DIALOGUES

16th Calcutta International LGBTQIA+ Film and Video Festival

DIALOGUES was launched in 2007 as an annual cultural event in the city of Calcutta, already used to hosting diverse film and video festivals covering different genres and aspects but that still left a void when it came to Queer Films and more importantly, a conversation around it.

DIALOGUES- The Calcutta International LGBTQIA+ Film and Video Festival is the oldest running non-commercial queer film festival in India.

The festival focuses on showcasing feature films, shorts, and videos from national and international filmmakers on and about lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender communities (and certainly beyond), simultaneously providing a much-needed venue for independent film and video from India and abroad on these themes. The festival has always included LGBTI and queer justice themed films from around the country and abroad.

From organising the last print screening on 16mm projection at the Fassbinder retrospective to hosting retrospectives on Derek Jarman and Agnes Varda DIALOGUES has covered a chequered path in its journey.

Though the primary identity of DIALOGUES is that of a queer film festival, we're consistently seeking to grow in order to include socially relevant themes across the spectrum. The festival is a celebration of writers, directors, actors and their work dealing with gay lesbian, bisexual, transgender and intersex themes and issues – but does not limit itself to narrow definitions of these identities. DIALOGUES believes that the Film Festival is yet another tool in the larger struggle many of us are in towards justice and dignity, where another world is not only possible but taking shape somewhere out there.

Owing to the climate caused by the Covid 19 pandemic, we are preparing to launch the 14th edition of the festival in the virtual universe. We're in the process of carefully curating and creating a line-up of meaningful and stimulating films and conversations.