For Immediate Release – September 2010

Bangalore Queer Film Festival 2011

Call for Submission

The Bangalore Queer Film Festival is open for submissions for 2011.

Send us your films, your friends’ films, your lovers’ films, anything that an audience absolutely must watch – goofy comedies, mind-numbing thrillers, bizarre experimental films, short shorts, long shorts, daring documentaries, historical retellings, animations, music videos, slasher films or slow-mo tales of love.

Bangalore has hosted film festivals on themes related to LGBT or Queer communities since 2003. These smaller events later transformed into The Bangalore Queer Film Festival (BQFF) in April 2009, held at the Alliance Française, Vasanthnagar, Bangalore. This is the BQFF’s third year. As always, we seek to push boundaries, hoping to also push the limits within which filmmakers produce, and audiences view, films. That is therefore what we want from films being submitted for this year’s festival––something straining at the leash that won’t be tied to the usual ideas or forms of expression, or cinematic styles or stories. BQFF 2011––to be held in February 2011––continues on the path to bring you a festival you won’t easily forget.

BQFF Screenings and Cultural Events

This year, like the earlier versions of the BQFF, we will have film screenings alongside panel discussions, performances of poetry, music, drama, dance and exhibitions. BQFF screenings have always had full capacity audiences of all ages and backgrounds. BQFF caters not just to film buffs but also to the general public and anyone interested in films that are not always accessible in mainstream theatres.

Media

Media coverage of the events has been phenomenal with both print and electronic media covering all events and side shows at BQFF. Tie-ups with print magazines like Time Out Bengaluru during BQFF 2010 ensured that the schedule was available to the public at large. Sometimes press reviews of films in the BQFF schedule appear prior to screening bringing awareness to both the festival and its films. BQFF 2010 also hosted the all-India premiere of Tom Ford’s A Single Man in collaboration with PVR Pictures, Mumbai. More such premieres are expected this year.

Organisers

BQFF 2011 is organised by Good As You (GAY), SWABHAVA Trust and We’re Here and Queer (WHAQ!). GAY (www.goodasyou.in) is a support group (est. 1994) for LGBT people in Bangalore and is one of the oldest support groups in India. SWABHAVA Trust (est. 1999) is a non-profit, non-governmental organisation working with LGBT issues, including providing access to support services in Bangalore (www.swabhava.org). Both GAY and Swabhava have co-hosted previous queer film festivals in Bangalore. We’re Here and Queer (WHAQ!) is a queer women’s support group (estd. 2009). All groups regularly organise film screenings at their weekly meetings. All groups are non-funded and operate entirely on donations. BQFF 2010 was organised with the support of donations from the LGBT community and from UNAIDS, New Delhi.

Festival details

The Bangalore Queer Film Festival will be hosted in the last week of February, 2011. The venue will be the Alliance Française de Bangalore.

Submission details

BQFF uses only DVD or VCD formats for final screening. Filmmakers will be notified about selected films and further requests regarding subtitling or better quality disks may be made at the time. All films will be required to have English subtitles for final screening.

BQFF 2011 is a FREE event and no charges are levied on submissions. Additionally, only films that do not carry a screening charge will be accepted.

The last date for entries for BQFF 2011 is 15th December 2010.

For enquiries

Please contact us by email on blrqueerfilmfest@gmail.com access information on our website: blrqueerfilmfest.com.

Call for Submissions

for the 2nd Bangalore Queer Film Festival

Last day for entries: 30 January 2010

Introduction

Bangalore has hosted film festivals on themes related to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT or Queer) communities since 2003. Although they were small events, since their transformation into The Bangalore Queer Film Festival (BQFF) in April 2009, held at the Alliance Francaise, the festivals made Bangalore a destination for international Queer films.

Organisers

BQFF 2010 is organised by Good As You (GAY), SWABHAVA Trust and We’re Here and Queer (WHAQ!). GAY (www.goodasyou.in) is a support group (est. 1994) for LGBT people in Bangalore and is one of the oldest support groups in India. SWABHAVA Trust (est. 1999) is a non-profit, non-governmental organisation working with LGBT issues, including providing access to support services in Bangalore. Both GAY and Swabhava have co-hosted previous queer film festivals in Bangalore. This year, another group called We’re Here and Queer (WHAQ!), a queer women’s support group (estd. 2009) is also a co-organiser. GAY and WHAQ! regularly organise film screenings at their weekly meetings. All the groups are non-funded and operate entirely on donations.

BQFF 2009

The 1st edition of the Bangalore Queer Film Festival was held in Bangalore on 10 and 11 April, 2009. The event had a tightly packed schedule screening more than 20 feature, short and documentary films alongside panel discussions on being out at the workplace and short performance pieces using drama, dance, Sufi music and poetry.

BQFF 2010

The 2nd edition of the Bangalore Queer Film Festival will be held in Bangalore in February 2010. Screening feature, documentary and experimental films, BQFF 2010 caters to a large Bangalore public interested in international films. Panel discussions on key issues concerning the LGBT community in Bangalore/India will also be organised as part of the schedule.

Venue: The Alliance Francaise, Vasanthnagar, Bangalore – 560 001

Dates: 26, 27 and 28 February 2010

Web: blrqueerfilmfest.com

Email: blrqueerfilmfest@gmail.com