Ten Years of Queer Cinema in China

"Ten Years of Queer Cinema in China" is a photo memoir with twenty photographs and commentary that documents two important cultural events rarely mentioned in US discussions of Chinese underground cinema. They are the First Chinese Gay and Lesbian Film Festival held at Beijing University in November of 2001 and the February 2001 screening of Andrew Cheng's Shanghai Panic (2001). Both events mark the moment when queer cultural activists began organizing their own events and establishing their singular film culture. What is unique about this period in Chinese cultural history is that Chinese queer cinema played an important role in the broader movement for Chinese personal and artistic freedom. During 2001 and 2002, Chinese were attending the same underground film events. They heard about them on the Internet or by word of mouth. Some traveled a long distance to attend them. And this led to an emerging sense of community and sometimes a collective euphoria about embracing a new culture that openly challenges repressive social boundaries.