THE BANGALORE QUEER FILM FESTIVAL 2012

In the 3rd edition of the BQFF, audiences saw two new additions to the already exciting growth of the festival. The first was the initiative to set up and provide Jury Awards and Audience Favourite Awards; the second was to showcase Retrospectives on directors whose works are internationally well known. BQFF 2011 presented 54 films from 14 countries over three days (February 25 -27).

The festival showcased some critically acclaimed and award-winning films. Theseincluded Splendid Float and Spider Lilies, as part of a retrospective on Taiwanese director Zero Chou. The festival also showcased the now renowned TV film, Prayers for Bobby, based on the true story of Mary Griffith (played by Sigourney Weaver), a woman torn between her loyalties and challenged by her faith when her son Bobby commits suicide because he is gay. A double bill of Argentinian filmmaker Lucia Puenzo’s El Nino Pez and XXY—two beautifully made films, the first of them about the relationship between a teenager living in an exclusive suburban neighbourhood, and the Paraguayan maid working in her house; the second on an intersex child who has to face the idea of resurgent masculine hormones and a changing relationship with her parents—were the closing films.