Kashish Pride Film Festival Unfurls New Logo & Festival Look

EE News Desk Apr 12, 2024

The erstwhile Kashish Mumbai International Queer Film Festival, the city’s annual LGBTQ+ film festival, now renamed as Kashish Pride Film Festival, unveiled its look for its 15th edition with the theme ‘Unfurl Your Pride’.

The design by Sitesh Govind, a Bangalore-based graphic designer and creative producer, was selected from among two dozen designs submitted by various designers across India in response to the Kashish 2024 International Poster Design Contest.

The final design was selected by Dalip Daswani, a Pune-based ceramic designer, who said, “The Pride colours so evident in this design, are not ‘in your face’. The graphics are strong, and the organised tapestry of colour is bold and dynamic, but not loud. The design celebrates energy with a sense of flight hinting at stories of ‘cinematic’ lives – joyful, exuberant, infinite, and cosmic.”

The designer Sitesh Govind said of his design, “The Reels represent the core of the film festival, which is the celebration of cinema. The film reels are a nod to the history and tradition of filmmaking. Butterflies are often symbols of transformation and beauty, the butterflies in the poster signify the journey of self-discovery and the unfolding of one’s true identity, which aligns with the queer community’s experiences.”

The designer gets a Rs.25,000 cash award as well as a Kashish Butterfly Award Trophy. The design will become the festival’s look and used on posters, catalogues, hoardings, T-shirts and other merchandise elements.

The first and second runners-ups were Sangeetha Nandakumar, a designer from Mumbai, who will receive Rs.10,000; and Vaibhav Tanna, an embroidery artist & interior designer from Gurugram, who will receive Rs.5000; along with a certificate each.

Kashish 2024, South Asia’s biggest LGBTQ+ film festival, is all set to unfold from 15 to 19 May at three venues across Mumbai city – Liberty Cinema and Alliance Française de Bombay in South Mumbai and Cinepolis in Andheri West.

Sridhar Rangayan, Founder and Festival Director, exuded confidence and excitement, “It is a great moment indeed that Kashish is hosting its 15th year when so many important and older festivals are downing their shutters. We are lucky to have the benevolence and support of so many people in the Indian film industry, Indian & International corporates and institutions, media schools, the filmmakers who unwaveringly come back to Kashish with their new films, and the audience who are already waiting eagerly for the cinematic fare that will unfurl soon. We hope to bring a diverse and inclusive environment where everyone – the LGBTQ+ community members, their families & friends, allies and film buffs - can enjoy the best queer programming from across the world.”

The festival also unveiled their new logo designed by designer duo Inderjit Nagi & Syed Ali Arif, who said about the design, “Kashish has always been extremely dear to us and over the years, it’s become like an annual pilgrimage that must be undertaken. For the new logo, we wished to retain the butterfly, a quintessential element from the existing logo, and redesign it to include all colours of the pride & trans flags. We decided to embed the letters 'KPFF' into the butterfly itself. Just like the various identities of the LGBTQ+ community that attend the festival we also created the word 'Kashish' by mixing a few fonts & design elements, making the new branding truly iconic & originally queer. For us, this new look is fun, quirky, and contemporary, exuding a strong recall value. We hope & pray that Kashish continues to thrive and grow and expand over the years to come, and become a strong global name among world-class film festivals.”