2016 ShanghaiPRIDE launch theme film marking one-week countdown

To mark the one-week countdown to ShanghaiPRIDE 2016 (June 17-26), festival organizers have released a powerful three-minute video exploring the Pride8 theme, “生为平常 I Am Me,” through eight important figures in the Chinese LGBTQ community.

Summer Wu, Producer of Pride8 “生为平常 I Am Me” theme video, and Raymond Phang, Director of ShanghaiPRIDE, share details about the making of the video and the inspiring message it conveys.

What does the video say about this year’s Pride theme?

ShanghaiPRIDE’s theme this year is “生为平常 I Am Me,” which literally means in Chinese, “born normal.” Every human being might be different in terms of thoughts, appearance, actions, race, sexuality, gender, etc., but ultimately we are just humans who want to love and be loved. Nowadays, people like to show how different they are, how special they are – flaunt it and capitalize on it – but somehow, deep within, we all want to fulfill the same basic needs. “I Am Me” theme film embraces the uniqueness of every individual without forgetting the fundamentals of just being human.

How did you choose the individuals to feature in the video?

The film basically started with icons of the LGBTQ community in Shanghai and across China. We selected and contacted them to introduce the idea, meet with them and film scenes. We captured some of most-acclaimed individuals known for their contributions to the community over the past year – some of the most-controversial, most-discussed and most-dedicated LGBTQ community builders. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to group all of these icons together in one film.

What were the biggest challenges during the making of the video?

From the organizers’ perspective, time and budget were, of course, the main concern. We have icons who are not from Shanghai, so we had to travel; it was especially hard to match everyone’s schedules, as we wanted the icons to be themselves, to depict them in their daily lives – including places they frequent, things they like to do.

What do you want viewers to take away from the video?

The film obviously showcases the featured individuals’ lives, what they feel happy about and proud of. But it is also meant to represent how normal or regular they are compared to anyone else. They might have contributed a lot to the community, but they are also just ordinary human beings, friends, family members – just like you and me. In addition, the shifting tone of the film takes viewers on a journey through confusion, darkness, denial, stress, repression, revelation, coming out, courage, happiness, self-acceptance, uniting with the one you love and empowering the community.

Featured icons in the video include: