The 16th Kashish Pride Film Festival wrapped up in Mumbai with Icelandic trans drama Odd Fish and Brazilian-Dutch film Baby taking top awards.
Directed by Snævar Sölvason, Odd Fish won Best Narrative Feature, with lead actor Arna Magnea Danks named Best Performer in a Lead Role. The film also received a Special Jury Mention for its screenplay. “I love India, and this award has brought sunshine into this cold countryside,” said Sölvason. Danks, a trans woman and teacher, said, “It’s not every day a trans woman like me receives an award.”
Baby won Best Screenplay for Gabriel Domingues and Marcelo Caetano. Lead actor João Pedro Marian earned a Special Mention. “My heart is full of joy to know my work touches audiences across continents,” he said. Caetano, who visited India in 2020, expressed interest in returning for future work.
Serbian documentary Warm Film by Dragan Jovićević won Best Documentary Feature. “This is the film’s first award outside Europe, and I’m honored it’s from India,” he said.
Indian films also stood out. The Jasmine That Blooms in Autumn by Chandradeep Das won Best Indian Narrative Short, and B and S by Lipika Singh Darai took Best Documentary Short. Saikat Mondal received the Riyad Wadia Award for Best Emerging Indian Filmmaker for Jalsa.
The Ismat Chughtai Award for Best Woman Filmmaker of Indian Origin went to Shoi (Project Priyo) and Joey Kaushik (The Witch of Vihar Lake).
Other international winners included After All by Chongyan Liu (Best Film on Queer Mental Health), Two Travelling Aunties by Christine Seow (Best Student Short), and Violets by Borja Escribano (Best International Narrative Short).
The Kashish QDrishti Film Grant of INR 2,50,000 (~$2,915) went to Make-Up Room by Shubam Negi, with Us Girls and Operation: Gulzar as runners-up.
Performances by LGBTQ+ dance group The House of Sway and music band Bombay Noor highlighted the awards night, along with the trailer launch of Prime Video’s In-Transit.
Festival director Sridhar Rangayan said: “Despite budget constraints, we ended the five-day festival on a high note. I’m proud of the recognition for trans and non-binary creators.”
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