For the first time, Chennai Dost, a community for lesbians, gays and bisexuals, along with Alliance Francaise of Madras, is organising an LGBT Film Festival in an attempt to bring to light the struggles faced by the community. The three-day fest is to be held in the city from June 7 to 9.
During the festival, about 30 films of 2-45 minutes duration will be screened at Alliance Francaise. “There will be films made in Spanish, French and Portugese apart from four Tamil films. They will portray our life and the difficulties we face. We approached so many people in the film industry and others for this fest but none of them was ready to encourage us,” said Vikranth Prasanna of Chennai Dost.
These films in foreign and Indian languages have been chosen from a total of 120 films. Besides, a photo and art exhibition on the LGBT community would also be held.
Mediapersons and those from the film and art fraternity, who have immensely contributed to the community by highlighting their issues, will be felicitated with a ‘Rainbow Ambassador’ award. The awards will be given away by film director Balu Mahendra.
A discussion has also been planned with panelists from film, theatre, television and literature fields, on the portrayal of the LGBT community by the media.
Four films from the 30 films to be screened will be chosen and awarded on the final day of the fest.
Narthagi, a full-length feature film released two years ago, which received widespread appreciation in many European countries, will also be screened on the closing day. “This film festival will give everyone an idea about the community and to clear all doubts pertaining to our sexuality,” said actor and model Malaika.