ShanghaiPRIDE

The “Asia LGBT Milestone Awards” (ALMA) sounded like a great idea. The event sought to highlight the biggest milestones of the year, while offering the opportunity for the community to with one another and potential sponsors. Organised by the Singaporean gay periodical Element Magazine, the event’s record of two previous award ceremonies convinced the grassroots volunteers at ShanghaiPRIDE to integrate the event into their schedule. To everybody’s regret, the event was a fiasco. Prior to the event, ALMA organizers tapped into the limited personal and financial resources of local volunteer-based groups like ShanghaiPRIDE. At the event, the host magazine followed their own agenda and focused narrowly on the profitability of “pink commerce” rather than the range of issues represented by this year’s milestones. It is a shame that Asia’s queer activism was represented by an event which claims for itself the diverse “LGBT” moniker, but formed panel discussions not at all representative of the diversity in our community. High gloss gay magazines have their readers, but an award ceremony celebrating hyper-masculinity and drag fails to represent the wider array of possibilities the community is continuously exploring.MORE…    

ShanghaiPRIDE Film Festival (ShPFF) returns for its second year. The official program will be released online on June 10, but here’s a taste of what’s in store.

THE PROGRAM BY NUMBERS
ShPFF will screen more than 40 films over the 10 days’ festival, which runs as part of ShanghaiPRIDE from June 17 – 26, at 11 venues across the city. There are 4 theme strands this year, including Asian Cinema, Queer History and Lala Stories. The main strand is GENDER, films about transgender and non-binary experience. All events are free and open to all.

In the run up to ShPFF 2016, we are also presenting a retrospective of last year’s festival. From May 23 – June 16, we are presenting a selection of entries to our short filmMORE…    

The 2016 program has been announced!

ShanghaiPRIDE Film Festival returns for its second year, 17-26th June 2016. The 10-day festival is a unique platform for queer cinema, showcasing movies that focus on Chinese queer experience, alongside some of the most talked-about and compelling movies from around the world. In 2016, ShPFF is celebrating GENDER in all its forms, with films on transgender, non-binary and agender people, as well as a focus on queer women. ShPFF 2016 Program

If you want to learn more about the program, please follow ShanghaiPRIDE WeChat Account or at http://shpride.com/films/?lang=en

生为平常 I Am Me

The theme of this year’s ShanghaiPRIDE Art & Photo Exhibition is “性别 Gender”, an extension to the main theme “生为平常 I Am Me”. Five talented artists from different industries will share their understanding of the theme through brush and lens. Thanks to the support of XIN CAFE, this year’s exhibition will go on for two weeks (17-June to 3-July) to encourage more participation. If you are interested, don’t miss the chance to enjoy the art work and, at the same time, a nice cup of coffee.
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June 26th

For more details, please see the full Festival Program at shpride.com/films

Closing Film

Laurence Anyways (2012 Canada)
Director: Xavier Dolan

On the eve of her 35^th birthday, Laurence Alia comes out as a transgender woman. Over the next 10 years, she embarks on a journey to become the woman she was born to be. Xavier Dolan’s multi-award winning film became an instant classic upon release. At its heart is Laurence’s relationship with her girlfriend Fred, passionate and violent in equal measure as each undergoes her own transformation. MORE…    

Join us as we wrap-up the Pride8 week at the closing party for a night to remember! Performances by fabulous queens and hot dancers await you!!

Date: Saturday 25-June
Time: 21:00-02:30
Venue: Reel to Reel – B1-01 Fuxing SOHO, 388 Madang Rd (near Middle Fuxing Rd)
Entry Fee: RMB100 (includes one drink) MORE…    

Do you remember last June when we met in PFLAG conference during ShanghaiPRIDE?
That day, we shared our happiness and comforted each other’s sorrow.
With laughter and tears, we hugged and hugged.
That took away the loneliness in our hearts, established communication and understanding, and let love and emotions fill the venue.MORE…    

June 25^th

For more details, please see the full Festival Program at shpride.com/films

Queer Film Conference Day

As part of our commitment to support emerging Chinese filmmaking talent, we will be hosting a day long conference on June 25th. Attendees will have the opportunity to listen to discussions by industry professionals, including filmmakers, content producers and programmers, on all aspects of making queer films and getting your work seen, both in China and internationally. The day will also include film screenings and the chance to network. An essential opportunity; whether you are just starting out or are already working in the field.
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The annual LGBTQ Groups Open Day is back!  Bring your friends and family to interact with communities from across the country.

ShanghaiPRIDE is honored to host 33 awesome LGBTQ groups and communities from five regions of China (North, South, East, West, and Central China).  These groups include transgender communities, bisexual communities, LGBTQ media organizations, queer social networks, swimming team, choir, cycling club, etc.

