: Flux Mumbai

Friday, June 5

5:55 – 7:30 PM | National Gallery of Modern Art

Beyond The Screen | Shobhaa De in conversation with biographer Sandip Roy

Some stories do not end when the credits roll. Newly introduced this year, ‘Beyond the Screen’ brings together literature and conversation to revisit remarkable artistic legacies. Extending the journey from film into text, the section invites audiences into deeper and more intimate dialogues with the lives and creative practices that shape our cultural memory.

In its inaugural edition, ‘Beyond the Screen’ turns its focus to the life and craft of the legendary Jatra performer Chapal Bhaduri through a discussion with author Sandip Roy on his book Chapal Rani: The Last Queen of Bengal, moderated by renowned Indian novelist and columnist Shobhaa De.

The discussion will be preceded by a screening of Performing the Goddess: Chapal Bhaduri’s Story (44 min), directed by Naveen Kishore. Details of the film can be found on the June 5 programme pages listed ahead under the NGMA venue section.

Saturday, June 6

1:45 – 3:15 PM | National Gallery of Modern Art

Fireside chat with Shaunak Sen moderated by Miriam Chandy Menacherry

Academy Award-nominated and internationally acclaimed filmmaker Shaunak Sen participates in a fireside chat titled Care, Chaos & Coexistence: Breathing Freely and with Equality, moderated by National Award-winning Indian documentary filmmaker Miriam Chandy Menacherry.

Drawing from the spirit of Sen’s acclaimed documentary All That Breathes, the conversation reflects on what it means to breathe freely in a fractured world-- through acts of care, coexistence, resilience, and solidarity. Extending beyond ecology into questions of identity, dignity, and equality, the discussion also resonates deeply with the LGBTQ+ community’s ongoing pursuit of spaces where one can live, love, and exists freely.

Saturday, June 6

4:30 – 5:30 PM | Liberty Cinema

Panel Discussion | Cinema, Culture & Tourism: The Spain–India Connection

As India and Spain celebrate the 2026 dual year of culture and tourism, this panel explores the intersections of cinema, travel, and cultural diplomacy through an inclusive lens. Indian films such as Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara, Dil Dhadakne Do, and Pathaan have significantly shaped Spain’s appeal among Indian travellers. Beyond tourism, cinema also influences ideas of identity, freedom, and belonging. The discussion will examine how films and tourism can foster cultural exchange while promoting safer, more inclusive travel experiences in both countries.

Speakers: Elena Orland Palazuelos, Anant Joshi, Santhana Krishnan Ravichandran, Usha Jadhav

Moderator: Rohini Ramnathan

Supported by: Spain Tourism Office in Mumbai

Sunday, June 7

5:45 – 6:45 PM | Alliance Française de Bombay

Round Table | KASHISH 2026 Filmmakers Interface

KASHISH Pride Film Festival has emerged as a renowned platform for showcasing diverse LGBTQ+ narratives from around the world. Each year, the festival welcomes a vibrant gathering of emerging filmmakers who come to KASHISH not only to present their films and participate in postscreening Q&As, but also to connect, collaborate, and build meaningful networks that may shape their future journeys.

In this candid conversation with a few of these filmmakers, we explore what drives them to tell these stories against all odds, what showcasing their work at KASHISH means to them, and what lies ahead in their creative journeys.

Panelists: KASHISH 2026 Filmmakers (TBD)

Moderator: (TBD)

Supported by: Whistling Woods International

Sunday, June 7

5:45 – 6:45 PM | Outer foyer, Liberty Cinema

KASHISH Kompound | KAGZI ISHQ and DECODING THE NAVRASA

As the auditorium is being prepared for the Awards & Closing Ceremony, two special events have been planned at the Outer Foyer of Liberty Cinema- our own ‘chaupal ’ for conversations, connections, and amusement.

 5:45 PM - KAGZI ISHQ (duration)

The Puppetarians - Sangya and Hashim, two seasoned Puppetarians unveil a new genre, “Spoken Puppetry” with this poetic tale of enduring love. Kaghzi Ishq follows two timeworn puppets whose hearts continue to sing despite the passage of time! Told through evocative monologues and poetry in Hindi and Urdu, this tender performance celebrates memory, longing, and the timeless power of human connection.

