KASHISH 2011 – INTERNATIONAL JURY MEMBERS

KASHISH 2011 JURY PANEL

The KASHISH 2011 Jury Panel consists of five eminent personalities from the field of film, theater and media. While four of jury members Sai Paranjpye, Khalid Mohamed, Shernaz Patel and Samir Soni are from our very own Mumbai, John Badalu joins us from Indonesia.

SAI PARANJPYE

Sai Paranjpye is a National award winning filmmaker and writer whose films have been unique and trailblazing. Her award-winning movies Sparsh, Katha, Chasme Buddoor, and Disha have played at numerous international film festivals and won numerous awards. She is also well known for her plays that sparkle with Sai’s own brand of endearing humour. Sai has twice served as the Chairperson of Children”s Film Society of India. She was awarded the Padma Bhushan title in 2006 in recognition of her artistic talents.

KHALID MOHAMED

Khalid Mohamed is an eminent Indian journalist, editor, film critic, screenwriter and film director. He formerly worked for the Times of India as media editor and then editor of Filmfare magazine. He was national cultural editor of Hindustan Times. He has written and directed three feature films Fiza, Tehzeeb and Silsilay. He is also the screenwriter of the award winning trilogy of Shyam Benegal – Mammo, Sardari Begum and Zubeidaa. He has recently completed a documentary on Mumbai”s Irani cafes and is directing his first theatre play Kennedy Bridge.

SHERNAZ PATEL

Shernaz has been a part of the English theatre in India for the past 25 years. Starting with The Diary Of Anne Frank she went on to play leading roles in such milestone plays as Six Degrees Of Separation and Love Letters. Her recent theatre work includes Blackbird (META Award for Best Actress, 2010) Class of ”84 and The Sightless. She has also been successfully working in Indian cinema and television ever since she worked in Sanjay Leela Bhansali”s Black in 2004 for which she was nominated for numerous awards. Her recent films include Lamha, Guzaarish (winner best supporting actress at the Star Screen Awards) I Am, O Maria (in Konkani) and the yet to be released Rock Star, Love, Wrinkle Free and Against Itself. A Charles Wallace scholar, she holds a Masters degree in Acting from the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama.

SAMIR SONI

Samir Soni is a popular model, theater and film actor. He was an investment banker on Wall Street, before coming back to India to start modeling. He has attended acting courses in New York and Los Angeles. Samir made his acting debut in Hindi serials with Samandar and went on to do other popular serials like A Mouthful Of Sky, Jassi Jaissi Koi Nahin, Saaksshi, etc. His film debut in China Gate was followed by roles in Baghban, Dance like a Man, Vivah and Lajja, Fashion and I Hate Luv Stories, etc. He recently featured as one of the contestants in the reality television show Bigg Boss 4 and was there till just one week before the grand finale.

JOHN BADALU

John Badalu has been working in the media related field since 1995. In 2002, with a few friends, he founded the Q! Film Festival. This is the only queer film festival in the predominantly Moslem country of Indonesia. Apart from being the director of the festival, he is also a film curator for many film festivals in Europe and has served as a jury in Berlin Film Festival and many others. He teaches Media and Entertainment subject at London School Public Relations. He is actively involved in the queer movement in Indonesia. In 2008, Badalu received the Ashoka Fellowship from Ashoka Foundation for his contribution in queer and film activism.

John Badalu‘s participation in KASHISH Mumbai International Queer Film Festival 2011 is supported by the ANA – Arts Network Asia (www.artsnetworkasia.org), an enabling grant body, working across borders in multiple disciplines, that encourages collaboration initiated and implemented in Asia by Asian artists and engaging with Asian arts communities.