Academy-Award
nominated
director
Mira
Nair
(Salaam
Bombay,
Monsoon
Wedding,
The
Namesake)
will
be
a
speaker
at
a
panel
discussion
titled
'Books
To
Screen
-
Lost
&
Found
in
Translation'
is
organized
as
part
of
the
12th
edition
of
KASHISH
Mumbai
International
Queer
Film
Festival,
South
Asia's
biggest
LGBTQIA+
film
festival.
This
impactful
panel
that
discusses
how
books
are
adapted
into
feature
films
or
web
series,
will
also
feature
well-known
Swedish
author
&
director
Jonas
Gardell
(Don't
Ever
Wipe
Tears
Without
Gloves),
Sahitya
Akademi
winning
playwright
Mahesh
Dattani
(Mango
Souffle,
Morning
Raga)
and
transgender
actor
&
author
Living
Smile
Vidya
(I
Am
Vidya),
and
will
be
moderated
by
author
Raga
D'Silva
(Untold
Lies).
The
panel
will
be
streamed
on
KASHISH
YouTube
channel
@kashishfilmfest
on
Tuesday,
August
24th
at
6
pm.
"While
the
pandemic
put
the
brakes
on
KASHISH
being
held
on-ground
physically
at
a
theatre
in
Mumbai,
the
benefits
of
a
digital
festival
has
opened
new
doors",
said
Sridhar
Rangayan,
festival
director,
"We
have
been
able
to
invite
some
extraordinary
speakers
at
the
panel
discussion
and
also
filmmakers
from
across
the
world
at
the
filmmaker
Q&As.
We
are
blessed
to
have
such
eminent
personalities
as
filmmaker
Mira
Nair
and
author
and
director
Jonas
Gardell
speak
at
our
panels.
Virtual
is
the
new
normal."
Speaking
about
her
recent
mini-series
A
Suitable
Boy
based
on
Vikram
Seth's
epic
novel
of
the
same
name,
Mira
Nair
says,
"I
think
Vikram
Seth
deeply
understands
and
wrote
in
A
Suitable
Boy,
the
depth
of
this
unconditional
love,
the
friendship
between
Maan
(Ishaan
Khattar)
&
Firoz
(Shubham
Saraf).
For
me,
it
encompassed
all
kinds
of
love.
We
had
to
do
a
lot
in
very
little
time,
but
I
think
you
feel
this
extraordinary
drama
of
their
friendship
and
the
jealousies,
and
also
how
the
fathers
eventually
bring
the
sons
back
together.
It's
a
beautiful
quartet
that
Vikram
wrote
and
I
wanted
to
do
that
justice.
Life
is
about
all
sorts
of
love,
but
it
is
love.
There's
nothing
to
put
it
in
a
box
about."
Speaking
at
the
panel
Jonas
Gardell
says,
"I'm
58
years
old
now
and
I
have
been
out
and
proud
since
I
was
15,
so
that's
almost
40
years.
When
my
first
novel
came
out
in
1985,
the
critics
actually
wrote
that
they
almost
vomited
when
they
read
it
since
it
was
a
gay
love
story...
Time
has
passed
and
now
when
I
write
my
novels,
they
are
mainstream,
they
are
bestsellers
in
Sweden."
Mahesh
Dattani
speaks
passionately
about
the
need
for
greater
representation
of
queer
narratives,
"We
need
more
LGBTQIA+
people
involved
in
the
arts,
in
storytelling.
We
need
stories
that
concern
the
LGBTQIA+.
We
need
LGBTQIA+
characters
in
films
that
are
not
talking
about
LGBTQIA+...
I
think
it
is
hugely
important
that
we
also
have
characters
that
are
there
because
they
are
part
of
a
bigger
story,
and
it
doesn't
always
have
to
be
a
personal
story.
"
Living
Smile
Vidya
speaks
about
her
book
I
Am
Vidya
that
has
been
turned
into
a
feature
film
Naanu
Avanalla
Avalu
which
won
two
National
Awards,
but
her
main
passion
is
theatre.
She
says,
"I
wanted
to
be
in
the
cinema,
but
as
I
grew
up,
I
saw
theatre
has
more
space
and
more
acceptance
and
I
found
my
place.
Being
on
the
stage
is
where
I
feel
like
one
giant
tree
where
I
get
all
the
power
in
the
best
possible
way."
This
panel
discussion
is
being
supported
by
the
Consulate
General
of
Sweden,
who
is
also
supporting
the
screening
of
two
documentary
features
'Prince
of
Dreams'
and
'Always
Amber'.
While
the
film
festival
is
screening
221
films
from
53
countries
over
the
12
days
of
online
screenings
spread
across
3
weekends,
KASHSH
2021
will
continue
to
engage
audiences
during
weekdays
with
8-panel
discussions
and
42
filmmaker
Q&As
streamed
on
their
YouTube
channel.
On
August
23rd
6
pm
panel
discussion
'TEACH
THEM
YOUNG!
-
Qualitative
Queer
Narratives
emerging
from
Indian
Film
Schools'
is
being
streamed
featuring
speakers
from
leading
film
and
media
institutions
like
Film
&
Television
Institute
of
India
(FTII),
Sophia
SCM,
Pearl
Academy,
Satyajit
Ray
Film
&
Television
Institute
(SRFTI)
and
Whistling
Woods
International,
which
is
also
supporting
this
panel
discussion.
Rounding
off
the
first
week
of
panel
discussions,
on
August
25th
at
6
pm
the
festival
will
host
the
first-ever
chat
with
siblings
of
queer
persons.
Titled
'UNLOCKING
ACCEPTANCE
WITH
SIBLINGS'
the
panel
features
gay,
bisexual
and
transgender
persons
along
with
their
sisters
and
brothers.
More
information
about
the
Allied
Events
at
KASHISH
2021
can
be
found
at
https://mumbaiqueerfest.com/allied-events-at-kashish-2021/