LGBTQIA+ films, bringing attention to queer characters and experiences, will be celebrated by Delhi-based Instagram account Official Humans of Queer through an online festival. Founder Yash Sharma hopes the effort will boost representation for the community and also create awareness in society
_d_d.jpg "Stories exploring the LGBTQIA+ experience will be celebrated in an online film festival")
The Queer Film Festival 2021 will be organised by the members of the Instagram page, Official Humans of Queer. Image for representational purpose only. Photo: istock
Pride Month may have passed but for Delhi-based college student Yash Sharma, celebrating stories from the LGBTQIA+ community is a year-round passion. The founder of the Instagram page 'Official Humans of Queer' and his team are all set to host their first queer film festival later in the week.
Sharma, who is 23 years old, explains, “I have learnt that movies influence us and teach us things. So, when we talk about LGBTQIA+ films, I hope people can directly learn something from the characters in these films." All the films explore themes connected to the LGBTQIA+ community and the many situations they find themselves in over the course of their lives. "The motivation behind the festival is proper representation for the community.” The group has invited many college students across India to attend the festival to help them understand more about the community through such representation. “The event isn’t only for the youth or people from the community who are yet to come out or are out and proud, but for the entire society, which needs to accept and normalise everything,” he adds. 
The two-day festival will showcase 25 films including 'Vaidya', 'Miss Man' and 'Almariyaan', which delve into the lives of people from the community. Photo Courtesy: Yash Sharma
The Queer Film Festival 2021 will showcase 25 films for 48-hours at a stretch on September 25-26 starting 12 am. Among the selection are 'Vaidya', a short film about a queer couple who navigate the ups and downs of their new-found relationship, and 'Miss Man', another short about a man who finds himself by discovering his sexuality. Some of the other films that will be a part of the festival are ‘Sunday’, ‘Almariyaan’, ‘Ruhaani Raat’, ‘Faded Rainbow’ and ‘Inside’. The event will be conducted by Sharma and his team of four along with 30 volunteers from Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Kolkata in the country as well as Pakistan and Germany.
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Sharma started the Instagram page in July 2020, a little over a year after he came out to his family. “My mother had told me that if I want people to learn more about the community, I need to do something about it so that it helps people. So, when I realised that people would be indoors during the lockdown due to the Covid-19 pandemic, I thought it was the right time to start the page,” says Sharma. 
Yash started the Instagram page in July 2020 after his mother told him that if he wants people to learn more about the community, he should do something about it. Photo Courtesy: Yash Sharma
The page has been a culmination of Sharma's own various experiences as well as the need to tell the stories about the community. Ever since, he has received a positive response from followers and people who visit the page regularly. Having gained a following of over 9,000 followers so far, he wants to continue posting on it regularly to engage the audiences consistently and help them learn about different people within the community from all over India.
While he has posted about stories of couples in the past and hosted talks by many people from the community, the film festival is a step forward towards an on-ground event so the group's presence can eventually expand from online to offline.
The Queer Film Festival 2021 can be streamed on the online platform Out and Loud. Registration will start from 12 am on September 21 with an entry fee of Rs 50.
Also Read: Mumbai-based parents share tips on inspiring LGBTQIA+ sensitivity in children
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