Each year, the International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia, Intersexphobia and Transphobia (IDAHOBIT) is celebrated on May 17th and aims to raise awareness about violations of LGBTQ rights and eradicate the hate against the community. This year, the theme is “Breaking the Silence”.
On this occasion, The Rainbow Lit Fest has released a short video with 15 voices from the worlds of films to music to publishing coming together and sharing the role that expression and story-telling can play to break notions and tackle phobias. From well known author and mythologist Devdutt Pattanaik, to filmmaker Onir, from drag artist Avatari Devi to actor and Model Rudrani Chettri, from author & speaker Raga D’Silva to activist Anjali Gopalan, everyone shares their story and how they express themselves and their feelings, and why such story-telling through different medium is important.
Sharif D Rangnekar, the director of Rainbow Lit Fest who put together the video, said, “I’ve always felt stories are the way to share lived lives and experiences. The story can be in a book, a poem, a dance, a song or even on the wall – graffiti I mean. These stories if shared through art forms, it has the ability to touch souls and stir emotions. Hence, this short film – if I may call it that – is a reminder of what films, books, music and other mediums such as Tik Tok can do in terms of reaffirming ones own identity and getting others to relate to that truth.”
“I feel these means of art and expression can reduce phobias and make people more aware.”