 6:15 PM - DECODING THE NAVRASA (duration)

An enchanting performance exploring the range and rhythm of the nine fundamental emotions of the Indian “Natyashastra”, presented by veteran film and theatre actor – Sujata Mehta. Through demonstration and storytelling, she brings alive the timeless art of expression that lies at the heart of Indian performance traditions.

KASHISH 2026 FESTIVAL TEAM

Festival Director

Sridhar Rangayan

Artistic Director

Saagar Gupta

Director of Operations

Aaron D'souza

Director of Registrations

Chandresh Mehta

Head of Production

Mona Ambegaonkar

Venue Manager – NGMA & Jury Coordinator

Abhra Das

Venue Manager – Liberty Cinema

Sumit Pawar

Venue Manager – Alliance Française

Ankita Pandey

Foyer In-charge – Liberty Cinema

Raj Kanaujiya

Technical Coordinators

Amar Rajpoot, Koustabh Mukherjee

Hospitality Coordinator

Daniel O'rane Wwindsor

Partners & Panel Coordinator

Aarsha Mukherjee

Production Team

Harshada Patil, Parikshit Shete

Hosts Costumes

Bipin Tanna

Preview Team

Aayushi Mandloi, Abhay Kulkarni, Abhra Das, Aiman Mukhtiar, Bhagirathi Raman, Judhajit Bagchi, Nadika Nadja, Nishtha Nishant, Ranadeep Bhattacharyya, Richa Vashishta

Opening Night Hosts

Anuj Talpade, SeduQtress SoniQa

Closing Night Hosts

Asif Ali Beg, Rohini Ramnathan

Festival Theme Animation

Jyotirmoy Acharya

Festival Trailer

Priyanka Arora

Digital Marketing

Durraiya Hasta (Digital Fix)

PR Agency

Actimedia PR & Digital

Website Design

Idigitize

Catalog Design

Yogesh Jahagirdar

Catalog Program Notes

Saagar Gupta

Opening & Closing Ceremony

Show Runner

Jigar Vora

Opening & Closing Ceremony Script

Divya Vinekar

Art Director

Sumeet Patil

FRIENDS OF KASHISH 2026

Thanks to each one of the below contributors to our crowdfunding donation campaign. All of you have made this festival possible, with your support.

Animesh Bahadur FAMILY

Mohamad Khaki FAMILY

Sharon & Daniel Otmar FAMILY

Anonymous TWOSOME

Hrishit Shroff TWOSOME

Mayuresh Tapale TWOSOME

Alan Maurice WELL WISHER

Jyotsna Nambiar WELL WISHER

Parag Pradhan WELL WISHER

Anonymous FRIEND

Baridalyne Nongkynrih FRIEND

Harjant Gill FRIEND

Johann Arora FRIEND

Lalit Jyotiyana FRIEND

Sanjiva Cooke FRIEND

Viji Venkatesh FRIEND

Arnab Nandy ALLY

Aruna Desai ALLY

Grant Vigden ALLY

Kartik Desai ALLY

Niraj ALLY

Shuchita Singh Basu ALLY

Abhishek Gijare BUDDY

Chirag Grover BUDDY

Chitra Palekar BUDDY

Davy Vanobbergen BUDDY

Deepak Kashyap BUDDY

Dhruv S BUDDY

Gazal Dhaliwal BUDDY

Ivan John BUDDY

Juthika Nagpal BUDDY

Meghna Kulkarni BUDDY

Raj Dharmaraj BUDDY

Surekha Kanse BUDDY

Vikram Sikka BUDDY

Vinod Ranganath BUDDY

Andrea Kuhn BELIEVER

Ankit Bhuptani BELIEVER

Balachandran Ramiah BELIEVER

We are still in need for finances to manage this year’s festival. If you can donate, please visit https://pages.razorpay.com/KASHISH2026

KASHISH 2026 Partners

FILM INDEX

Narrative Features

Amantes

Astronaut Lovers (Los amantes astronautas)

Blue Lights

Cactus Pears (Sabar Bonda)

Dreamers

I Am Going To Miss You (Eu Vou Ter Saudades de Você)

Instaboys

Ivan & Hadoum

Jameela

JIMPA

Love & Revolution (Te estoy amando locamente)

LSD 2: Love, Sex Aur Dhokha 2

Maspalomas

Na Aavadti Goshta

On The Road (En el camino)

