Queer East Final Festival 2025 returns with its 2025 lineup
The Queer East Festival returns once more – and will be taking over London from April 23rd to May 18th, 2025, bringing you a vibrant and diverse showcase of LGBTQ+ cinema, live arts, and moving image work from East and Southeast Asia and its diaspora communities.
This year’s festival promises to be an extraordinary exploration of queer identity, history, and activism, featuring over 100 titles across various genres and formats. I can’t possibly talk about all of them so here are ten that I think you should check out.
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- Kubi (Dir. Takeshi Kitano, Japan)
- The festival kicks off with style, thanks to the latest film from one of Japan’s finest. Takeshi Kitano’s 2024 film Kubi is something I won’t be missing. It’s been years since I saw a Kitano film and this darkly comical view of Japanese history as rival warlords battle to reign supreme over feudal Japan. Offering a darkly comic perspective on the political intrigue and homoerotic desire, this strikingly violent film comprehensively debunks the myths of masculinity, ethics and honour that have defined the samurai genre onscreen.
- Edhi Alice (Dir. Ilrhan Kim, South Korea)
- Close the festival with this intimate and affecting documentary at the Closing Gala. “Edhi Alice” delves into the complexities of making documentaries about trans communities, featuring Edhi, an LGBTQ+ teen counselor undergoing gender reassignment surgery, and Alice, a lighting technician.
- Murmur of Youth (Dir. Lin Cheng-sheng, Taiwan, 1997)
- A poignant coming-of-age story about two adolescent girls in Taiwan who meet and form an intimate bond while working in a cinema box office. One of several older Taiwanese films to appear in the list, Murmur of Youth is quiet and understated, but it has a lot to say.
- Rookie (Dir. Samantha Lee, Philippines, 2023)
- This heartfelt film follows an awkward teenager in the Philippines who moves to an all-girls school and unexpectedly falls for the volleyball team captain. A major film in the Philippines’ growing LGBTQ+ media representation, the film promises some light-hearted laughs and sports drama moments as well.
- Under the Moonlight (Dir. Tonny Trimarsanto, Indonesia, 2023)
- At an Islamic boarding school in Indonesia, the students are all trans women, sheltering from a hostile world. The school allows them all to live they choose, and with that comes a strong community. This documentary is affecting, touching, and is a testament to the strength of its subject.
- Where is My Love? (Dir. Jo-Fei Chen, Taiwan, 1996)
- A relatively short documentary from Chen Jo-fei (who worked on the above Murmur of Youth), sees a young gay writer struggling to decide whether to come out, or stay in the closet.
- Pierce (Dir. Nelicia Low, Taiwan/Singapore, 2024)
- Director Nelicia Low uses her experience as a world-class fencer in this slow-burn thriller about a young fencer who was jailed for killing an opponent during a competition. He reconnects with his brother and comes to terms with the repressed cruelties and unconscious desires that shaped their relationship
- My Sunshine (Dir. Hiroshi Okuyama, Japan/France, 2024)
- This UK Premiere poetically evokes childhood emotions on a small Japanese island, where young Takuya becomes fascinated with Sakura, a figure skater from Tokyo.
- Crazy Love (Dir. Michio Okabe, Japan, 1968)
- An underground film shot in Shinjuk, Crazy Love documents the radical spirit of Japan’s creative and artistic scene. Expect it to be experimental in both content and format, and everything you think a film about the 1960s Shinjuku alternative scene would be.
- We Are Here (Dir. Zhao Jing, Shi Tou, China, 2015)
- This activist documentary revisits the 1995 United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing, which helped spearhead the birth of the queer lala movement in China.
Honestly I could go on and on about the other films on the list: with a huge selection of films from lesser represented placed (and at least one from the USA and one from France, because why not), you can jump from exploring the sexual politics of Singapore, to the Philippines and Indonesia. Queer East has always done wonders in bringing forth unheard voices to the stage, and spotlighting them for the world to see.
These are just a few of the many compelling experiences the Queer East Festival 2025. With its rich and diverse program, the festival promises to be a thought-provoking and unforgettable celebration of queer Asian cinema and culture. Check out their website to see more on their expanded programmes, featuring live performances, experiences and short films. More than I can certainly talk about on this site
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The Asian Cinema Critic 