Stills are available for download at https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1vUnmOyBYLb2jvHrljE1D5EPVClwsPGv7?usp=share_link

Brochure is available here.

For more information, contact 98433-73433 or 98415-57983, email chennaiintlqueerfilmfest@gmail.com or visit www.ciqff.org.
The eleventh annual edition of Reel Desires: Chennai International Queer Film Festival will be held at the Goethe-Institut, Chennai, from August 18-20, 2023. Reel Desires features films, shorts and documentaries showcasing sexuality and gender diversity issues. This year’s line-up consists of 30 films from 12 countries, selected via a community-led review process. The principal organisers of CIQFF 2023 are Orinam and Goethe-Institut, working in collaboration with Nirangal Charitable Trust and SAATHII.
On Friday, August 18, the inauguration will be followed by a short performance by Chennai-based drag artist Nethu Nightu Neelambari. Shorts to be screened include Chummy Matrimony (2021), Thine Own Self (2021), That Dark Day (2022), Vaanavil (2022) Stiletto (2023), and Bésame (Kiss Me) (2022). Friday’s feature-length documentary film Who Owns The Sky? (Wem Gehört der Himmel) features interviews with activists from artistic and academic environments in Argentina and Switzerland. They question the validity of enforced hetero norms and their consequences, in response to an innovative Gender Identity Law that was passed in Argentina in 2012. The discussions are embedded and impressively addressed in art activism through performances that centre the body as a political instrument.

Films on Saturday, August 19, will focus on families that queer and trans people are born into, forced into or choose for ourselves. These include Impasse (2022) that features the life of Ashok, an immigrant auto driver from Tamil Nadu, living in Mumbai, who is torn between his life of married respectability with a wife and child, and his desire for men. Binary Error (2022) from Kerala highlights the choice some queer and trans people have to make between their natal families and living their truth. The joyous Russian animation All Men Should Have Shoes (2021) narrates the story of trans guy Herman, whose supportive mother believes that only men’s shoes will help her son complete his social transition. A highlight will be the film-festival premiere of Ekka Dokka Tekka (One Two Three) by Tirthankar Guha Thakurta. In this short, three popular mainstream writings in Bengali literature (Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay and Rabindranath Tagore) are retold through a queer lens set in Kolkata.

Saturday’s film screenings will be followed by a panel discussion Queer Families: Beyond the Marriage Equality Debate. Panelists, who include members of Chennai’s LGBTQIA+ communities and allies, explore the notion of family beyond what is affirmed by our laws, culture, religion, media, and advertisements. The panel discussion assumes relevance in light of the awaited Supreme Court verdict on marriage equality. Following the panel discussion will be a hip-hop party on the roof of Goethe-Institut, with entry limited to 100 persons.
Films to be screened on Sunday, August 20, include Diva, a fan letter to Diva Cat Thy, a Vietnamese trans woman, street food vendor, and performer, who openly shares her life and struggles daily on social media. Oas (Dewdrops) (2022) is the story of two queer women who broke up some time back but are still in love. In Required Reading (2022), a cis, straight-identifying male and a non-binary person fall in love. Will they find the courage to be honest with both themselves and the world? Pussy Cruising (2021) tackles the topic of lesbian cruising in a humorous way and takes viewers on a flirtatious journey between vibrant fantasy and mundane reality. The just-released short documentary Transcending Boundaries (2023) features queer, trans, and intersex activists speaking about struggles for transgender rights in Kerala.
On Sunday evening, the play Neela Bhoomi directed by Tamilarasi R., captures the life of a lesbian couple as they strive to make a home together against all odds.
The closing film is the acclaimed feature Neubau (German, Vietnamese). It follows a trans man Markus, who is torn between his love for his grandmothers in need of care and his longing for urban self- determination in Berlin. When Vietnamese technician Duc enters his life, things become more complicated, as Markus has to decide if he should stay or go.
As LGBTQIA+ collectives in India advocate for inclusive institutions and reduced discrimination, we also work to engender change in hearts and minds, a task substantially more challenging than legal reform. One way we do this is by participating in and producing cultures that reflect both the universality and specificity of our experiences.
Reel Desires: Chennai International Queer Film Festival 2023, curated under this name since 2013, is the latest in a series of over 18 queer-themed film festivals held in Chennai to date, beginning in November 2004. The event is free and open to individuals 18 years and older.
Stills are available for download at https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1vUnmOyBYLb2jvHrljE1D5EPVClwsPGv7?usp=share_link

