Hyderabad's Queer Indie Film and Literature Festival Celebrates Diverse Narratives

Last Sunday, on October 10, 2025, the Queer Women Collective (QWC) organized the second edition of the Queer Indie Film and Literature Festival (QIFLF) in Hyderabad. The day-long ticketed event, held at the Prasad Digital Film Lab in Banjara Hills, aimed to provide a safe and inclusive space for the city's LGBTQ+ community, particularly queer women.

The festival featured a diverse program, including film screenings, a lively flea market, a book launch, musical and dance performances, and interactive workshops. According to Apoorva Gupta, the founder of QIFLF and QWC, the goal of the festival is to "tell stories of queer people, especially queer women, and have a space where members of the community can feel safe and wanted."

Apoorva, who is originally from Bhopal, started the Queer Women Collective during the COVID-19 pandemic, initially hosting online Zoom meetings to create a supportive community for queer women in Hyderabad. The collective has since grown to organize campaigns and discussions promoting inclusivity and representation.

Throughout the day, the festival screened nine curated short films in multiple languages, each telling a different queer story. The lively flea market, lined with stalls selling snacks, crafts, books, and art, was designed to support queer small business owners. The event also featured a chat show titled 'Queer History of Hyderabad', which delved into the city's rich and often overlooked LGBTQ+ past.