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April 1-3, 2004

SALAAM Theatre
Geeta Citygirl, Artistic Director
invites you to attend and support

Between the Lines:
Negotiating South Asian LBGT Identity –
the first event of its kind to be organized in Massachusetts.

This is a festival of film, video, readings and discussion that will be held at MIT between April 1-3 2004.  All events are free and open to the public so if you are around that area, do attend.  A more detailed description can be found on the festival website http://mit.edu/cms/betweenthelines/

VENUE: MIT
77 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA 02139

ADMISSION:
FREE & OPEN TO THE PUBLIC

FESTIVAL PROGRAM:

Truckdrivers with Chutney April 1: 6pm; Room 3 – 270
Lesbian and women-oriented South Asian LBGT movies and videos.

Happiness Forever April 1: 9.30pm; Room 3 – 270
Sixth Happiness – fictional movie biography of gay disabled writer, Firdaus Kanga.

BomGay to LA: A tribute to Riyad Wadia April 2: 6pm; Room 6 – 120
Retrospective of the late Riyad Wadia's documentaries BomGay (India's first gay film) and A Mermaid Called Aida, accompanied by readings of recent works by
India's leading gay writer R Raj Rao and Los Angeles based novelist, Ghalib Shiraz Dhalla.

Eat, Drink, Man, Woman April 2: 9pm
Official Festival Dinner Reception, sponsored by Queer Asian Pacific Alliance – New England and Boston (QAPA) and the Massachusetts Asian & Pacific Islanders
for Health (MAP).

Get Out of Here! April 3: 2.30 pm; Room 6 – 120
LBGT shorts on issues of coming out and dealing with one's sexuality in a unique South Asian context. (Including Rewriting the Script, Three, Everything, Beauty
Parlour, South Asian – Happy and Gay, The Goddess Method, For Straights Only and many more.)

Negotiating a South Asian LBGT Identity April 3: 6pm; Room 6 – 120
Panel Discussion with festival guests of honor, Boston LBGT activists and scholars.

Goodbye…in Pink! April 3: 8pm; Room 6 – 120
Boston premiere of the hilarious Bombay drag film – Gulabi Aaina (The Pink Mirror).

MASALA Party April 3: 9pm
Final dance party, organized by Massachusetts Area South Asian Lambda Association (Boston MASALA).

Why the need for Between the Lines
The quest for a holistic gay identity is being dramatically played out on today’s world stage. While in USA, the arguments rage for and against the right to gay
marriages, in South Asian countries like India, a noisy revolution is taking place for the right to recognition and dignity and the repeal of the country’s ancient
anti-sodomy laws in the Indian Penal Code. The battle in both cases is being fought largely through the media. But it is peculiar that in today’s global connected world,
the gay movements seem so geographically insular. Between the Lines is an attempt to bridge the gap between the LBGT movements of South Asia and USA and lay
the groundwork for future partnerships and co-operation. It is a way of showcasing the wonderful creative diversity of the South Asian LBGT community and an
attempt to facilitate interaction and an understanding of what constitutes a South Asian LBGT identity. It is also an endeavor to build bridges - with the several gay and
straight cultures that coexist in our society today, and ultimately a celebration of both – the commonalities as well as the differences.

FOR DETAILS: contact organizer, Parmesh Shahani
Phone: 617/225-6638 or by Email: parmesh@mit.edu

COSPONSORS: MIT Large Event Funding (LEF), LBGT @ MIT, Program in Comparative Media Studies at MIT, MIT Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures, MIT Program in Women's Studies, MIT Office of the Arts, MIT BGALA (Bisexual Gay and Lesbian Alums), Rainbow Coffee House at MIT, MIT Committee on Campus Race Relations, SANGAM – The Indian Students' Association at MIT, Massachusetts Area South Asian Lambda Association (Boston MASALA), Queer Asian Pacific Alliance – New England and Boston, Massachusetts Asian & Pacific Islanders for Health, Funded (in part) by the Council for the Arts at MIT.

SALAAM Theatre and Geeta Citygirl are supporters / co-sponsors for this event.  For an energizing and engaging event, make it SALAAM time.  It is SALAAM's policy to be the Jump Start to your Artistic Heart.  For wellness to your creative and activist spirit, take your dose of SALAAM as often as you can.  It is ALL NATURAL and ALL ORIGINAL.