The Pride Month has begun and it’s the best time to catch some really hard-hitting and heart-warming movies at the 14th edition of Kashish Mumbai International Queer Film Festival. South Asia’s biggest LGBTQIA+ film festival, Kashish will be held at Mumbai's Liberty Cinema and Alliance Française as well as online. The festival will screen 110 films from 41 countries at its on-ground edition which will also include five documentary films from Singapore, Brazil, the US and Czech Republic.
Here's a curated selection of the most compelling of the lot:
Pine Cone
Director: Onir 105 minutes / India / Hindi June 7, 2023, 9.30pm, Liberty Cinema
Onir's highly anticipated film Pine Cone features three stories from the life of filmmaker Sid Mehra as he negotiates relationships in his search for love. What sets this film apart is its unique narrative structure, with the stories unfolding in reverse chronological order, spanning the years 2019, 2009, and 1999. It’s also heartening to know that Onir has cast queer actors to play the role, reclaiming the narrative from screen appropriation. Talking about the film, Onir said, “Pine Cone comes from memories of love, loss, deceit and forgiveness. Forgiving the world, that special person and oneself and celebrating the beauty of our journey — the rainbow journey.”
Chrissy Judy
Dir: Todd Flaherty 96 min / the US / English June 10, 2023, 11 am, Liberty Cinema
Todd Flaherty's Chrissy Judy tells the story of the falling out between a pair of “good Judys”, which is short for best gay friends. They are more than friends, but less than lovers. While not specifically a drag movie, Crissy Judy portrays the world of drag with an open, sometimes unflattering, eye. The narrative itself doesn't break any new grounds, but the treatment of the subject is most energising since it's all so raw. Many queer people (especially men) will be able to relate to the central relationship and its blending of friendship and romance. Plus James Tison as the fabulously named “Samoa” is a treat to watch.
Ek Jagah Apni
Dir: Ektara Collective 88 min / India / Hind June 10, 2023, 5.45 pm, Liberty Cinema
Ek Jagah Apni (A Place of Our Own) follows trans women Laila and Roshni’s struggle to rent an apartment in Bhopal. A counsellor at a non-government organisation, Laila wants a decent home in a respectable locality. The 123-minute film takes a nuanced look at the animosity and violence directed against trans people. It soon becomes evident that their search for a home is also their ongoing search for a place in this society that wants to keep them away. Manisha Soni and Muskan, two real-life trans women who seem to be channelling their own experiences, play the roles in a touching way.
ALSO READ: Review | A joyland of their own: Ektara Collective's 'Ek Jagah Apni'
Esther Newton Made Me Gay
Dir: Jean Carlomusto 92 / USA / English June 8, 2023, 4 pm, Alliance Française de Bombay
This fascinating documentary explores the life and times of living lesbian icon and cultural anthropologist Esther Newton. The film tells her story of awakening to gay life in the 1950s, the women’s liberation movement and lesbian-feminism and drag culture. The tone of the film is light and fluid and has some amazing archival footage of Esther’s other passion….dog training poodles! This one will make you emotional, enthralled and excited.
Mama Bears
Dir: Daresha Kyi 90 min / USA / English June 10, 2023, 10.30 am, Alliance Française
Mama Bears, directed by Daresha Kyi, shares the powerful story of two Christian moms who fiercely stand up for their LGBTQIA+ children’s rights, and of a Black lesbian woman who learns to come to accept her sexuality along with her Christian faith. All of these women are a part of the growing Facebook group, “Mama Bears”, that offers support, love and acceptance to Christian moms who have queer children. At no point does this documentary come across as preachy or demanding of your agreement. Instead it fills you with hope that one day, we can all live in peace and love. Regardless of religion, gender identity, or sexual orientation.
Kissing The Ground You Walked On
Dir: Hong Heng Fai 93 / Macau / Cantonese June 10, 2023, 5.45 pm, Alliance Française
Macau filmmaker Hong Heng-fai’s first feature is inspired by Anton Chekhov’s play The Seagull and mirrors the aesthetics of Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s Drive My Car. The story charts the life of Chou, a frustrated, once-successful novelist who develops an obsession with a young actor who rents a room in his apartment. The story circles around each other and their own weaknesses. There’s some excellent camera work by DP Wai Kin Sou who was also nominated for the Golden Horse Award for his work on Kissing The Ground You Walked On. This one is a finely written and beautifully acted drama with lots of warmth. Also impressive is the sound design handled by Ellison Lau, who recorded everything on the spot, and played with the existing sounds penetrating the house from the outside. He was also nominated for the Golden Horse.
Old Narcissus
Dir: Tsuyoshi Shoji 110 min / Japan / Japanese June 10, 2023, 10.00pm, Liberty Cinema
Writer/director Tsuyoshi Shôji tells the melancholic (and erotic) story of two vastly different queer men coming together at a turning point in their lives. Yamazaki (Taijiro Tamura) is an aging writer who is unable to face the decay of not only his body, but his place in society. Leo (Atomu Mizuishi) is a sex worker paralyzed by the monotony of his day-to-day life. This film delves into both the history and the current situation of stigma against queer peoples and the refusal of Japanese society to see them on equal footing.
When Time Got Louder
Dir: Connie Cocchia 113 min / Canada, the US / English June 11, 2023, 9.30 pm, Liberty Cinema
When Time Got Louder, the debut feature from writer-director Connie Cocchia, examines how a close-knit family unit changes when older sister Abbie (Willow Shields) leaves for art school in California, leaving her 17-year-old non-speaking autistic brother Kayden (Jonathan Simao) with their parents Mark (Lochlyn Munro) and Tish (Elizabeth Mitchell). The film draws from Cocchia’s own experiences of growing up with a sibling with ASD and creates a clear-eyed depiction of autism’s impacts on an individual and their family. This simply is a deeply moving story about good people simply trying to do their best — and just how hard that can be.
Note: Kashish Mumbai International Queer Film Festival will be held June 7-11, 2023 at Liberty Cinema, and June 8-10, 2023 at Alliance Française de Bombay; and also online from June 16-25, 2023.
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