Chennai:- Chennai International Queer Film Festival held from July 28 to 30, 2017. Real Desires is a three-day series of feauture films. Shorts and Documentaries show casing sexuality and gender diversity issues.
A collection of Chennai-based groups and NGOs working on gender and sexuality, in partnership with Goethe-Institut Chennai | Max Mueller Bhavan, brings you Reel Desires: .The principal organizers of CIQFF 2017 are Orinam, Goethe-Institut, Nirangal, RIOV, SAATHII, and the East-West Center for Counselling and Training.
Jayanthi (name changed) wasn’t sure how to tell her parents she’s a lesbian. So she brought them to ‘Reel Desires: Chennai International Queer Film Festival (CIQFF)’ two years ago. Over the next few months, when she explained why she didn’t want to get married to a man, her parents were more understanding than they had been before. In a way, the festival helped her come out to her parents.
Queer film festivals such as CIQFF are not just forums to debate Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender (LGBT), they have deeper impact making people think and feel inclusive. For instance, Aayush Sinha, 28, now living in the US, attended his first LGBT film festival in 2012. “I felt intimidated being around so many LGBT people and sat in the last row,” he admitted.
Apart from helping sort out his own dilemmas, the exposure to the queer-themed films pushed him to become a volunteer and initiate discussions on topics like inclusive workplaces. “Aayush also got the human resource team at his workplace to organise more LGBT events,” said L Ramakrishnan, a volunteer of CIQFF, adding the film festival acts as a contact for those who don’t know others from the community and helps them get in touch with support groups.