Starting from 22 October, the previously postponed Queer East Film Festival returns to cinemas across the UK with 36 films from 12 countries. The festival opens its first cinema screening with a special 35mm presentation of Taiwan’s Blue Gate Crossing, a coming-of-age drama which explores the relationship between two high school students. This bittersweet tale of love and sexuality has remained timeless since its release in the early 2000s.

Supported by the Ministry of Culture, the festival highlights Taiwan as the country of focus this year, celebrating Taiwan’s landmark same-sex marriage law - the first and only in Asia. The special strand showcases the country’s rich tradition of LGBTQ+ filmmaking, including the three-time Oscar winner Ang Lee and his 1993 classic, The Wedding Banquet. Other award-winning films joining Queer East include winners of Taiwan’s Golden Horse Awards, Alifu, the Prince/ss (Dir Yu-Lin Wang) and Girlfriend Boyfriend (Dir Ya-Che Yang). A strong selection of short films made by emerging talent explore a wide range of queer subjects within the Taiwanese history and society, including The Glamorous Boys of Tang (Dir Hui-Yu Su), The Summer of 12 (Dir Kuan-Ling Kuo) and Military Dog (Dir Ping-Wen Wang).

Spanning over 50 years of filmmaking, the first edition of Queer East is a mix of classic retrospectives and new releases, exploring how culture, law, history, and social norms have affected and built the current queer Asian landscape. Festival Director and Programmer of Queer East, Yi Wang says: “Global events this year have yet again reminded us of the importance of reflecting on equalities. More than ever, we have the power to bring about change by challenging everything, from stereotypes to law makers. The establishment of Queer East is to shine a spotlight on the under-represented queer Asian community and encourage the public to hear the voices from those who dare to challenge.”

As for choosing Taiwan as the first focus country, Yi Wang says: “Taiwan’s outstanding achievement on LGBTQ+ rights is recognized internationally, and the freedom enables many excellent films touching about the issues to be produced. The 10 feature films and 8 short films we selected reflect various issues including queer bildungsroman, traditional family values, HIV stigma, social movements and transgender groups. The festival hopes to demonstrate the diversity and energy of Taiwan society.”

The festival presented two virtual programmes, QE: HomeSexual and QE: Docs4Pride during lockdown in April. Now reimagined as a season-long showcase, the festival’s in-person cinema screenings will now go beyond London to include Manchester, Nottingham and Bristol. As for offering UK-wide virtual screenings for audiences to enjoy at home, the festival allies with the Cardiff-based Iris Prize LGBT+ Film Festival to bring two UK virtual premieres, with being Taiwan’s The Teacher (Dir Ming-Lang Chen). The “Shorts Programme: Gods and/or Monsters”, co-presented with the Scottish Queer International Film Festival (SQIFF), also includes 4 short films from Taiwan. Other partners include Barbican Centre and Taiwan Film Festival Edinburgh.

For more information: https://queereast.org.uk/

Focus Taiwan Programme

Blue Gate Crossing (35mm)

Dir Chih-Yen Yee | Taiwan | 2002 | 85 min

22 October | Genesis Cinema

Alifu, the Prince/ss

Dir Yu-Lin Wang | Taiwan | 2017 | 95 min

25 October | Genesis Cinema

The Teacher (UK Premiere)

Dir Ming-Lang Chen | Taiwan | 2019 | 92 min

10 - 31 October 2020 | Iris Prize LGBT+ Film Festival | Online

Turning 18

Dir Chao-Ti Ho | Taiwan | 2018 | 87 min

Tuesday 3 November 2020 | Riverside Studios

Thursday 26 November 2020 | HOME Manchester

Looking For? (UK Premiere)

Dir Tung-Yen Chou | Taiwan | 2017 | 60 min

7 November | Catford Mews

The Shepherds (UK Premiere)

Dir Elvis Lu | Taiwan | 2018 | 70 min

November 2020 (TBC) | Taiwan Film Festival Edinburgh | Online

Nobody (UK Premiere)

Dir Chun-Hua Lin | Taiwan | 2020 | 83 min

November 2020 (TBC) | Taiwan Film Festival Edinburgh | Online

Girlfriend Boyfriend

Dir Ya-Che Yang | Taiwan | 2012 | 105 min

November 2020 (TBC)

Spider Lilies

Dir Zero Chou | Taiwan | 2006 | 97 min

November 2020 (TBC)

The Wedding Banquet

Dir. Ang Lee | Taiwan, US | 1993 | 106 min

November 2020 (TBC)

Shorts Programme: Gods and/or Monsters

Various directors | Taiwan, UK, US | 76 min

5 - 18 October 2020 | Scottish Queer International Film Festival | Online