Pucallpa (Pucallpa la europea)

The Crowd (Jamaat)

The Dress (Gunyo Cholo)

The Last First Time (El fin de las primeras veces)

The Voiceless Waters (Sililare)

Warla

Whisperings of the Moon

Documentary Features

“A Minuscule Minority”

A Deeper Love: The Story of Miss Peppermint

Barbara Forever

Heightened Scrutiny

Ninxs (Niñxs )

On the Path to Leo (En camino a Leo)

Out Laws

Queering India

The Third

Documentary Shorts

Babli by Night

Because I Couldn’t Stop For Death

On It

I Have Two Daughters (Meri Do Betiyan Hain)

Ibu

It Will Always End in the End (Ça va finir par finir)

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (Kus kus beng beng)

Life of Kai

Never Stand Down: The Quraishi

Family

Out of Shadows

Performing The Goddess: Chapal

Bhaduri’s Story

Porshi

Thanks Babs!

The Sailor & The Chef

Twilight Ladies

Under The Same Moon

Unfurled

Welcome to Tool Shed

Indian Narrative Shorts

A Handshake Later

Automagic

Billi

Cupboard Pickle (Almari ka Achaar)

Greeshmaant

Hills Don’t Dance Alone

I Am Not Her Lover (

নও)

Jo’s Turn! (Tumhari Baari, Jo!)

Nisha

Roses are…

Served Cold

Shape of a Desire

Tara

Tea Powder (Chayapodi)

The Crack (Fatol)

The Expiry Date

The Red Umbrella

This Way (Iss Taraf)

Upon Starvation (Upaasmaar)

Body of Our Own

Can’t Make A Flower Grow By Pulling

What The Sky Forgot (Khawab Ho

Tum Ya Koi Kabootar)

Your Fragrance (Tumhari Khsushboo)

International Narrative Shorts

A Thing about Kashem

Anyway, I Piss Sitting Down (Bref, j’pisse assis)

Birthmark ( هوهش)

Blackout

Blue (Azul)

Bolero Rojo

Cats Can Teach You To Die Alone

Cheers Camden

Chico

Delay

Dinner for Six (Jantar Pra Seis)

Dread

Fair Dance (Baile de feria)

Final Frame

Flight Risk

Francisco Here

Holding Your Breath (El bañador)

Homecoming

How’s Archie?

i Dream

I Hate Helen

Killjote

Krizalit (Chrysalis)

Landfill

Last Day of Us (우리들의 마지막 날)

Linger (Ponto e Vírgula)

Mad Dog (Molosse)

Maybe Yes Or Maybe Not (Potser sí o potser no)

Mayflies

Molly Muse

Muses

My Age Now

My Big Fat Gay Wedding

My Personal U

Narmook

Never Never Never

Nipple (Teth)

No Air (Sufoco)

No Contest (La Premiére Marche)

Not Crazy (No estamos locos)

One Day This Kid

Only the Dead Fish Go With the Flow

Pakka

Pepper

Picking Crew

Please Be Normal

Precious Fantasy

Pride

Ramiro

Revenge (Vingança)

Same Time Next Year?

Satyr

Showtime (像这样的时刻)

Sister of Mine

Slow Down The Fall (Ralentir la Chute)

Spiders On My Lashline

Stallion and a Crystal Ball (Stallion y la Bola de Cristal)

Stigma (Estigma)

Taxi Moto

The Blame Silence (Além da Culpa)

The Devil’s Garden (El jardí del diable)

The Motorcycle (La Moto)

The Night of Firefly

The Prick ( 莿 )

The Wind in Ash

They, With an Axe (Entró con un hacha)

Top

Unacceptable (Inimputable)

Watching Over Infinity (Vista Sobre o Infinito)

With Love, Lottie

Within A Quiet Body

Wyd?

