BQFF 2012 comes to close

BQFF 2012

 

We would never say anything corny like “BQFF 2012 was a grand success” but you are free to draw your own conclusions. As the very willing organisers, we admit to occasionally cursing our way through the planning. Nothing makes organising BQFF more worthwhile than the thronging crowds we saw this year. At three separate points in the festival the crowd simply overflowed out of the hall (we expect people got to know each other a lot better during the space crunch…)

Check out photos or BQFF 2012!

Watch the Pink Divas perform at BQFF 2012.

 

Here are the thank-yous:
The Bangalore Queer Film Festival 2012 received around 80 films from around 20 countries. Selecting 59 films from this collection was a difficult process owing to the various complexities involved in selecting good cinema.

We had lots of help in organising this festival and would like to thank many invidivuals and organisations for their support. John Badalu and the Q! Film Festival; Shai Heredia from Experimenta and Anna Helme for their curated packages of fantastic queer films. Kim So-Young and Kim Soo-Yeon for getting us the films from Korea. Akram Zaatari for allowing us to use his films. The Italian Cultural Institute and the Danish Embassy for helping us with getting Viola Di Mare and Nobody Passes Perfectly. Ragava Lawrence, Mr Ramanarayan and Mr Chidambaram for permissions to screen Kanchana. Ente Kross Film, Frank Christian Marx and Udo Lutz for permissions to screen Men to Kiss. m-appeal’s Anne Wiedlack, Dennis Todorovic and Ewa Borowski for permissions to screen Sasha.

All those who took the time to help us locate and follow up on various films. All the performers and panelists for their participation.

Meera Shankar for creating our festival film pro bono. Jugal Mody and Isaac Skibinski for updating our website and making it more interactive.

Akshay Mahajan for curating the photo exhibition.Andrea Fernandes for coming all the way and participating so actively.
Pink Nation and Fever Nites for their support in fund raising efforts. All the donors who’ve supported our cause by opening their pockets everytime we ask them!

Various sponsors and advertisers for believing in our festival. A special shout out to Krishna, Erika, Rithika and Joe for their support. Filmmakers from across the world for submitting their films on time and for their enthusiasm in partnering with the BQFF 2012.

All volunteers, friends and others who’ve helped promote, coordinate or organise the BQFF so that it goes smoothly. Kabir Hussien for his technical help.

Alliance Francaise de Bangalore, Vasanthnagar for being the best venue that one can ask for. Particularly to the Director, Philippe Gasparini and Ms Anuradha Narayan for their continuing support. And to all of you for your continued patronage.

Movies at BQFF 2012


BQFF 2012 Schedule

BQFF 2012  final schedule has emerged! This is it folks: 3 days of time-tabled fun.

SCHEDULE

Performances 2012

Performances February 25th, Saturday: Poetry Reading: Apphia Kumar, Biswamit Dwibedy, Dhanish Sheikh, Minal Hajratwala, Joshua Muyiwa and others will read from a selection of their recent works.

February 26th, Sunday: Nisha Ahuja will perform excerpts from a one-woman play titled “Yoga Cannibal” which talks about a break-up in a lesbian relationship. This will be followed by a dance performance by members of Good As You (GAY) choreographed by Karim Khubchandani to a mash-up of pop and Bollywood numbers. Karim Khubchandani and Romal Singh will perform a conversation on hook-ups.

Photo Exhibition 2012

Exhibition Innaugral Friday, 24th Feb, 2:30pm

Akshay Mahajan curates two bodies of work:

 

Inner Face by Gazi Nafis Admed (Bangladesh)

From the moment we started to understand ourselves, we have woven our dreams onto a broad tapestry of human conditions. The dreams of our society and those of our own are not always the same. Society wants to confine us within the limits of its sense of propriety, to its sense of gender identity. But we want our dreamscapes to be our own, where we will have endless freedom, our own values, free expression of our thoughts and emotions. Like nature shapes the world to its will, we want our own nature to give shape to our world, a world that accepts us without any reservations. We want our existence to be our own. This chasm between the ideals of society and our Utopia tortures our bodies and souls, burns our bridges to the world at large, and perpetuates our estrangement.

How long will it go on like this? We do not exist beyond the boundaries of society; by purging us, will it be building a better version of itself? If that is not so, then let us build bridges that connect us all, bridges that make sure that our dreamscapes no longer remain confined to the realms of our dreams, bridges that let us all coexist in harmony. How much longer do we have to wait before we reach that horizon where our dreams and days unite?

 

KILLING KITTENS by Andrea Fernandes (India)

Every society, sexual revolutions notwithstanding, has its own version of regulating its members’ instincts and making them feel guilty or ashamed about their sexuality. While most of us now understand that God is not killing a kitten every time we masturbate, it is difficult to dismiss the guilt that is deeply embedded in many of us as a result of these myths and societal rules.

In this body of work, the artist reflects on her experiences, combining cultural taboos that treat women’s sexuality as acts of transgression with a religious heritage that regards the body as innately impure and unworthy. The images and texts in this series are an exploration of the ways in which the artist and other women have individually reclaimed sex for their own pleasure.

In spite of the insecurities of their collective psyche, from seeing themselves as perverse to struggling with image issues, these women recognize their sexuality as unique and independent of the presence of a partner.

 

  Printer’s Devil

As photographers with extensive printing experience we can assist you to leap the technical hurdles involved in digital printmaking, enabling you to produce high-quality archival pigment prints for exhibition.

Akshay Mahajan, b.1985 is perhaps best known for his portraits of India’s new urban youth. Published  in:  Wall  Street  Journal, Le  Monde  Diplomatique, The Daily Telegraph (UK),  La Repubblica (Italy). Invited Attendee at the Eddie Adams Workshop 2009. He is also the co-publisher of blindboys.org, a community-driven space that uses simple and effective ways to reach out to photographers and audiences alike.

What makes BQFF 2012 special? #2highlights

On Sunday morning we will premiere a package curated by Shai Heredia, who organizes and curates Experimenta, the only experimental video and film festival in India. The package includes four films by Riyad Vinci Wadia and Oliver Husain. As Shai describes them, the films range from “performance art to queer monologues, and excursions into camp-glamour”. Riyad Wadia’s film in particular marks an important moment in the history of queer filmmaking in India. Riyad Wadia’s brother Roy Wadia will join us for a small discussion on the works being shown.

The Bangalore Queer Film Festival is also thrilled to announce a generous contribution by Akram Zaatari to our festival. He has sent us five of his films including ‘Red Chewing Gum’ and ‘Crazy of you’. His latest film ‘Tomorrow night, everything will be alright’ will also be screened on Saturday. Zaatari is probably better known as an artist, especially in relation to his work with studio photographers in Lebanon and other parts of the Middle East, and he is also the founder of the Arab Image Foundation. The films that are part of BQFF are layered with projections of old videos and photographs and are stories about remembering lost loves and people.

Volunteer at BQFF, 2012

Do you want to be an usher? A poll-taker of films? A photographer? A video-maker? A tech assistant? A general flunky? A tour guide for visiting film makers… the list is endless.
You can help the Bangalore Queer Film Festival 2012 by volunteering. We do love our volunteers and give them cake sometimes. Check out http://blrqueerfilmfest.com/volunteer/ for more details, the form and different tasks.

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