BBMP Chief Commissioner Tushar Giri Nath said, “As the 77th Independence Day approaches, we have completed all preparations. The Chief Minister will inaugurate the event at 9 with the flag hoisting, followed by a 45-minute speech.”
Citizens’ feedback was taken by deputy chief minister DK Shivakumar’s office, which was analysed by academic partners, which were the Civil Department of the Indian Institute of Science and Ramaiah Institute of Management.
Joshua Muyiwa, one of the festival organisers, talking to Bangalore Mirror said, “The film festival is evolving the way we show films, and what is queer keeps changing every year. We are responding to the times, and it has changed in terms of accessibility and focus. Earlier, queer films mostly focused on the West, and now we feature a lot of Indian, Bangalore, and South Asian films.” This year’s festival lineup has a lot of Indian and South Asian films.
Lokesh, another protester, drew attention to the recurring pattern of violence that seemed to be engulfing the country cyclically. He said, “Manipur is burning. 22 years ago it was Gujarat, 4 years back Delhi burnt. It’s the same formula. We seem to be burning up this country.”