Yellow Bucket

Animation Shorts

April

Cleanliness

From Male and Female

Gigi

The Eating of an Orange WHALE 52 - Suite for Man, Boy, and Whale

Within (Bheetar)

Special Presentation LSD 2: LOVE, SEX AND BETRAYAL 2 120 MIN INSTABOYS 95 MIN

Panel Discussion BEHIND THE CELLULOID, BEYOND THE BINARY “ A MINUSCULE MINORITY ” 63 MIN

Country Focus Opening Feature LOVE & REVOLUTION 108 MIN

GENDERATION SHORTS (8 films) 10 7 MIN PRECIOUS FANTASY; I HATE HELEN; SHOWTIME ; A HANDSHAKE LATER ; HOLDING YOUR BREATH; NARMOOK; SISTER OF MINE; WHALE 52SUITE FOR MAN, BOY, AND WHALE

REFLECT, RESONATE, REJOICE (3 films) 45 min TWILIGHT LADIES ; WELCOME TO TOOL SHED ; PORSHI STUDENT SHORTS COMPETITION 1 (4 films) 64 MIN i DREAM ; THE NIG HT OF FIREFLY; TEA POWDER ; UPON STARVATION

WED June 3 THU June 4

Indian Docu mentary Centrepiece QUEERING INDIA 63 MIN A (DIS)LIKED STORY 120 MIN ASTRONAUT LOVERS 116 MIN

FAMILY MATTERS (5 films) 61 MIN HOMECOMING; SAME TIME NEXT YEAR?; PEPPER; MY BIG FAT GAY WEDDING ; YELLOW BUCKET

DOCUMENTARY SHORTS COMP (4 films) 74 MIN THANKS BABS! ; NEVER STAND DOWN: THE QURAISHI FAMILY; LIFE OF KAI; THE SAILOR & THE CHEF

Cortos españolesSPANISH SHORTS (6 films) 10 4 MIN MY PERSONAL U ; FAIR DANCE ; THEY, WITH AN AXE ; KILLJOTE ; MAYBE YES OR MAYBE NOT ; F RANCISCO

INDIAN MASALA MIX 1 ( 4 films) 79 MIN BILLI; SHAPE OF A DESIRE; THE RED UMBRELLA; GREESHMAANT Panel Discussion CINEMA, CULTURE & TOURISM : THE SPAIN –INDIA CONNECTION I NDIAN NARRATIVE SHORTS COMP 1 ( 3 films) 56 MIN THIS WAY ; THE CRACK ; NISHA Indian Narrative Centrepiece CACTUS PEARS 117 MIN ON THE ROAD 93 MIN SUN June 7 QTOONS (5 fi l ms) 41 min WITHIN; CLEANLINESS; THE EATING OF AN ORANGE; FROM MALE AND FEMALE ; GIGI INTERNATIONAL NARRATIVE SHORTS COMPETITION 3 (5 films) 86 MIN THE PRICK; THE DEVIL'S GARDEN ; KRIZALIT ; THE MOTORCYCLE; NEVER NEVER NEVER INDIAN MASALA MIX 2 ( 3 films) 66 MIN CUPBOARD PICKLE ; THE EXPIRY DATE ; TARA INDIAN NARRATIVE SHORTS COMP 2 ( 3 films) 66 MIN HILLS DON’T DANCE ALONE ; SERVED COLD; JO'S TURN! INDIAN NARRATIVE SHORTS COMP 3 (1 film) 34 MIN YOUR FRAGRANCE 7.309.30 PM AWARD CEREMONY Closing Night Film MASPALOMAS 115 MIN Schedule subject to change at the organizers’ discretion, without prior notice. 7.00

BEST OF IRIS (3 films) 47 MIN BLACKOUT ; WITH LOVE, LOTTIE ; ONE DAY THIS KID WARLA 73 MIN

FRI June 5

TINY TAILS (4 films) 63 MIN APRIL ; MAD DOG; HOW'S ARCHIE?; NIPPLE OUT LAWS 79 MIN IVAN & HADOUM 101 MIN

SAT June 6

INTERNATIONAL NARRATIVE SHORTS COMPETITION 1 (5 films) 102 MIN FLIGHT RISK; THE BLAME SILENCE; CATS CAN TEACH YOU TO DIE ALONE; MOLLY ; TAXI MOTO

THU June 4 ON THE PATH TO LEO 90 MIN

STUDENT SHORTS COMPETITION 2 ( 3 films) 55 MIN IBU; BLUE ; DELAY South Asian Spectrum JAMEELA 93 MIN THE CROWD 70 MIN FRI June 5

