Olivia Colman and John Lithgow‘s queer family drama “Jimpa” will open the 17th edition of the Kashish Pride Film Festival in Mumbai this June.
The festival will screen 153 films from 43 countries across three venues: Liberty Cinema, Alliance Française, and the National Gallery of Modern Art.
Directed around themes of queer joy and familial reconciliation, “Jimpa” follows filmmaker Hannah, played by Colman, who brings her non-binary teenager – played by Aud Mason-Hyde – to Amsterdam to reconnect with her gay father, Jimpa, portrayed by Lithgow.
Two titles have been selected as special presentations. Naveen Kishore’s 1999 documentary “Performing the Goddess: Chapal Bhaduri’s Story” chronicles the life of Chapal Rani, a celebrated figure in Bengal’s traditional folk traveling theater known for portraying female roles throughout his career. Dibakar Banerjee’s “Love, Sex and Dhoka 2” rounds out the pair, a contemporary work featuring a real-life transgender actress in a lead role that takes aim at social media culture and reality television.
The festival’s four Centerpiece selections span multiple continents: Rohan Kanawade’s Sundance winner “Cactus Pears” (Sabar Bonda), a rural Indian love story between two men; Daniel Ribeiro’s Brazilian feature “I Am Going To Miss You,” which centers on a transmasculine person and a transgender woman; Sam Feder’s American documentary “Heightened Scrutiny,” following a transmasculine lawyer’s fight for LGBTQ+ rights; and Lakhinandan Boruah and Swapnesh Dubey’s Indian documentary “Queering India.”
“This year we received close to 600 submissions and curating the final program was a herculean task,” founder festival director Sridhar Rangayan said. “We try to program a balanced representation of the entire LGBTQ+ spectrum as well as intersectionalities between sexuality and special abilities, faith, and region.”
Spain is the country in focus, contributing four features and 12 short films. The selection includes Teddy Award winner “Ivan & Hadoum” by Ian de la Rosa and closing film “Maspolamas,” directed by Aitor Arregi and Jose Mari Goenaga. A new competitive section, “Genderation Shorts,” spotlighting stories of young people navigating gender and identity, also makes its debut.
“As always, the festival continues to evolve with new ideas and formats so we have a few more surprises in store,” said festival artistic director Saagar Gupta.
