Inside on a sunny Saturday afternoon, watching Queer Chinese Films

This afternoon I could have been outside enjoying, what is turning out to be, a spectacular spring, but I didn’t.

Instead I was inside watching two queer, documentary, Chinese films, New Beijing New Marriage and Our Story – 10 years “guerrilla warfare” of the Beijing Queer Film Festival, plus a preview of Mama Rainbow. Joining me at Silver Future, a fantastic queer-friendly café/bar over in Neukölln, was one of my Chinese colleagues.

I enjoyed New Beijing New Marriage the most of the two films – at its core it’s about a female couple and a male couple taking wedding photos in Beijing on Valentine’s Day. Its novelty captures the attention of people on the street and an interesting dialogue commences between people on the street.

For my American ears, the complaints (and compliments) are nothing I haven’t heard before in the American context – although there weren’t any complaints about it being against God’s plan, just that it wasn’t Chinese — that same sex marriage is an import from outside China.

The second film, 10 years “guerrilla warfare” of the Beijing Queer Film Festival, was a documentary covering the difficulties of putting on the Beijing Queer Film Festival – which, when it is held, faces difficulties in finding venues, not being banned, and its audience finding its showings, as sometimes venues are not announced until the day of showing. It was a nice film, but it was a bit too long.

Sunday I’m going to the second showing, Be a Woman, which is a documentary about drag queens in south-western China. (mini entzaubert)