Venue: Goethe-Institut Chennai | Max Mueller Bhavan, 4 Rutland Gate 5th Street,  Nungambakkam, Chennai

Dates:
July 29: Friday 6 pm – 9 pm (3 hours)
July 30: Saturday 3 pm – 9 pm (6 hours)
July 31: Sunday 3 pm – 9 pm (6 hours)

Information: 98415-57983, chennaiintlqueerfilmfest@gmail.com and website ciqff.org

A collection of Chennai-based collectives and NGOs working on gender and sexuality, in partnership with Goethe-Institut Chennai | Max Mueller Bhavan brings you Reel Desires: Chennai International Queer Film Festival, July 29-31, 2016. Reel Desires is a three-day series of feature films, shorts, and documentaries showcasing sexuality and gender diversity issues.  The 26 films selected for this year span eight countries, and include shorts, documentaries and feature length films. They collectively chronicle the global struggle for rights of lesbian, gay, bi and transgender people, explore individual and collective journeys that cross physical and metaphorical borders, and reflect the universality and specificity of LGBT lives across space and time.

The principal organisers are Orinam, a local collective that has been working since 2003 to end discrimination and provide social and support spaces for the LGBTQI communities in Chennai, Goethe-Institut and several community groups and NGOs including Nirangal, RIOV, SAATHII, and East-West Center for Counseling.

Highlights include Hansal Mehta’s acclaimed feature Aligarh, a depiction of the life of Prof Siras, who succumbed to homophobia at the university where he was teaching. Shorts from Germany’s Berlinale andDresden film festivals will also be screened at Reel Desires.

This year, Reel Desires, is pleased to partner with British Council in presenting a selection of shorts from fiveFilms4freedom, the world’s first global, digital LGBT film festival. fiveFilms4freedom is selection of  audience favourites from BFI Flare, London’s Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) Film Festival, and are being screened in select cities, including Chennai.

Besides films, Reel Desires will also feature dance performances by members of the community Ponni, Anjali and Taejha Singh, and a panel discussion on Ending Gender-and Sexuality-based Violence.

Reel Desires is a reminder of our common humanity that transcends boundaries of sexuality, gender identity and culture.

Media are invited to kindly preview and/or review the event. For more information, including content for curtain-raisers, hi-res images, and interviews with filmmakers, contact chennaiintlqueerfilmfest@gmail.com, text 98415-57983 and visit website ciqff.org

We are pleased to invite you to Reel Desires: Chennai International Queer Film Festival 2015. The film festival is being held from July 24 to 26, 2015, at the auditorium of Goethe-Institut / Max Mueller Bhavan in Nungambakkam, Chennai.

Times are
July 24th (Friday) 6.00-9.00 pm
July 25th (Saturday) 3.00-9.00 pm
July 26th (Sunday) 3.00-9.00 pm

The event is open to all, and non-ticketed.

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Reel Desires is a three-day series of feature films, shorts, and documentaries showcasing sexuality and gender diversity issues. The focus of the film festival is on making mainstream audiences aware of lesbian, gay, bi, transgender, queer and intersex (LGBTQI) issues, creating an accepting and safe environment within our families and communities, and highlighting the intersections among sexuality, gender, and other identities and forms of marginalization, such as disability, religion, class and caste.

Reel Desires is being organized by Goethe-Institute in association with Orinam, a local collective that has been working since 2003 to end gender- and sexuality- based discrimination and provide social and support spaces for the LGBTI communities in Chennai. Partnering with Orinam and Goethe-Institut are community groups and NGOs, including Nirangal, RIOV, Nir, SAATHII, and East-West Center for Counselling. We also acknowledge with gratitude, the support and contributions of individuals unaffiliated with any of these entities.

