by Doris
From Cui Zi’En’s Queer China, ‘Comrade China’.
I have always been a fan of Beijing since having studied abroad at the Beijing Film Academy many moons ago. The city itself is an oxymoron as both China’s cultural center and political capital. There’s an air of anything goes there, as long as it’s not noticed or publicized. 10 years ago I made one my first short films there with a gay theme without a permit and smuggled it out of the country. This year I’ve been invited to guest curate a section of the Beiijng LGBT Film Festival on Queer Chinese Diaspora as well as screening my film Motherland there.The founders of the festival are Cui Zi’ En, one of the most prominent Chinese queer filmmaker/activists and Yang Yang, a feminist scholar. They started the festival orignially at Beijing University in 2001 and Cui, a professor at the Beijing Film Academy, said the festival is an important event for China’s fledgling gay movement.”The biggest change is that I’m not the only one doing this,” he said. “There’s more support from the gay community. Society has become more relaxed and open-minded in its thinking.” Continue reading
