KASHISH Pride Film Festival (17)

Festival start: 03 June 2026      Festival end: 07 June 2026

We invite you to submit your LGBTQ+ themed films to the 15th edition of KASHISH Pride Film Festival which will be held from May 15-19, 2024 in Mumbai. The festival is organized by KASHISH Arts Foundation, a not-for-profit trust working towards mainstreaming queer issues through cinema and arts.

KASHISH Pride Film Festival is the first LGBTQ+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer) film festival in India to be held in a mainstream theater, and the first LGBTQ+ film festival in India to receive clearance from the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.

KASHISH PFF, now considered South Asia’s biggest LGBTQ film festival and one of world’s top 5 coolest LGBTQ film festival, has over the past 16 editions become one of the biggest pride events in India.

Founded in 2010, the festival has grown from strength to strength, attracting close to 9000 footfalls over the 4 1/2 days of the festival at two/three venues. The festival, every year, has screened 110 - 180 films that include shorts, documentaries, features - all centered around LGBTQ themes. The festival also attracts topline Bollywood celebrities, prominent filmmakers and media personalities, and receives every year over 150 write-ups in mainstream press in India and globally.

KASHISH 2026 Festival Theme: REFLECT, RESONATE, REJOICE!

Cash Prizes: 5,400$

KASHISH Pride Film Festival has both Competitive and Non-Competitive categories.

KASHISH Pride Film Festival awards the highest amount in cash prizes awarded by any LGBTQ+ film festival in the Indian subcontinent.
The Competition Categories are:
- Best Narrative Feature
- Unity in Diversity Best Documentary Feature
- Unity in Diversity Best Documentary Short
- Best Indian Narrative Short
- Best International Narrative Short
- Riyad Wadia Award for Best Emerging Indian Filmmaker
- Ismat Chughtai Award for Best Woman Filmmaker of Indian Origin
- Aditya Nanda Award for Best Film on Queer Mental Health
- Best Performance in a Lead Role
- Best Screenplay
- Best Student Short Film
- KASHISH QDrishti Film Grant
The winners will be selected by panels of eminent Jury members. The decision of the Juries will be final and is indisputable.

Please check underneath the terms & conditions for consideration in competition categories.

The Prize money and the Award Trophy will be sent ONLY to the Director of the film.

NOTE: The courier charges for dispatching of Award Trophies outside India will be deducted from the cash award amount.

KASHISH 2026 Terms & Conditions:

SUBMISSION RULES
----------------

1. KASHISH Pride Film Festival welcomes Filmmakers/ Producers/ Distributors across the world to submit features, documentaries, short and animation films that highlight/ focus on LGBTQ+ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer) lives and issues.

2. Submit to our festival ONLY IF your film has LGBTQ+ theme as its main focus. Films that do NOT pertain to LGBTQ+ theme will be DISQUALIFIED. Please be respectful of our time and yours. Submission Fees are not refundable. Please make sure you are choosing the right category while submitting.

3. Films completed after January 1, 2024 can be submitted to the festival. However only films completed after JANUARY 1, 2025 will be considered for competition.

4. The festival doesn’t accept films that are of less than 5 minute runtime including the beginning and end titles.

5. The festival doesn't accept preview screeners sent via Google drive. Please send your screeners ONLY here as a password protected Vimeo file or directly embedded video.

6. Films with a running time below 60 minutes will be considered in the Short Film category. Above 60 minutes will be considered in the Feature Film category.

7. All non-English language films SHOULD have English Subtitles.

We prefer English language films to also have English subtitles or close-captions, for the festival to be more inclusive and accessible to hearing impaired audience members.

8. KASHISH Pride Film Festival only allots a limited number of fee waivers for Festival Alumni (with two or more films).

9. IMPORTANT NOTE: The festival DOES NOT PAY SCREENING FEE to any selected films, neither to the filmmakers, producers nor to the distributors. Instead we choose to invest our resources in showcasing your films in the best possible manner and promoting your films as widely as possible.

10. Films submitted for earlier editions of KASHISH Pride Film Festival and not accepted cannot be submitted again. Re-submission of the same or re-edited films will not be approved and will be rejected.

11. Please use an email id/phone number that is checked regularly in case we need to get in touch with you throughout the submission process. If there is an issue with your submission and you are not reachable on your given email id, your submission will be disqualified.

12. Filmmaker/ Producer/ Distributor certifies that the person holds the rights for submission of film to the festival and will be considered as the original submitter. All correspondence will be done through email ONLY to the original submitter.