Over 95 submissions were received this year, and the final line-up includes 23 films from eight countries, with India and Germany topping the list. The feature film highlight is the India premiere of Pride, a 2014 British LGBT-related historical film written by Stephen Beresford and directed by Matthew Warchus. It was screened as part of the Directors’ Fortnight section of the 2014 Cannes Film Festival, where it won the Queer Palm award. The film is based on a true story of a group of young lesbian and gay activists who raised money to help families affected by the British miners’ strike in 1984. They called themselves “Lesbians and Gays Support Miners (LGSM)” The film highlights the intersectionality between the queer movement and other marginalized groups, and will be screened Sunday 6.45 pm.

Other feature-film highlights include Nachthelle and Papilio Buddha.  Reel Desires also has the honour of hosting the film-festival premieres of shorts by transgender women Bharathi Kannamma and Sujatha Pandian from Tamil Nadu, and music videos featuring Amrita Sarkar (West Bengal) and L. Kanta (Manipur). The music videos are part of Songs of the Caravan, an audio album by transgender artists across India.

Documentary notables include:

• Bozja Napaka (God’s Mistake), a moving account of a transwoman’s life growing up as a child assigned male at birth in Yugoslavia and surviving psychiatrists, school, military service and religion
• Gay Healers,  an expose of reparative therapy being practised by health-care providers in present-day Germany
• Mondial 2010, a video-journal of a Lebanese gay couple on a road trip to Ramallah
• Our Marriages, that describes the lives of four lesbians in contract marriages with gay men in China
• Purple Skies, an account of the struggles and triumphs of lesbian, bi women and trans men in India

Queering Dance, a performance by Taejha Singh, will kick off the festival on Friday, 24 July, 6.00 pm.  Bundled with the film festival will be a panel discussion on free speech and creative expression, with reference to portrayal of LGBTQI people in the media, on Saturday 25 July, 5.30-6.30 pm. A critically acclaimed performance Colour of Trans 2.0 by Panmai Theatre artistes Living Smile Vidya, Angel Glady and Gee Ameena Suleiman will be staged on Sunday, 26 July, 5.45-6.45 pm at the venue.

Reel Desires: Chennai International Queer Fim Festival 2015 (curated under this name since 2013) is the latest in a series of queer-themed film-festivals in Chennai that have been held over the past decade. In November 2004, volunteers of Orinam (then called MP) helped SAATHII and Alliance Francaise of Madras curate the city’s first gender-sexuality film festival. That event triggered tremendous interest among the city’s emerging queer communities in film, and set the stage for subsequent queer film festivals in 2005, 2006, 2007, 2012, 2013 and 2014; as well as inclusion of films with queer content in mainstream film festivals. For more information on organizers of film festivals and of individual LGBT-themed film screenings through the years, see http://ciqff.net/briefhistory

For more information, email chennaiintlqueerfilmfest@gmail.com, call +91 95661-31704 or +91 98415 57983, or follow @ciqff on Twitter.

Click here to download the CIQFF 2015 – Brochure

Trailers, images and write-ups on many of the films are available online at http://ciqff.net. Descriptions of partner collectives and groups are at http://ciqff.net/us and responses to frequently asked questions athttp://ciqff.net/faq

To learn more about LGBTQI issues, information for our friends and families, healthcare, media, faith/religion, law and law-enforcement, visit https://new2.orinam.net

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* To enhance accessibility, the venue has ramps and aisle space for wheelchairs. It also has a gender-neutral restroom.

I wish Dedh Ishqiya had done for the queer community what Tarey Zameen Par did for dyslexia but as Bharadwaj Rangan said in his inaugural speech during CIQFF 2014, it was still ambiguous in the end as to whether the protagonist and the loyal aide were lovers or just friends.

It is this very ambiguity that the queer community wishes to overcome. We are done with living in shadows and socially acceptable allegories. We struggle with the issue of social marginalization every day of our lives. And as with all issues, the first step is to give it a name and talk about it. And yes, we are here and we are Queer. We will tag anything associated with us as Queer.

What happens when a bright student like Mihir discovers the sexuality of one of his big time crushes, his senior? Do all same-sex relationships last for just a few moments? Will this one go beyond?

