Call for Film Submissions - KASHISH 2015

KASHISH 2015 Online Film Submission can be made at https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/KASHISH2015

FESTIVAL BACKGROUND & THEME

KASHISH Mumbai International Queer Film Festival is the first and only LGBTQ film festival in India to be held in a mainstream theater and the first queer festival in India to receive clearance from the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.

Over the previous 5 editions, from 2010 to 2014, the festival has grown from strength to strength, attracting close to 6500 footfalls over the 4 1/2 days of the festival at two venues. The festival, every year, usually screens around 120 - 130 films that include shorts, documentaries, features - all centered around LGBTQ themes.

KASHISH is now considered one of Mumbai's prominent cultural event and is the biggest queer film festival in South Asia.

KASHISH was voted as one of the top 5 coolest LGBT film festivals in the world by a worldwide poll conducted by MovieMaker Magazine in 2013.

KASHISH 2015

Reaching Out, Touching Hearts 

6th KASHISH Mumbai International Queer Film Festival will be held from May 27 - 31, 2015 at two venues - Liberty Cinema (May 27-31st) and Alliance Française de Bombay (May 28-30th).

The theme of KASHISH 2015, 'Reaching Out, Touching Hearts', reflects the urgent need for all of us to reach across barriers and boundaries, reach out to everyone - parents, families, friends, colleagues and peers. An equal society without stigma and discrimination is a shared responsibility. The Indian LGBT movement is at a crucial time in its history, where it is fighting an unjust law - section 377 of the Indian Penal Code - that criminalises the community. It is important to broad-base this struggle and build alliances across race, class, caste, religion, sex, gender identity and sexual orientation to challenge prejudice, change attitudes and create a society that allows each person to live with love and dignity.

Note: This is only the overall festival theme and all films need not fall into this theme. We program a broad range of films with diverse LGBTQ themes.

For further information visit Website, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube 

TERMS & CONDITIONS FOR FILM SUBMISSION

TERMS & CONDITIONS:

1. Filmmakers across the world can submit features, documentaries and short films that highlight / focus on Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer themes and expressions. 

2. There is NO SUBMISSION FEE to submit the film. 

3. The festival DOES NOT PAY SCREENING FEE since it invests its limited resources in showcasing the films to the best possible extent. 

4. All films SHOULD be subtitled in English. We prefer English language films too with subtitles or close-captioned for access by hearing impaired audience members. 

5. Only films completed after January 1, 2012 can be submitted. Films with a running time of less than 60 minutes will be considered in Short Film category. 

6. The festival has both competitive and non-competitive sections. ONLY films completed after January 1, 2014 and NOT screened at any other festival in India before KASHISH 2015, may qualify for competition. 
The competition categories are: 
Best Narrative Feature 
Best Documentary Feature 
Best Documentary Short 
Best International Narrative Short 
Best Indian Narrative Short 
Riyad Wadia award for Best Emerging Indian Filmmaker 
Best Performance in a Lead Role 
Winners will be selected by a panel of eminent jury. Their decision will be final and is indisputable. 

7. Festival considers 'Work In Progress' only for those films where video edit is finalized and few post-production jobs like music, audio, color correction is under progress. A screener of the film completed in all regard should be submitted latest by Feb 20, 2015. 

8. A submission will be considered complete only after the festival has received the film's preview copy either as a digital file or DVD/USB drive. The festival will mail the acknowledgement within 10 days after the receipt of the preview copy. 

9. Film submissions may be made through:

a. Online link on Vimeo or any website. Please enable download since the preview panel previews films offline and together. We prefer this mode of submission to minimize cost of postage and time. 

b. Digital file mailed to kashish.miqff@gmail.com via wetransfer.com or any file share service 

c. DVD / USB drive to be sent to :
Saagar Gupta
Director of Programming
KASHISH Mumbai International Queer Film Festival
802, Bali Residency, Rathodi, Marve Road, Malad West, Mumbai 400095, INDIA 
Please mark the envelopes: 'For Festival Purpose Only. No Commercial Value' 

The festival holds no responsibility for submissions that are lost in transit or those not received on time. 
No hand delivery or personal deliveries. DVDs / USB drives are accepted only by courier or post. 

10. DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSION: JANUARY 31, 2015 
But the festival encourages early submission, since previews begin mid November. 

11. Filmmaker/sender certifies that he or she holds the rights for submission of film/video to the festival. 

12. Selected filmmakers will be notified by email by March 31, 2015 

13. Only High Definition (HD) digital files will be accepted for final exhibition . If selected, the filmmaker/producer has to provide a HD Digital file in resolution 1920 x 1080 - codec H.264 mpeg or mov file not bigger 2 GB, by mail / ftp share as a digital file, Data DVD or on USB drive. 

INSTRUCTIONS TO FILL THE FORM:

To fill the KASHISH 2015 Film Submission Form, you would need to keep information handy about your film. 

This form does not have the facility to be saved. You have to fill it in one sitting. 

However to prepare for your submission, you can download a sample KASHISH 2015 Film Submission Form as a pdf here: Sample-KASHISH2015-filmsubmission.pdf 

This is for your reference only. Only forms filled ONLINE will be accepted.