The Queer East Film Festival returns for its fifth annual outing, and opens April 17th.
The Queer East Film Festival once again graces our screens with over ten days of films and art events. Last year, the festival showcased two separate dance troupes as well as VR experience, and it looks like this year’s multimedia offerings will be just as varied.
One of the most interesting experiences comes in the form of the High Hands, Small Hands event in which a number of bondage-themed short films will be shown alongside a rope performance, in which the audience is encouraged to participate.
Another curious interactive experience is the Steamy Intimacies event. A double-bill of short films screened at the Hackney Wick Saunas, followed by a relaxing session in the saunas, or a cold plunge (which, let’s face it, we’ll likely need) and some excellent food.
But we’re mostly here for films, and this year the festival opens with the Chinese coming-of-age drama A Song Sung Blue about a 15 year-old girl who moves in with her father when her mother has to leave for work. There, she meets his assistant’s daughter and forms an infatuation with her.
Closing the festival will be the classic Japanese film Bye Bye Love, once considered lost until a discovery of the film’s negative restored it. A surreal drama which seems two young people on a road trip through Japan. The film is an exciting blend of 60s counterculture, traditional Japanese values and gender politics.
Here are some other films absolutely worth seeing.
1. A Princess’ One-Sided Love (South Korea, 19th April). During the Joseon era, a young princess is the last of her sisters to be married, and though she is due to be married to a court noble, falls for a young scholar instead. She resolves to search for him, forcing her to leave the palace inside which she’s spent her entire life. A classic story, with a comic edge, delivered by one of Korea’s first ever women directors.
2. The Last Year of Darkness (China, screening 18th April). A documentary that explores look at the future of queer-friendly clubs in China. The documentary follows a group of DJs, drag performers, artists and others as their city, Chengdu, changes and their beloved Funky Town techno club is threatened.
3. The Missing (Philippines/Thailand, 22nd April). An animated film about an animator, and as an animator myself, one I’m keen to check out. Eric’s seems to be a regular man, attracted to another young man at his office, except for the strange fact that he doesn’t have a mouth. Things get weirder when his mother asks him to check on his uncle, who’s been missing for a few days and … well, it’s worth checking out. This is fascinating psychological adventure that could only be told through the medium of animation.
4. I Am What I Am (Japan, 23rd April). Kasumi is something of an aromantic woman, whose aversion to Feels hasn’t really stirred any scrutiny, until her sister suddenly gets married. With pressure from her mother, Kasumi resolves to confront those around her and decides for herself how to measure her own happiness. Promising some powerhouse performances and a rare, mature look at asexuality, I Am What I Am looks at what it’s like to not experience an emotion that seems to dominate the world.
5. Abang Adik (Malaysia, 24 April). In reference to the two brothers that lead this drama, Abang Adik nonetheless still has a pretty funny title and I refuse to apologise for it. The two titular brothers are undocumented orphans in Malaysia, who can’t enjoy the basic rights that ordinary citizens get. Abang is deaf-mute and works hard to stay afloat, while Adik turns to criminal behaviour. A striking drama with award-winning performances, this looks to be a tragic, hard-hitting, and unmissable one.
6. Summer Vacation 1999 (Japan, 26 April). Set in the future of 1999, this movie is a 1988 film set in a single-sex boarding house during summer break where, after the suicide of one boarder, leaves only three boys. When a dead ringer for the dead boy arrives at the house, things take a dark turn for the boys. Adapted from a manga by Moto Hagio, Summer Vacation 1999 is a thrilling melodrama sci-fi with homoerotic undertones.
7. Asog (Philippines, 27th April). After a devastating typhoon ruins the country, survivors are left trying to pick up the pieces of their lives. Jaya, a nonbinary schoolteacher and comedian, travels across the Philippines in the hopes of winning a beauty pageant. Along the way, they encounter a former student and journey out together. Featuring nonprofessionals, this screwball tragicomedy has all the trappings of a modern fairytale.
8. Sara (Indonesia, 21st April). Sara is a trans woman who must return to her village to attend her father’s funeral. When she arrives, she learns her mother has taken the loss poorly, and the trauma has left her with no memory of Sara. Not sure what to do Sara acts the role of her late father, and while she despises him for running away, must confront a past she’s run away from.
9. The River (Taiwan, 20th April). Another classic, this time from 1997, is a family drama in which one young man’s acting choices tear an already fragile family apart more. After his health declines from acting as a body in a polluted river and his parents try to make him better, family secrets are unveiled and things quickly fall apart in this subversive critique of a nuclear family.
10. Saving Face (United States, 21st April). An … American film? On my Asian cinema website? Outrageous! Alice Wu’s debut feature is a romantic comedy about a New Yorker whose sexuality she keeps a secret from her highly traditional parents. Sparks fly when she meets dancer Vivian, and – naturally – things get complicated. Featuring star performances and even anticipates many LGBTQ film trends, Saving Face will be celebrating its 20th anniversary this year.
And that’s it. Well, that’s not it. There’s so much more I haven’t been able to write about. But check out the Queer East website for all the information, and tonnes more events and films.
The Asian Cinema Critic 