13. KASHISH Pride Film Festival is only responsible for considering the project as it exists at the time of review. The festival is under no obligation to revisit updated cuts once a screener has been seen, so be sure that the submitted film is the final cut in all respects.

14. Films are selected for programming only based on their merit. Please do not be persuaded by anyone who claims to have access to the Festival Team / Selection Committee, and asks for monetary or other favours to get your film selected in the festival. The Festival will not be responsible for any such dealings.

15. If your film is selected we require consent to screen it once or twice during the festival and its year round activities.

IMPORTANT TO CONSIDER:
Once you receive a notification about your film’s selection, you will not be allowed to withdraw your film for whatever reason (premiere status, screening fee, etc). We invest a lot of time in previewing and curating the selection to include your film.
Plan wisely and submit only if you agree to all the above rules and regulations.

For any submission related query, please write to SAAGAR GUPTA, Artistic Director, at kashish.miqff@gmail.com

DEADLINES
---------

REGULAR DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSION: FEBRUARY 16, 2026
EXTENDED DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSION: MARCH 16, 2026
The Festival is not obliged to view any late entries.

COMPETITION CATEGORY RULES
--------------------------

1. To be considered in the COMPETITION CATEGORY, a film:
(a) Should be completed after JANUARY 1, 2025

(b) Should be a MUMBAI PREMIERE when screened at KASHISH Pride Film Festival. The film should NOT have screened in Mumbai at any film festival, community or NGO screening before KASHISH 2026.

(c) Should NOT have had a theatrical, satellite release, or streamed on any VOD / OTT platforms, YouTube or any other platforms in India before KASHISH 2026.

(d) Films that don’t fulfill conditions in (a,b,c) cannot be considered for competition, but may still be considered for non-competitive category.

(e) Films even if complying the above rules, will still be selected on merit as per the decision of the Selection Committee. The Selection Committee's decision is final and binding.

2. Additional terms for consideration in STUDENT SHORT FILM COMPETITION CATEGORY:
(a) Apart from the above requirements, ONLY short films UNDER 60 minutes that pertain to LGBTQIA+ theme made by student/s of any Indian and International film & media institutes.

(b) The director of the Student Short Film must be of age 25 years and under, a current or recently graduated full-time student, and has made the submitted film as part of their course at the institute.

(c) If you are a Student Filmmaker please submit a scanned image of your valid student Photo ID as proof by email to kashish.miqff@gmail.com . If you have already passed out of the institute, you can provide an official letter from your faculty head certifying that the submitted film was made as part of your film course at the institute. Please quote your tracking number in the subject line of email.

(d) If the film has more than one director, the team should nominate one of the directors as a key person for all communication. In case the film wins, the award money will be sent to this person only.

(e) The entries shall be judged on the basis of originality, craft, entertainment and artistic quality, without regard to cost of production or subject matter.

SELECTION NOTIFICATION
----------------------

1. The original submitter of the accepted film will be notified by email by April 7, 2026.

2. Please ensure that you have provided us with your correct/valid email.

3. After notification of selection, the film may not be withdrawn from the festival under any circumstance. For directors and producers, we strongly advise that everyone is in agreement about the festivals they are submitting to, which festivals they want to premiere at, and which version of the film is being submitted. When disputes arise, i.e. a film has been submitted without everyone’s explicit approval or the festival strategy has changed, we suggest that productions find a solution and come to an agreement with all the key decision makers before contacting us or any festivals the film has been submitted to.

4. Due to large number of entries we receive, we will not be able to offer any feedback to those films that are not accepted.

5. Accepted films will receive an email notifying the film's acceptance at the festival. Films not accepted will also be notified by email by the notification date*.

Please make sure the email address associated with your submission remains active throughout the submission process. Your status of Accepted/Not Accepted will also be reflected here by the notification date.

* Notification date may change. We recommend checking the festival website or this page regularly for updates.

6. Upon acceptance we would need an exhibition copy in DCP format for feature films along with a MP4 backup, and a 2K file for short films. Other materials required such as publicity stills, trailer, festivals list, etc. will be mentioned in the notification mail.

7. KASHISH Pride Film Festival reserves the right to use the selected film stills/ text/ video clip (limited to 10% of the total length and not exceeding 3 min) for promotional use in, but not limited to, Internet, print media, TV, etc.

IMPORTANT NOTE: The festival reserves the right to decide all questions regarding terms and conditions. By submitting your film to KASHISH Pride Film Festival via this platform, you accept the terms and conditions mentioned above.