27 March 2020: British Council brings the 6th edition of Five Films for Freedom, the world’s widest-reaching LGBTQ+ digital campaign in March. Five Films For Freedom is a global, online short film programme in support of LGBTIQ+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, queer) rights.
The project, a partnership between the British Council and BFI Flare: London LGBTQ+ Film Festival, will see five short films from the BFI Flare programme made available to Indian and global audiences through the British Council’s global digital platforms, free of charge. Audience everywhere can watch the five films online in solidarity with LGBTIQ+ communities in places where freedom and equal rights are limited, and to spread the word using the hashtag #FiveFilmsForFreedom.
This year’s short films look at an intersection of LGBTIQ+ perspectives to explore love and acceptance created by stalwarts of the film industry of the UK, Brazil, Norway and Ireland.
YouTube link to watch films: https://www.youtube.com/user/britishartschannel
Website link: https://www.britishcouncil.org/arts/fivefilmsforfreedom
Additionally, British Council in India hosts a digital pan-India campaign with a focus on LGBTQIA+ narratives from Indian perspectives curated by RafiulAlom Rahman, the founder of The Queer Muslim Project. He represents India on the Beijing+25 Global Youth Task Force set up by UN Women and comes with a decade of experience in gender and sexuality rights.The weeklong campaign on the British Council India Instagram and social media page showcases:
- A live session on 29 March from 6- 7 pm on British Council Facebook pagethemed ‘Voices from the Margins – Building Resilient LGBTQIA+ Communities in Indiathat will reflect on some of the filmsthematics – self-expression, homophobia in rural communities/ Indian society at large, coming out as a teenager and finding love later in life and connecting this with the existing situation of LGBTQIA+ rights in India and what could be the way forward.
- A special 30-minute Instagram live takeover on 27 and 28 of March at 6 pm with Alex Mathew aka Maya the Drag Queen on queer art for self-expression and community building and Parmesh Shahani Head Godrej India Culture Lab on LGBTQ inclusion in the workspace
