Big changes are happening as the Shanghai Queer Film Festival sets out a new vision of it’s Short Film Section, with the goal of embracing quality and supporting more new filmmakers.
Shanghai Queer Film Festival was founded in 2016, and is dedicated to connecting the LGBTQ community and wider society through cinema. The festival is run entirely by volunteers, with events free and open to all. Last year, they brought a transformative selection of queer short films. They weren’t just great pieces of cinema, they were a chance for audiences in China to learn about what it means to be queer.
This year, it’s their mission to bring the best international short films to local audiences in Shanghai, and to support new and emerging filmmakers from Chinese and Asian backgrounds. There will be an important change in this year’s film festival as the Short Film Section will be split into two parts. The Asian Short Film Competition will feature films by and about queer people of Asian backgrounds, competing for prizes in six categories: Best Film, Best Director, Best Cinematography, Best Screenplay, Best Actor and Grand Jury Award. The World Short Film Screening will showcase great non-Asian short films out of competition.
The Short Film Section was created to showcase new talent and is an integral part of the festival. Last year, they received over 800 submissions from 60 countries and regions. The 15 competition finalists got a strong response from our audiences.
In addition to screenings, SHQFF also hosts discussion groups for judges and filmmakers, invites professionals to comment, and encourages interaction between audiences and filmmakers through Q+A sessions and workshops.
Despite their main criteria for films last year being “queer stories that happened in Asia or the experiences of Asian queer,” they attracted a large number of excellent submissions from other parts of the world. A number of these films were screened in December at their Queer Short Films Weekend. It is their goal to embrace all quality content, not just promote a competition. They hope the changes to the Short Film Section will help SHQFF to deliver the best of new queer films to their audiences, and more of it.
How would you define queer? There is no one answer to this question, but through films and stories told through a lens, we have the chance to experience and understand a queer past and queer present on our own terms. In 2017, they proudly declared WE ARE HERE, bringing together the queer community through film, discussion and gatherings, an audience of thousands who loudly declared the same.
WE ARE HERE to share our stories.
WE ARE HERE to explore the potential, to embrace our possibilities and memories in darkness.
WE ARE HERE to invite the world to witness our lives and Asian queers’ moment in history.
SHQFF is now calling for 2018 Short Film Section submissions. Visit their website or filmfreeway.com/shqff to find out more.
What are the behind-the-scenes thoughts of the festival’s curator? And what’s it like to be an attending filmmaker? We interviewed Ting, the curator of SHQFF and Zheng Lu Xinyuan, winner of the Best Director of the first SHQFF.
In conversation with Ting:
Curator, Shanghai Queer Film Festival
What inspired you to create SHQFF?
A desire to feature more Asian talent and culture in queer films while also enabling audiences to access a diverse selection of queer films from across the globe. Despite Shanghai’s vibrant queer scene, most events were still tailored to a Western sensibility. We hope to engage audiences in more community activities that allow them to feel at home. Let emerging filmmakers, especially those from Asia and China, have more opportunities to showcase their works.
What was the biggest challenge that you encountered during last SHQFF? How did you cope with it? What lessons have you learnt?
Starting from scratch was already challenging enough. In the beginning, our team did not have a lot of film festival know-how, so we learned by doing. And it was quite difficult for us to find support with no predecessors. Luckily, we did get a lot of support from our own community. They were our rock, assisting with venues and content. It’s fair to say that SHQFF was possible due in large part to many of our friends.
What about Chinese audiences’ preferences when it comes to queer cinema? Did you try to cater to their tastes or guide them when choosing what to screen during the festival?
Queer films are not total anomalies to Chinese audiences. However, most of the household names are still limited to mainstream commercial films and recent releases from Western countries. Personally, I think that local audiences still define queer films as movies that tell LGBTQ stories — in other words, those films that have distinctive LGBTQ elements. At the same time, local audiences lack a certain understanding of the real scope of our diversity, including diversity in the community, and some more recent concepts. Given this, what we tried to do when selecting films was to highlight new ideas and pick films that could spark dialogues, instead of just striving for a perfectly balanced representation of different LGBTQ identities.
What is the status quo of the queer community and queer culture in China? Is there a gap between China and what’s happening globally? What’s your hope for the future?
In China, there’s a lot of polarization with regard to queer communities’ living conditions and the state of queer culture. Geographically, first-tier cities are, without a doubt, drastically different from third-tier cities or less developed regions in terms of the relative tolerance they exhibit toward the queer community. However, even in Shanghai, a metropolis with greater acceptance for the queer community, understanding of queer culture remains polarized. Only a tiny pocket of people have a beyond-superficial understanding of queer culture and related issues, while the majority, even those within the community, remain largely ignorant of queer histories and recent developments. More and more, though, we are seeing diverse community events enriching and expanding our thinking. And the people getting involved are incredibly diverse as well. It’s happy to see that more and more people are becoming more open-minded and accepting. I hope that this trend continues and seeps into second- and third-tier cities.
You have started to collect works for this year’s Short Film Section. What is your expectation for that?
Last year we collected a huge amount of short films, but few of them were Asian films. Generally speaking, those films were of different qualities. Some were not even in line with our topic and requirements. This year we have put in place a very low application fee, to discourage thoughtless submissions and make room for better films able to spark dialogue.
In conversation with Zheng Lu Xinyuan:
Director, Winner of the Best Director of the First SHQFF
You went to the last SHQFF. How did you feel about the experience?
Last year’s first SHQFF was very chill and lovely. I still remember that it was about dusk when I tried to get to the opening ceremony from Hangzhou. The traffic was so jammed that I just made it on time. The music was great. It was fully attended, which was quite exciting. And I had alcoholic popsicles with new friends, staffs of the festival, and the jury at the opening party — drinking and talking on sidewalks until late. Cool late-autumn breeze blew in my face…It was awesome.
Smokers Die Slowly Together has very straightforward depictions of body and desire, which is rare in Chinese films. What do you think of that?
Actually, there are plenty of Chinese films with powerful depiction of body and desire, like earlier works by Lou Ye. However, the general audience has limited access to these movies. I don’t think it’s because Eastern culture is more reserved though.
How do you think of labels like ”Queer Film”?
I don’t really like labels. But if this label can at least to some extent inform people more about queers, presentation of queers in films, and how the films tell stories of love and possibilities in life, it is of significance.
Both of you have been studying and living in both the US and China. How have both cultures influenced you?
I’ve been in China for 22 years, four in the US. I also spent time in Taipei, Paris, Kyoto, Mexico City for a while. I met different people in different places. The most valuable thing from these experiences is that I was able to develop my understanding of humanity and push the limits of empathy.
From a filmmaker’s perspective, what do you think of China’s current circumstance for filmmaking? What is the significance for a filmmaker to participate in film festivals and competitions in terms of pursuing their career?
Film festivals and exhibitions seem to come with halo. They connect filmmakers with audience and resources. They make an impact on filmmakers in different ways, be it ego boost, pressure or self-reflection. However, it is of great luck if you can strike a cord with just one or two people and be inspired by each other.
What is the status quo of queer community and queer culture in China? What is the gap between those in China and those globally?
I think…living is no easy job no matter where we are. Queers are still here, proud and fabulous. We are thriving despite sunshine or storm.
Shanghai Queer Film Festival submission details below:
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