【Recap】Queer Film Conference
It has been six months since filmmaker Fan Popo successfully sued state-censor SARFT over the removal his film Mama Rainbow from the internet; it has been four months since new legislation effectively banned all LGBTQ webseries from the internet (including hit show Addiction) What does it mean to be a contemporary Chinese queer filmmaker, and how can content creators navigate an ever changing legal and commercial landscape whilst remaining true to their own artistic or narrative vision?
On June 25th, ShanghaiPRIDE Film Festival welcomed filmmakers, programmers, producers and decision makers to our first Queer Film Conference Day. Three specialist panel discussions offered new perspectives on filmmaking in China and Asia.
Our first guest was Billy Stewart, director of &Proud Yangon LGBT Film Festival, to present a selection of short films from Rainbow Reels, a filmmaking workshop that empowers LGBTQ people in Myanmar to tell their stories through cinema. Rainbow Reels has connected queer people in rural communities with audiences in urban centers, shaping the community to be more representative.
Our second panel saw representatives from social apps Rela, Lesdo and blued discuss creating LGBTQ content for online viewing in China. Each platform takes a slightly different approach to content creation. Having briefly covered their individual commercial concerns, our guests shared their ideas on diversifying representation. Blued was keen to emphasize that whilst it is aimed at a gay-male market, it had an interest in lesbian content, with one audience member taking the opportunity to pitch an all-female cross platform theatre and film project. Rela and Lesdo both expressed a desire to support emerging talent, either through hosting or through in-house training. This was one of the most engaged discussions of the day.
We ended by welcoming filmmakers Zhang Yuan and Fan Popo to reflect on the past 20 years of queer independent filmmaking, and offer their thoughts on the future.
The conference featured a networking session, as well as screenings from the Asia Pacific Queer Film Festival Alliance (APQFFA), a collective co-founded by ShPFF to support regional filmmakers. This event was part of our ongoing efforts to build a stronger community of LGBTQ content creators in Shanghai. Please follow ShanghaiPRIDE’s official WeChat for details of upcoming opportunities.
For more event photos, please click “Read More”.
