Photo: You Can’t Curry Love
Reid Waterer
USA, 2009, 23 Min
Satrang: South Asian Queer Film Festival, Sydney
The second edition of Satrang: South Asian Queer Film Festival will take place at the University of Technology, Sydney, over two weekends in September (18, 19, 25 & 26).
The festival will kick off with the Australian premier of yet-to-be-released Bollywood movie Dunno Y … Na Jaane Kyun (being tagged as India’s answer to Brokeback Mountain), followed by a Q&A with the film’s leading stars, Kapil Sharma and Yuvraaj Parashar, who’ll be flying to Sydney all the way from Mumbai – Bollywood HQ in India – to be part of the festival.
“The film promises to break new ground by telling the story of a serious relationship between two Indian men,” informs festival director and Sydney-based television producer, Sadhana Jethanandani. “It comes on the heels of the Delhi High Court overturning a law criminalising homosexuality, so it’s quite relevant … and controversial as it’s not making a caricature of its protagonists, but capturing a change in the society,” she adds.
Satrang, the festival title, means “seven colours” in Hindi language and refers to the rainbow. It’s organised by Trikone Australasia, a not-for-profit social support group for the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (GLBT) community of South Asian discent in Australia.
“The name of the festival is also reflective of the many different experiences and stories of South Asian queer people, which are being projected on the big screen over four days of colour, celebration, hope and unity,” says Jethanandani.
Other major entries in the film festival include director Shamim Sarif’s The World Unseen and I Can’t Think Straight, director Sridhar Rangayan’s 68 Pages and director Nani Sarah Walker’s Other Nature.
In the short films category, some of the entries are director Sarav Chithambaram’s It’s My Life – A South Asian Queer Story In USA, director Manoj Pandey’s Struggle Within and director Faryal’s Pictures of Zain, a tale of a Pakistani woman who embarks on a journey of self discovery after the death of her gay son, confronting her prejudices and making amends with his grieving lover on the way.
As always, the festival is a reflection of queer life and movements in South Asian countries. “Nepal may be a small country, but the extent of changes that are taking place in that society, with regards to gay rights, is phenomenal. And it’s reflected in the number of films on those themes that are being made in Nepal, with three of them [two short films and one feature film] being part of this festival,” says Jethanandani.
For more information and booking details please go to:
http://www.trikone.org.au/film-festival.php
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