Festive Cine Liberte presents a series of short films that take a lighthearted look at LGBTI issues. Alliance Francaise is where you should be this evening

What happens when gay filmmakers are asked to make a film about lesbian love, and a lesbian director has to explore the sex lives of male homosexuals? What happens when an Indian lesbian is pressurised to get hitched?
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What will her matrimonial advertisement look like? For all these answers you'll have to drop by this evening for Cine Liberte, a teaser to Queer Nazariya, an International LGBTI (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Intersex) Film Festival that's scheduled to be held in Mumbai between April 2 and 4 at National College, Bandra.

While the issue is a constant through most of these films, the treatment is as diverse as it gets. Take for instance Pagina De Menina (Pages Of A Girl), a 19-minute film from Brazil by Monica Palazzo.



This 2008 production set in 1955 is a bittersweet story of forbidden love. "It's got a slow '50s feel to it and talks about a time when homosexuality was still taboo," says Sophie Parisse, curator of Queer Nazariya. Ingrid is a gawky teenager who applies for a job at a bookstore and is attracted to the store's beautiful, older and more experienced, female owner.

F**king Different is a funny city-wise anthology that looks at films made by gay directors about lesbian sex lives, and vice versa. Cine Liberte will be screening the Tel Aviv and Sao Paulo chapters of the anthology.
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Iguales? or Equals? is a Spanish film by director Javier de la Torre that charts a conversation between three couples, gay, lesbian and transsexual, and as all the conflicts are resolved it leaves you questioning if all relationships aren't in many ways alike.

Some of the films that will be screened have a decidedly Indian connect.

Sum Total by Sonali Gulati is a five-minute production that explores a montage of two homes, that of "hot samosas' and "silence", where one is "real yet invisible" and the home away-from-home with her lover, where she finds acceptance. Home, she realises in the end, is the place where you take your shoes off.

Harjant Gill's Everything too is a poignant tale of a Sikh man struggling to come to terms with his sexual and cultural identity.

But serious too, can be fun. "The issues are grave, of course. But its all told in a light, entertaining, positive way ," says Sophie.

The film will followed by a performance by Abheena and the Dancing Queens, a Queer drag show dedicated to promoting queer talent and bringing drag culture to the mainstream.
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At: Alliance Francaise de Bombay, 40, Theosophy Hall, opposite USIS, Marine Lines, today at 6:30 pm.