PROGRAMMERS' PICKS ( 5 films) 89 MIN SLOW DOWN THE FALL; ONLY THE DEAD FISH GO WITH THE FLOW ; LANDFILL; LINGER; CHICO International Documentary Centrepiece HEIGHTENED SCRUTINY 89 MIN THE LAST FIRST TIME 76 MIN FACE 2 FACE ( 6 films) 8 9 MIN RAMIRO; ANYWAY, I PISS SITTING DOWN ; PICKING CREW; SPIDERS ON MY LASHLINE; CHEERS CAMDEN; SATYR BLUE LIGHTS 100 MIN SAT June 6 A DEEPER LOVE: THE STORY OF MISS PEPPERMINT 86 MIN AMANTES 106 MIN

SAPPHIC SNAPSHOTS ( 4 films) 79 MIN DINNER FOR SIX; WATCHING OVER INFINITY; MAYFLIES ; UNFURLED MATTERS OF HEART ( 6 films) 99 MIN MUSES; PAKKA; WITHIN A QUIET BODY; MY AGE NOW ; MUSE; HERE PUCALLPA 105 MIN SUN June 7 NINX 83 MIN WARLA 73 MIN DREAMERS 85 MIN

TRANSOME LIVES (4 films) 94 MIN CAN'T MAKE A FLOWER GROW BY PULLING ON IT; KISS KISS BANG BANG ; BABLI BY NIGHT; BODY OF OUR OWN 5.456.45 PM EMERGING FILMMAKER S INTERFACE

Schedule subject to change at the organizers’ discretion, without prior notice.

10 . 0 0 AM –11.30 AM 11.45 AM –1.30 PM 1.45 PM –3.15

FAMILIES WE BECOME ( 3 films) 72 MIN UNDER THE SAME MOON ; I HAVE TWO DAUGHTERS; BEC AUSE I COULDN'T STOP FOR DEATH

DESIRES & DISCOVERIES (4 films) 58 MIN NO AIR; LAST DAY OF US; WHAT THE SKY FORGOT; I AM NOT HER LOVER

LIVING, LOVING, PO S ITIVE ( 4 films) 7 0 MIN IT WILL ALWAYS END IN THE END; OUT OF SHADOWS; STIGMA ; BOLE RO ROJO

South Asian Spectrum GUNYO CHOLO:THE DRESS 127 MIN THE THIRD 61 MIN preceded by ROSES ARE… 40 MIN FRI June 5 WHISPERINGS OF THE MOON 85 MIN

THU June 4

Beyond the Screen PERFORMING THE GODDESS: CHAPAL BHADURI'S STORY 44 MIN with BOOK READING & DISCUSSION WITH SANDIP ROY

GENDERATION SHORTS (8 films) 10 7 MIN PRECIOUS FANTASY; I HATE HELEN; SHOWTIME ; A HANDSHAKE LATER ; HOLDING YOUR BREATH; NARMOOK; SISTER OF MINE; WHALE 52SUITE FOR MAN, BOY, AND WHALE

International Narrative Centrepiece I AM GOING TO MISS YOU 87 MIN

BARBARA FOREVER 103 MIN

QUEERIOSITIES ( 5 films) 79 MIN A THING ABOUT KASHEM; PLEASE BE NORMAL; STALLION AND A CRYSTAL BALL; WYD?; AUTOMAGIC FIRESIDE CHAT WITH SHAUNAK SEN 75 MIN

INTERNATIONAL NARRATIVE SHORTS COMPETITION 2 (4 films) 66 MIN BIRTHMARK ; DREAD ; THE WIND IN ASH ; NO CONTEST

South Asian Spectrum THE VOICELESS WATERS 90 MIN DREAMERS 85 MIN SUN June 7

SAT June 6

QTOONS (5 fi l ms) 41 min WITHIN; CLEANLINESS; THE EATING OF AN ORANGE; FROM MALE AND FEMALE; GIGI with TINY TAILS (4 films) 63 MIN APRIL ; MAD DOG; HOW'S ARCHIE?; NIPPLE 1 .452 . 30 PM REFLECT, RESONATE, REJOICE (3 films) 45 min TWILIGHT LADIES ; WELCOME TO TOOL SHED ; PORSHI

ENDINGS, REWRITTEN (6 films) 89 MIN REVENGE; TOP; UNACCEPTABLE; PRIDE; FINAL FRAME; NOT CRAZY

Schedule subject to change at the organizers’ discretion, without prior notice.