Avinash Matta, a student of film direction at Ramoji Academy of Film and Television, resides in Hyderabad. He was in Chennai for the screening of his film as part of Reel Desires, Chennai International Queer Film Festival July 11-13, 2013. He also participated in a panel discussion ‘Film and Theatre for LGBT Rights and Social Change’ with other directors from film and theatre.

View Kuch Palon Mein below:

Introduction: Across India, ordinary people who are straight/cisgender allies, including friends, family, classmates, teachers and colleagues, are taking steps to enhance the quality of life of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans* or intersex (LGBTI) person/people in their lives.

These allies are united with us in the fight for equality. In this spirit, and in connection with the fifth year of Chennai Pride, we are delighted to launch Catalysts for Inclusion: The Orinam Ally Video Contest to explore the narratives of our allies who support the cause of LGBTI rights.

If this sounds like you or someone you know, then we want to see you in action! If you haven’t done this before, check out some basic tips on making a video here.

Theme of the contest: Allies supporting LGBT rights

Duration of the Video: A maximum of 5 (five) minutes

Categories: The videos may fall in one or more of the following categories –

➢ Stories of how you, as an individual, group of friends/colleagues, or family, responded to an LGBTI classmate, colleague or family member coming out, and/or helped create a safe space on campus, at your workplace or even at home

➢ Non-LGBTI organizations in India that have made a difference to lives of LGBTI people.

➢ Music, art, photography, poetry, and prose strung into a video that can inspire others to become allies.

Submission: You may submit your video as a password-protected downloadable file (avi, mov, mpg) via vimeo, dropbox or wetransfer. Alternately you can mail/courier us a CD/DVD. For the address or to send us your link, email chennaiintlqueerfilmfest@gmail.com In your mail, please mention ‘Orinam Ally Video Contest’

Language and subtitling: The dialogue, speech, text and/or lyrics may be in any Indian language, including English. We ask that you subtitle in English, as needed.

Who can apply: Straight/cisgender allies based primarily in India (or diaspora of Indian origin): you may be a classmate, friend, colleague, parent, sibling or other relative of a lesbian, gay, bi, trans* or intersex person

Last Date for Submission: On or before 6.00 pm (IST), Sunday, June 30, 2013.

Announcement of winning videos: A panel will review submissions and select a group of no more than six finalists. All will be featured at Reel Desires 2013, the Chennai International Queer Film Festival to be held July 11-13, 2013, and the audience will select the best. The winner and runners up will subsequently be posted on http://Orinam.net and http://Chennaiintlqueerfilmfest.blogspot.com. A cash prize will be awarded to the winner.

Have an idea? Not sure how to proceed?

Check out our blog post with resources and tips on video making. It is easy, we swear.

Information resources for filmmakers

Still have questions? Need help? We are here for you.
Feel free to contact us

Chennai has been organizing LGBT film screenings since 2004, including film festivals in 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2012. Local groups have also organized film screenings during Pride month and at other times of the year.

This year, we are pleased to bring you Reel Desires: Chennai International Queer Film Festival 2013, a collaborative effort between Orinam and Goethe Institut/ Max Mueller Bhavan, Chennai, with the support of other local collectives.

The festival will be held on three evenings from July 11-13, 2013, and will showcase Indian and international feature films, shorts and documentaries. There will also be a panel discussion.

We invite entries of feature-length films, shorts and documentaries for screening at the event. Entries will be reviewed by a panel, and selections notified by 15 May 2013.

If you are interested in having your work considered for this festival, please email orinamwebber@gmail.com or use the form below

Reel Desires: CIQFF 2013 Call for Submissions

Visit http://chennaiintlqueerfilmfest.blogspot.in/ for updates.

* Orinam is a Chennai-based collective that has been working for the past ten years with LGBT communities through local social and support events, online and offline resources, advocacy and the arts. For more information see www.orinam.net, follow us on twitter @chennaipride, visit us on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/groups/323829627740270/ or contact us at 9841557983 or using our contact form

To submit an entry for consideration, please use the form below: