有朋自友邦来：卡西什—孟买国际酷儿电影节
Queers From Diverse Cultures: KASHISH Mumbai International Queer Film Festival

由于禁忌和社会排斥，男同性恋，女同性恋和跨性别者在印度依然是被边缘化，被歧视和被牺牲的性少数群体。在要求平等权利的呼声的推动下，情况在慢慢改变。2009年7月2日德里高级法院的历史性裁决更是起了巨大的促进作用。经历了20年法律斗争后，这项裁决最终将自愿的私下同性性行为合法化。从那时起，印度的关于LGBT的倡导活动呈爆发式增长，尤其是在大城市中。这些活动旨在就LGBT问题进行突出并寻求对话。但很少有机会可以在主流场所放映酷儿主题的电影，以让酷儿之外的主流观众也能观看来自印度及世界各地的酷儿主题电影。
举办于2009年4月22-15日的首届卡西什2010—孟买国际酷儿电影节2010是印度LGBT运动的里程碑事件。它是印度第一个在主流剧院PVR电影院举办的酷儿电影节。它也是印度第一个向信息广播部申请并获得豁免的酷儿电影节。为期四天的电影节盛况空前，超过1200名观众到场观看了来自25个国家的110部电影。电影节得到许多宝莱坞名人和媒体界人士支持。媒体覆盖范围超过200个新闻站点和独家新闻博客，一些印度主流报纸和主要国际报纸也都有报道。而刚刚结束举办的卡西什2011不但继续了最初的成功，而且更盛大、更勇敢、更酷儿。
我们选取了4部曾经在卡西什2010中展映过的印度酷儿短片，以期展现印度多样化的酷儿经历和当代表达。印度和中国同样是亚洲国家，孟买酷儿电影节也像北京酷儿影展一样在并不太包容的社会、政治环境下诞生并艰难生存着。今年我们选择印度这个相对邻近的“来自友邦的友朋”，也正是希望通过影像的对话、以及与电影节组织者的直接交流来分享、借鉴同属于第三世界国家的酷儿经验。

Gay, Lesbian and Transgender persons in India are still stigmatized, discriminated and victimized because of the prevailing taboos and social ostracizing of these sexual minorities. Things are slowly changing with call for equal rights becoming more and more strident, propelled further by the historic verdict on July 2nd 2009 by Delhi High Court which decriminalized consensual homosexual acts in privacy after two decades of legal battle. From then on, there has been a burst of activities across India, especially in the metros, which aim to highlight and hold a dialogue about LGBT issues.However there is still not many avenues for screening of queer themed films in mainstream spaces where not only queer persons, but the mainstream audience too can attend and watch queer-themed films from India and the worldover.

Kashish 2010 – Mumbai International Queer Film Festival 2010 which was held from April 22-25, turned out to be a milestone event in LGBT movement in India. It was the first ever queer film festival in India to be held in a mainstream theatre PVR Cinemas. It was also the first queer film festival in India to apply for and obtain an exemption from the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.
The four days of the film festival drew an unprecedented audience turnout of over 1200 people who came to watch 110 films from 25 countries. The festival was supported by a host of Bollywood celebrities and media professionals. There was coverage in more than 200 news sites, and blogs with exclusive spreads in several mainstream newspapers in India as well as leading international newspapers.Taking this successful initiative forward, KASHISH 2011 was held from May 25-29, 2011 and was BIGGER, BOLDER & QUEERER.

We chose four India queer short films which screened in KASHISH 2010 to show the variety of queer experience and expression in India. India and China are both Asia countries. Bombay international film festival emerged and survived in a less tolerant social and political circumstance, as well as Beijing queer film festival. Therefore, the ‘friends from India’ session aims to learn and share queer experience through image dialogue and communication between film festival organizers.