Starting from 22 October, the previously postponed Queer East Film Festival returns to cinemas across the UK with 36 films from 13 countries. The festival opens its first cinema screening with a special 35mm presentation of Taiwan’s Blue Gate Crossing (Directed by YEE Chih-Yen), a coming-of-age drama which explores the relationship between two high school students. This bittersweet tale of love and sexuality has remained timeless since its release in the early 2000s.

Supported by the Ministry of Culture, Taiwan (R.O.C.), the festival highlights Taiwan as the focus country this year to celebrate Taiwan’s landmark law for same-sex marriage, as the first and only in Asia. The special strand presents the country’s rich tradition of LGBTQ+ filmmaking, including the three-time Oscar winner Ang LEE and his 1993 classic, The Wedding Banquet. Award-winning films joining Queer East also include winners of Taiwan Golden Horse Awards, Alifu, the Prince/ss (Dir. WANG Yu-Lin) and Girlfriend Boyfriend (Dir. YANG Ya-Che). A strong selection of short films made by emerging talents include The Glamorous Boys of Tang (Dir. SU Hui-Yu), The Summer of 12 (Dir. KUO Kuan-Ling) and Military Dog (Dir. WANG Ping-Wen) exploring a wide range of queer subjects within the Taiwanese history and society.

Spanning over 50 years of filmmaking, the first edition of Queer East is a mix of classic retrospectives and new releases, to explore how culture, law, history, and social norms have affected and built the current queer Asian landscape. Festival Director and Programmer of Queer East, WANG Yi says: “Global events this year have yet again reminded us of the importance of reflecting on equalities. More than ever, we have the power to bring about change by challenging everything, from stereotypes to lawmakers. The establishment of Queer East is to shine a spotlight on the under-represented queer Asian community and encourage the public to hear the voices from those who dare to challenge.

As for choosing Taiwan as the first focus country, Wang says: “Taiwan’s outstanding achievement on LGBTQ+ rights is recognized internationally, and the freedom enables many excellent films touching about the issues to be produced. The 10 feature films and 8 short films we selected reflect various issues including queer bildungsroman, traditional family values, HIV stigma, social movements and transgender groups. The festival hopes to demonstrate the diversity and energy of Taiwan society.”

The festival presented two virtual programmes, QE: HomeSexual and QE: Docs4Pride during lockdown in April. Now reimagined as a season-long showcase, the festival’s in-person cinema screenings will now go beyond London to include Manchester, Nottingham and Bristol. As for offering UK-wide virtual screenings for audiences to enjoy at home, the festival allies the Cardiff-based Iris Prize LGBT+ Film Festival to bring two UK virtual premieres, one with which is The Teacher (Dir Ming-Lang Chen) from Taiwan. The “Shorts Programme: Gods and/or Monsters” co-presented with the Scottish Queer International Film Festival (SQIFF) also includes 4 short films from Taiwan. Other partners include Barbican Centre and Taiwan Film Festival Edinburgh.

For more information: https://queereast.org.uk/

 

Focus Taiwan Programme

Blue Gate Crossing (35mm)

Dir YEE Chih-Yen | Taiwan | 2002 | 85 min

22 October | Genesis Cinema

Alifu, the Prince/ss

Dir WANG Yu-Lin | Taiwan | 2017 | 95 min

25 October | Genesis Cinema

The Teacher (UK Premiere)

Dir CHEM Ming-Lang | Taiwan | 2019 | 92 min

10 - 31 October 2020 | Iris Prize LGBT+ Film Festival | Online

Turning 18

Dir HO Chao-Ti | Taiwan | 2018 | 87 min

Tuesday 3 November 2020 | Riverside Studios

Thursday 26 November 2020 | HOME Manchester

Looking For? (UK Premiere)

Dir CHOU Tung-Yen | Taiwan | 2017 | 60 min

7 November | Catford Mews

The Shepherds (UK Premiere)

Dir Elvis Lu | Taiwan | 2018 | 70 min

30 October - 5 November | Taiwan Film Festival Edinburgh | Online

Nobody (UK Premiere)

Dir LIN Chun-Hua | Taiwan | 2020 | 83 min

30 October - 5 November | Taiwan Film Festival Edinburgh | Online

Girlfriend Boyfriend

Dir YANG Ya-Che | Taiwan | 2012 | 105 min

November 2020 (TBC)

Spider Lilies

Dir Zero Chou | Taiwan | 2006 | 97 min

November 2020 (TBC)

The Wedding Banquet

Dir. Ang Lee | Taiwan, US | 1993 | 106 min

November 2020 (TBC)

Shorts Programme: Gods and/or Monsters

Various directors | Taiwan, UK, US | 76 min

5 - 18 October 2020 | Scottish Queer International Film Festival | Online