If you’re curious about these LGBTQ groups and their activities, or want to make new friends from around the country, or want to join their activities, you don’t want to miss the LGBTQ Groups Open Day!MORE…    

There are two things in life one has to do impulsively. One is to fall in love. The other is to travel.
Oh, there is one more thing, quit a job.
I stood up and looked around the office with my eyes red.
At that moment, I decided to make a change.

I submitted my resignation letter to my boss. In the letter, I wrote: this world is so big that I want to have a look at it.
My boss said nothing. He tore the letter and gave me a theatre ticket.MORE…    

June 24^th
Theme: Queer Histories
For more details, please see the full Festival Program at shpride.com/films

East Palace, West Palace (1996 China)
Director: Zhang Yuan
20^th Anniversary Screening featuring Q+A with a very special guest

On the edges of Beijing’s Forbidden City stand the East Palace and the West Palace, two public bathrooms and popular cruising grounds for the city’s gay men. Homosexuality isn’t illegal, but homosexuals are routinely persecuted by police and arrested for “hooliganism.” One night, a young gay writer named A-Lan is arrested and held in custody by an attractive policeman. Over the course of his interrogation, A-Lan tells the story of his life, his sexual becoming and his desire to be seen for who he is. As the dawn creeps in, both men find themselves changed forever.MORE…    

This summer, the hottest ladies party is back! Join us for a night of raffles, entertainment, and sexiness at The Apartment.

Date: Thursday 23-June
Time: 21:00-02:00
Venue: The Apartment – 3/F, 47 Yongfu Rd (near West Fuxing Rd)

Free entry, ladies only (guys in drag are most welcome), doors open to public after midnight.
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“Gidget”, Frankie and Annette beach party epics and Hitchcock psychological suspense thrillers such as “Spellbound” and “Marnie” are given a shotgun marriage in Urban Aphrodite’s Psycho Beach Party in the 2016 ShanghaiPRIDE Theatre Festival.

Chicklet Forrest, a teenage tomboy, desperately wants to be part of the surf crowd on Malibu Beach in 1962. Among them is a black check out girl, an elderly radio talk show hostess, and a male model named Steve. One thing getting in her way is her unfortunate tendency towards split personalities. Her most dangerous alter ego is a sexually voracious vixen named Ann Bowman who has nothing less than world domination on her mind.MORE…    

Theme: Gender Features

Girls Lost (2015 Sweden)

Director: Alexandra-Therese Keining

Kim, Bella and Momo are three fourteen-year-old girls who discover a fantastic flower with magical qualities: by drinking its nectar they are transformed into boys. The newfound freedom of the boy’s world becomes a nightly obsession as the three friends explore the boundaries of love and friendship. When things take a darker turn, Bella and Momo try to pull back to reality. For Kim, though, maybe being a boy is reality…MORE…    

Nerdy is the new sexy. Show us what you know!

Bring your own team of up to 5 players or we can help you find a team on-site. Amazing prizes for top 3 teams and more raffle prizes to be won!

Come for dinner starting from 6pm. Burgers are BUY 1 GET 1 FREE. Special drink deals all night.MORE…    

June 22^nd
Theme: Lala Stories
For more details, please see the full Festival Program at shpride.com/films

We Are Here (2015 China)
Director: Jing Zhao & Shi Tou
In 1995, in a small tent on the edge of the 4^th UN Conference for Women in Beijing, the China’s lesbian movement was born. From the shadows of shame and invisibility, queer women in china have travelled a long and hard-fought path for deliverance from prejudice and sexism. What began as parties and gatherings in people’s homes soon galvanised into groups representing and advocating for queer women. This empowering and often hilarious film documents a community through the women who led it.MORE…    

June 21^st
Theme: Gender Features, Asian Cinema
For more details, please see the full Festival Program at shpride.com/films

Aks Film+Dialogue Festival Presents…

Chuppan Chupai (2013  USA)
Director：Saadat Munir & Saad Khan
Saad Khan and Saadat Munir’s debut feature follows four queer individuals in Pakistan’s urban centres, focusing on their internal conflicts and the constant game of ‘hide and seek’ that they are forced to play from the mainstream population. With a particular focus on the country’s transgender community, the film poses questions and proposes new ideas on LGBTQ community, religion, underground gay life, social acceptance and queer family.MORE…    

June 20th
Time: 7:00PM
Venue: British Centre Shanghai, 17/F Garden Square, 968 West Beijing Rd (nr. Taixing Rd)

GENDER FEATURES

Dressed as a Girl
by Colin Rothbart|2015 UK
Screening supported by The British Consulate General in ShanghaiMORE…