The Rainbow Lit Fest is back! Here’s all that you need to know

The Rainbow Lit Fest – Queer and Inclusive will return this December 7 and 8 to Delhi’s Gulmohar Park Club, drawing speakers and performers from across the world, including Imphal in Manipur and Vancouver, Canada.

Spanning two days, the festival features 44 sessions across dual stages, offering over 27 hours of discussions, performances, and cultural programming. This year’s event will explore a diverse range of topics, including identity, gender, sexuality, feminism, desire, mental health, public policy, and law. One of the key highlights is a session dedicated to the perspectives of queer parents—a first for the subcontinent. This unique panel will provide a transformative approach to parenting, allowing the audience to engage with parents who have embraced their children with love and understanding.

As part of the festival's Spotlight On History series, there will be discussions with individuals who lived through the pre-Section 377 era, before the digital age. Among the notable sessions is a conversation between Justice S Murlidhar, Anjali Gopalan of the Naz Foundation, and Eric Chopra of Itihasology, who will reflect on the 2009 Delhi High Court ruling that decriminalized homosexuality.

The festival opens with a Spotlight Talk titled The Quiet Rebellion, featuring the celebrated filmmaker Hansal Mehta, known for his acclaimed films Aligarh, Shahid, Scoop, and The Buckingham Murders. On Day Two, musician T M Krishna will address the theme The Power Hierarchies.

The festival’s impressive lineup includes Saurabh Kirpal, India’s first openly gay lawyer and author; Bonita Rajpurohit, the first transgender woman to play a lead role in a Hindi feature film (LSD 2); award-winning filmmaker Faraz Ansari; podcasting duo Yogi & Kabeer; Minakshi Sanyal, founder of Sappho For Equality; Anish Gawande, openly gay national spokesperson for the NCP; Jaya Sharma, queer feminist and founder of The Kinky Project; hotelier Kesahv Suri; and filmmaker Paromita Vohra, founder of Agents of Ishq.

The festival will also feature the Queer Caravan, a collaborative residency program supported by the Goethe-Institut / Max Mueller Bhavan, the French Institute in India, and The Queer Muslim Project, with backing from the German-French Cultural Fund. This initiative brings together queer artists and storytellers from France, Germany, and India to amplify underrepresented LGBTQIA+ voices and foster cross-cultural dialogue.

Seven films will be showcased, including Holy Curse, which has recently qualified for the 2026 Oscars, and Sheer Qorma, starring Shabana Azmi, Divya Dutta, and Swara Bhasker. Directors Snigdha Kapoor and Faraz Ansari will be present to discuss their works. The cultural program will feature performances from drag artist Krystal Koko, expressionist dancer Patruni Chidananda Sastry, trans musician and activist Sarvagya, multi-national band Bollyjazz, stand-up comedian Navin Noronha, music duo Sagar & Srijan, and the dance troupe Footloose, led by transwoman lawyer Raghavi.

The festival will also dedicate space to 12 stalls run by queer entrepreneurs from Northeast India, offering a platform for these individuals to showcase their enterprises and build a market for their work.