Brief History

Chennai has been organizing LGBT-themed film screenings since 2004, including film festivals in 2004, 2005 and 2006 at the Alliance Française de Madras, organized by the NGO Solidarity and Action Against The HIV Infection in India (SAATHII), curated by volunteers from Orinam (formerly called Movenpick – MP).

In 2007 a film series Desire and Sexuality was organized at the LV Prasad Film and TV Academy by The Shakthi Resource Center in partnership with Creating

Resources for Empowerment in Action (CREA), The South and Southeast Asia Resource Centre on Sexuality, and the Youth for Social Change.

Through the years, local groups such as Orinam, The Shakti Resource Center, Prajnya Trust, Chennai Dost, U.S. Consulate General-Chennai, InKo Centre, the Madras Film Society and the Indo Cine Appreciation Foundation have also organized individual screenings of queer films during Pride month, during mainstream film festivals, and at other times.

In 2012, Orinam and Chennai Dost partnered with Goethe-Institut/ Max Mueller Bhavan to organize Colours of Sexuality: Chennai Queer Film Festival from June 15-17, 2012. 

Since 2013, Orinam has  been hosting Reel Desires: Chennai International Queer Film Festival, in partnership with Goethe-Institut and other groups and collectives. The current (2015) partners include Nirangal, Nir, RIOV, SAATHII and the East-West Center for Counselling.

Focus areas addressed as part of Reel Desires 2013 were the need for stigma-free inclusion of LGBT people within our families, educational institutions, healthcare facilities, workplaces and the media/film industry. Bundled with the film festival was a panel discussion on workplace diversity, featuring representatives of local and multinational companies that have implemented LGBT-friendly policies for staff recruitment and retention. 

Focus areas in 2014 were inclusive education and sexuality and disability. These were part of a panel discussion ‘Inclusion: the Way Forward’. 

In 2015, there were three focus areas: intersections among sexuality and other forms of marginality, non-binary and fluid identities, and the tensions between freedom of speech/creative expression and opposing negative portrayals of LGBTQI communities. The last-named topic featured in a panel discussion held on Saturday, July 25, 2015.

In 2016, two key focus areas include queerness and sexwork, and inter-cultural queer/trans relationships. In addition, Besides these, we are also interested in films that examine sexual and gender fluidity,  and films from under-represented parts of India (the North East, non-metros) and other countries in the South Asian region (Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Myanmar, Nepal, Afghanistan). 

Orinam and co-organizing groups hope to use the interest generated by Reel Desires to raise awareness and discussion of issues impacting our LGBTQI communities; and to lend visibility to locally available resources for sensitization, peer-support, and crisis intervention.