Although video gaming isn’t one of the more stereotypical gay activities, there are an awful of of LGBT gamers out there. There’s even been a bit of controversy recently, with someone claiming they own the trademark to the term ‘gaymer’, which others, who feels this is a generic name they use themselves, have been fighting against.

Gay gaming is now so popular there’s even a convention, called Gaymer X, planned for San Francisco this summer. Some documentary filmmakers think that will make a good subject for a movie, so they’ve launched a KickStarter campaign to raise $50,000 to get a film about gay gaming made.

Called Gaming in Color, the film will ‘be documenting the experiences of LGBT and women gamers / game developers to introduce perspectives you may not have seen before’. The people putting together Gaymer X will also be documented, with the film hoping to give a great overview of the little talked about LGBT gaming community, and help redefine what people think of gamers.

If you want to help out, head over to KickStarter. [Read more…]

Crowdfunding isn’t just for movies – all sorts of projects have started looking for cash from the Internet community. One that’s currently seeking some money is the Kashish Mumbai International Queer Film Festival 2013 – India’s biggest LGBT film fest. Aimed at keeping the festival free and accessible to audiences, organisers say crowd funding also gives audience a feeling of ownership.

Kashish first looked for funding from the web last year, and after the success of that, they’ve noe launched a campaign on Wishberry.

“Crowd funding is not just a means to raise money, but also to connect to a diverse range of people and seek their engagement with the festival,’’ says Sridhar Rangayan, Festival Director.

Rangayan adds, “Kashish is a not-for-profit LGBT initiative and only through corporate support and generous contribution from individuals, that we can make it an annual sustainable event. We are asking for a small support to continue bringing contemporary queer films from around the world for a big screen experience. And hope everyone contributes to this movement ‘towards change’.”

Kashish 2013 will be held from May 22nd to 26th at Cinemax Versova, Andheri West and from May 23th-25th at Alliance Française de Bombay, Marine Lines. The festival theme this year is `Towards Change’. The festival will make a special effort to program films and have panel discussions that not only deal with LGBT themes, but also those that relate to families and friends of LGBT people.

KASHISH Mumbai International Queer Film Festival is the first and only gay & lesbian film festival in India to be held in a mainstream theatre and the only queer festival to receive clearance from the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.

You can find out more at Wishberry or the festival’s website.

While we all look forward to a world where no actor has to even consider whether playing gay might have an effect on their career, we’re not there yet. While we’ve seen an increasing amount of straight actors playing gay with no problems, the issue is potentially different for openly gay actors, some of whom worry about getting pigeon-holed into LGBT roles if they play gay on-screen.

It seems it’s something gay actor Russell Tovey (Being Human, The History Boys, Him & Her, Doctor Who) thinks about, particularly as he’s managed avoid being stereotyped, despite being out and proud in his personal life. Talking to The Independent, the 31-year old says, “Every character I play is straight, which is unique,  my agent says, because it’s not really been done before that someone who is completely out is able to play straight roles.”

He’s not against playing a gay character, but it would have to be something special. Tovey says, “So for me to play gay it has to be something special, because it might actually be more of a risk. So I’m waiting for that role – I want it to be something that moves things forward.”

To be honest, Tovey is now well established enough that it shouldn’t make any difference about the sexuality of any character he plays, although it does go to show the pressure actors still feel they’re under when it comes to sexuality, and that some gay actors still worry they’ll get boxed into a corner if casting directors begin seeing them purely as ‘the gay one’.

And whether he plays a gay character or not, he has a massive gay fanbase – indeed, he seems to be everybody’s favourite fantasy boyfriend on gay Tumblr blogs.

Tovey was talking ahead of the screening of his new UK sitcom, The Job Lot, which started on ITV last Monday.