chandni’s posterous

'We won. We are legal'
On 2nd July 2009, the LGTBI community has been decriminalised by the High Court decision in Delhi which read down Section 377 of the IPC. It is the achievement of a long term struggle which opens a new era of freedom for sexual minorities in India.

This milestone judgement, which gave us recognition, opens the doors towards inclusiveness, social and cultural acceptance and further gains in areas of civil, political and human rights. 

'There is a long road ahead to end discrimination, to ensure equal rights and the ability to exercise them are in place', states Sunil Gupta, a Delhi based photographer and openly gay man. 

The spirits are high and with this first stunning achievement, we are full of hope that many more victories are to come.
 
The film program takes us to different parts of the world and attempts to look at the queer individual and the LGTBI community in society and society's gaze back. Glancing at this reflected image, the question that manifests asks - is it enough that a society only protects us with a set of rights or do we also need the freedom to act as who we are within that society. Legal recognition and human rights are very important but social acceptance is equally, if not more, crucial.

These films will extend this essential idea of acceptance to include our sexuality, our gender presentation, our choice of sex work as livelihood, and how we love.

After each film there will be an informal discussion to share points of view amongst the audience.

This film program is a teaser to relish before the Queer Azaadi Mumbai March on 16thAugust, which kicks off at August Kranti Maidan in which we will celebrate diversity and proudly state 'hum sab ek hai'.

The Queer Azaadi March (QAM) is the collective result of several of Mumbai's very own LGBTI individuals and organizations. This is our home, and QAM is our march together for the freedom of expression of our sexual identities and pride in being ourselves. QAM '09 looks forward marching together with our family, friend, supporters and the people of our much loved city toward a better future for Mumbai's queers, for acceptance, tolerance and understanding of our lives and personalities.

For more information on on the QAM March visit the blog at http://queerazaadi.wordpress.com

We would like to thank all the artists, producers and distributors for giving us their oeuvres free of cost. We are also thankful to the Alliance Française de Bombay for giving us their auditorium and screening facilities. Without this generosity we wouldn't have been able to bring you these films.