From Mexico to China
In collaboration with our sister festivals in Mexico, China and Taiwan, three different programs are presented here with the most exciting queer films from each region. The films will screen on a rolling schedule constantly during the hotel’s opening hours:
Oct 6 – 8: Queer in China (more about the movies below)
Oct 6 – 8: Made in Taiwan (more about the movies below)
9 – 11 Oct: Cinema Queer Mexico (more about the movies below)
QUEER IN CHINA
Intro by curators Tianyu & Shine
During our curation, we noticed that stories of the LGBTQ community in China are more often told through documentaries instead of fictions. This might be explained when we take a look at filmmakers’ background, that many of them are activists, witnesses, participants closely involved in the gay movement in China. Meanwhile, the constant battle with censorship ( “self-censorship”) has largely exhausted the creative drive and passion for domestic fiction productions. While the documentary narratives have unfolded the weary battle against the worsening socio-political landscape, today in China, queer culture has carved out a dazzling and accumulating underground space, where queerness and simply the joy of living are respected and celebrated.
We present three documentaries that delineate queer scenes in mainland China over the past 30 years; from 1995 when 300 lesbians built up a lesbian tent in Beijing, towards 2017 when drag scenes lighted up underground space in Shanghai, and the general context that LGBT pride in China remains a tough/ sensitive topic in public discourse as revealed in Shanghai Queer.
We Are Here (2015) 60 min
Directors: Jing Zhao, Shi Tou
What happens when 300 lesbians from around the world attend the largest United Nations conference? How did two busloads of lesbians headed to an underground nightclub help spark the birth of a lala (LBT) movement in China? At the 1995 Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing, the first-ever lesbian tent at a UN NGO Forum was created. At the tent, ideas were shared, connections were made, identities were assured… with a growing emergence of energy for change.
Extravaganza
Matthew Baren / 2017 / 45 min
A documentary about the Shanghai drag scene. July 2017, Shanghai. Drag queen Miss Jade has brought together 12 of the city’s drag performers for a one-night show. They are the fiercest kings and queens in town. Extravaganza takes you behind the scenes of one of China’s most dynamic drag scenes. Feel the shade, live the fantasy.
Shanghai Queer
Xiangqi Chen / 2019 / 90 min
Shanghai Queer is a first-of-its-kind documentary film about LGBTQ’s pursuit of equality and freedom in Shanghai, China. The documentary tells the collective memories of the development of Shanghai’s LGBTQ community over the past 15 years (2003-2018), presenting and focusing on the mission, growth and thoughts of NGOs, activists, scholars and artists in the gender equality movement under the change of urban spaces. Through oral interviews with activists and tours around local queer spaces, the documentary discusses China’s LGBTQ-related issues and depicts a picture of local activism fighting for the minority’s equality.
MADE IN TAIWAN
We are delighted to screen this Taiwanese short film collection co-curated by Queer East, which offers a snapshot of the unique queer desire and rich tradition of LGBTQ+ filmmaking in Taiwan. Presented in partnership with Queer East Film Festival. With support from the Ministry of Culture (Taiwan). Facebook, Ins: @queereast / Twitter: @queereastfest
The Summer of 12
Kuan-Ling Kuo / 2019 / Taiwan / 25 min
Amongst the young members of a swimming team, the onset of early puberty begins to turn innocent camaraderie into something more intimate.
Gentleman Spa
Jhi-Han Yu / 2019 / Taiwan / 18 min
Hao works as a janitor at a gay spa. One day, he chats with Kai, an attractive customer, but things do not go as expected.
Military Dog
Pin-Wen Wang / 2018 / Taiwan / 11 min
New to BDSM, young military officer Lee Jun-zhong must complete a risky task in order to prove his loyalty to his master. But can he overcome his doubts and fear to face his inner desires?
Each Each Other
Pin-Ru Chen / 2017 / Taiwan / 15 min
It’s difficult making the transition from being single to starting a relationship. So how should we cope? Echo Each Other abandons spoken dialogue, instead using sign and body language to silently communicate with the audience.
Tidal
Yan-Xun Li / Origin Sun Studio / 2017 / Taiwan / 15 min
Hai, a boy who was born and raised on a small island, has a taboo relationship with Tai, a sailor whose ship regularly docks at the harbour.
CINEMA QUEER MEXICO
Intro by curator Lulu Gil Alvaradejo
This program is a glimpse of the growing landscape in storytelling in Mexico, with some creators deciding to make content that’s available for free for everyone who feels underrepresented in mainstream media, while others have chosen to talk about the often overlooked elderly folks in the LGBTQ+ community, but all of them share a commitment to keep a fresh look when telling their stories.
Letters to Claudia
Frida Mesa / 2019 / México / 16 min
Claudia is a young woman who spends her days working in a used bookstore. One day, after finding a letter forgotten in a book, she starts a search to deliver it.
See trailer
Seafoam
Luis Mariano García / 2018 / México / 7 min
Ana’s shyness holds her back from talking to her crush, but with inspiration from
Hans Christian Andersen’s The Little Mermaid, this may finally change.
Encounter
2019 / México / 16min
Araceli takes care of her lifetime partner Lulú. Julian, a teenager exploring his identity, lives under the watch of his conservative mother. A sudden event will draw an unexpected meeting between the couple and Julian.
See trailer!
Orgullo de ser
Omar Flores Sarabia y Oscar Anaya Hernández / 2020 / México / 13 min
100 LGBT+personer berättar om sina komma-ut-erfarenheter och skapar ett lapptäcke av berättelser och vittnesmål från latinamerikas mångsidiga queercommunity.
La felicidad en la que vivo
Carlos Morales / 2020 / México / 11 min
100 LGBT + people tell their coming out experience in a documentary shot remotely, in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. The experiences and anecdotes are interwoven to make an X-ray image of the diversity in Latin America.
See trailer!
