Queer East Festival 2023 comes to Nottingham

Words: George White
Friday 27 October 2023
reading time: min, words

The event aims to "foster a space for more diverse narratives and facilitate a better cultural understanding of queer Asian communities".

Rebels Of The Neon God

A film festival that focuses on LGBTQ+ cinema from East and Southeast Asia is coming to Nottingham screens next month.

The Queer East Festival attempts to “push boundaries and challenge expectations and labels commonly associated with queer communities”, according to organisers, mainly through contemporary features, documentaries, retrospective screenings and short films.

Nottingham is just one stop on this nationwide tour of empowering cinema, with the likes of Manchester, Sheffield, Liverpool and Leeds also on the programme.

Our city will see Bad Women of China, filmmaker and activist He Xiaopei's first feature-length documentary, arrive at Broadway Cinema on Monday 6 November, alongside an introduction from the University of Nottingham’s Associate Professor in Media Studies Hongwei Bao.

We will then be treated to a screening of Rebels of the Neon God, regarded by many as one of the best Taiwanese films of all time, also at our beloved Broadway on Wednesday 15 November, with Bao once again providing an introduction. 

Both films share a common theme of queer rebellion and dare to challenge normative discourse

Festival director Yi Wang said: “Queer East holds a unique spot in the UK film exhibition scene as one of the very few festivals that sheds light on LGBTQ+ East and Southeast Asian communities. 

“I hope that through the power of storytelling, the festival can foster a space for more diverse narratives and facilitate a better cultural understanding of queer Asian communities.

“The two films presented at the Broadway Cinema this year offer audiences a chance to explore how gender and queerness have been viewed through each filmmaker’s distinctive cinematic language. Yet both films share a common theme of queer rebellion and dare to challenge normative discourse.”

Standard tickets are available for £10, with students and concessions able to attend for as little as £5. 

Full details can be found on the Queer East Festival website.

Queer East Festival

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