Kashish, Mumbai's Queer Film Festival opens today. The annual Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender (LGBT) movie event is now in its eighth edition and has become a fixture on the film circuit in the city.

Now is the time for many of the films shown here, especially by Indian filmmakers, to go mainstream to a wider audience. Mainstream filmmakers, too, can also take some inspiration through this offering, which now has to move out of its 'niche' bracket. Hopefully, more venues will come forward to offer their space to Kashish, so that the audience, too, becomes more diverse.