Ways of Seeing Queer China is a full-day program exploring queer independent cinema in China. The program offers a unique opportunity to watch landmark queer cinema from China, to engage with the filmmakers and to discuss many ways of seeing queer China, as an art of endurance and resilience.

This screening combines three key works by queer filmmaker and activist Popo Fan, whose films address topics such as same sex marriage, LGBTQ families, trans rights, and feminism. Followed by a conversation with Popo that is moderated by Chinese queer cultural historian Hongwei Bao, the Q&A will delve into questions of queer kinship and intimacy, while also extending beyond cinema to consider the medium of performance—such as theatre and on-street shows—as a critical site of activism.

New Beijing, New Marriage (2009) 18'
Popo’s debut film documents a bold activist action held on Valentine’s Day of 2009 planned by a group of queer activists. Two same-sex couples stage a wedding photoshoot on a square in the heart of Beijing. On this sunny spring day, public interviews are conducted to gauge the openness of Chinese society towards a new type of love.

The VaChina Monologues (2013) 28'
The Chinese Department of Sun Yat-sen University (Guangzhou) staged the Chinese debut of “The Vagina Monologues” in December 2003. Made in 2013 to mark the tenth anniversary of this event, the film features vagina narratives from participants in feminist groups across Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou.

The Drum Tower (2018) 18' 
An introverted senior school student and a transgender vintage shop-owner: two lonely souls swimming in the ever-changing pool of the city. Can they break through wall of communication? Where are they heading to?


Full day schedule:
12:30 Screening of Bad Women of China (2021) with director Xiaopei He
15:00 Selection of short films with director Popo Fan 
17:00 Ways of Seeing Queer China: A 30-Year Review Through Cinema (free registration)

Tickets and registration apply separately for each event.


Ways of Seeing Queer China is initiated by the ERC-funded project “RESCUE: Resilient Cultures”, bringing together queer filmmakers Xiaopei He and Popo Fan with scholars Hongwei Bao, Jeroen de Kloet, and Andy Zhu.