The 11th edition of KASHISH Mumbai International Queer Film Festival is going virtual and is scheduled to begin on July 22nd and end on July 30th. It is the first major film festival in India to go online with a full slate of new films. The festival has launched a crowdfunding campaign to gather resources to organize the festival.

The campaign hosted on Wishberry can be accessed at https://www.wishberry.in/campaign/kashish-2020-virtual. The campaign has already gathered 65% of its target within a week of its launch. KASHISH 2020, originally scheduled to be held in May was postponed to July and has moved online due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The world is going through a crisis and everyone is affected by it. However we decided to organize KASHISH 2020 virtually so that the LGBTQIA+ community as well as their allies, friends, colleagues and families are able to watch films, participate in panel discussions and celebrate life to keep away the blues,” said festival director Sridhar Rangayan. “This year has been one of the most challenging ones for the KASHISH team to organise the festival during a health crisis and a tough financial climate both in India and across the world. We are however very humbled by the response to our crowdfunding campaign where most of our regular contributors are pitching in with whatever amount they can”, said Rangayan.

The festival offers rewards to its contributors in the form of free full-festival passes, a link to Best of KASHISH VOD platform, and also access to Asia’s biggest LGBTQ films platform GagaOoLala. But more than the rewards, the festival is banking on the trust and faith of its regular and new contributors in the mission the festival propagates – of qualitative LGBTQIA+ cinema.

“KASHISH as a major queer film festival is much more than the hallmark of good cinema. It is a bridge for the Indian LGBTQ+ community to connect to the larger world. It brings together people, perspectives and potential (as a forum for creative expression). It reflects the quintessential spirit of the queer movement by asserting the diverse shades of the rainbow. No wonder the festival is a part of the itinerary of so many people”, said Animesh Bahadur, a professor who has been one of the regular contributors to KASHISH crowdfunding campaign every year.