A Wang Queerspe: The Hong Kong Lbian and Gay Film Ftival on JSTOR

Contents:

• HONG KONG GAY FILM
• GET YOUR TICKETS NOW FOR HONG KONG LBIAN AND GAY FILM FTIVAL’S SEPTEMBER SCREENGS
• 7 LGBTQ+ MOVI TO WATCH: OM ELRLY GAY HONGKONGERS S S, TO HOLLYWOOD’S TRANS REPRENTATN DISCLOSURE
• GAY M/M HONG KONG - (MOVI & DRAMAS)
• 10 GREAT GAY FILMS OM EAST AND SOUTH-EAST ASIA
• HEART TO HEART: HK GAY FILM FTIVAL SEEKS EMOTNAL APPEAL

HONG KONG GAY FILM

Hong Kong’s LGBTQ+ muny has seen some solid social progrs recent years: The ernment regnized same-sex partnerships spoal visa applitns, the hight urt led that same-sex upl n apply for spoal benefs and file jot tax returns, and a study nducted last year showed that the majory of Hongkongers support gay marriage.

Of urse there’s still unrcurrents of homophobia, too, as seen the recent furor over a Cathay Pacific ad featurg a gay uple, the whdrawal of 10 LGBT children’s books om the cy’s librari, and the appotment of an anti-gay marriage polician to the cy’s equali watchdog. This was a tricky list to pile, not least bee Hong Kong cema, gay, lbian, and queer characters are often amed stereotypil ways: as the butt of a joke, or as the protagonist’s “gay iend” whose character has a lghable lack of nuance.

For stance, gay men have largely been portrayed as effemate and wimpy, or “mp mp i, ” much of the history of Hong Kong cema. But while recent films pictg LGBTQ+ characters still are far om perfect, there have been some promisg velopments — we’ve had the first mastream film to tackle the topic of transgenrism, portrayals of gay men that go far eper than the trope of “mp mp i, ” and exploratns of the lbian woman’s experience beyond the stereotype of an aggrsive, leather jacket-wearg butch. Sensg that Sam and Rose are not happy together, Wg cis to make her missn to rencile the two lovers, but the procs fds fds herself fallg love wh Sam, and Sam likewise fallg love wh Wg — which leads him to qutn whether he is actually gay.

GET YOUR TICKETS NOW FOR HONG KONG LBIAN AND GAY FILM FTIVAL’S SEPTEMBER SCREENGS

Sam begs to worry that the whole world will thk he’s gay after Wg lets slip “I love you, Sam” at an awards ceremony, so a bid to ward off spicns about Sam’s sexualy, Wg asks Fan to pretend to be her lover, but Wg soon fds herself fallg for the charismatic star. While not entirely perfect s portrayal of issu relatg to transgenrism, cross-drsg, and homosexualy, ’s fely a groundbreakg and necsary film that ’s the first film about transgenr issu to enter mastream cema Hong Kong. This betifully-shot die g-out film als wh issu of social nformy, prsn, and ternalized homophobia.

7 LGBTQ+ MOVI TO WATCH: OM ELRLY GAY HONGKONGERS S S, TO HOLLYWOOD’S TRANS REPRENTATN DISCLOSURE

Prr to makg Soundls Wd Chime, K Hung ma his name the die film circu wh his short romance film I Am Not What You Want, which has been scribed as signifint Hong Kong’s queer culture for challengg the cy’s stereotyp about gay men. He then mov wh his iend Mark, who is also gay but hasn’t e out to anyone, cludg his girliend. ” (Strand Releasg) Although numero films and TV shows have featured olr LGBTQ upl — “Cloudburst, ” “Love Is Strange, ” “Vic” and the current “Supernova, ” to name a few — the Hong Kong lole of “Twilight’s Kiss” mak wrer-director Ray Yng’s gently observant, liberately-paced drama about two agg gay men feel uniquely (Tai Bo) is a pragmatic 70-year-old taxi driver on the cp of semi-retirement.

Hoi is also closeted to his fay but has much more experience than Pak the gay world cludg beg part of the Mature Tongzhi Society, a supportive circle of senr gay and Hoi meet up aga and slowly enter to a tenr and joyful romance, filled wh small adventur and stolen moments, though the shadow of secrecy and faial prsure looms large. How Pak tends his beloved b speaks movie also offers a vivid view of Hong Kong and s environs, wh a discreet peek to the cy’s gay social scene.

GAY M/M HONG KONG - (MOVI & DRAMAS)

The 32nd Hong Kong Lbian and Gay Film Ftival (HKLGFF) returns this September, showsg queer cema and LGBT+ movi om Asia and beyond.

The ftival opens on September 11th at Premiere Elements wh the Korean gay rom- Ma on the Rooftops, a heartwarmg story about iendship and love that was selected for the Seoul Internatnal Pri Film Ftival 2020 and Framele San Francis LGBT+ Film Ftival, and As We Like It, an all-female adaptatn of Shakpeare’s As You Like It.

10 GREAT GAY FILMS OM EAST AND SOUTH-EAST ASIA

In many plac, June is the time to celebrate the efforts that the lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr and queer (LGBTQ+) muni have ma to be themselv and fight for their celebrate, here are seven LGBTQ+ films to enjoy on streamg platforms – and one a cema – wh your iends this month. S S (Twilight’s Kiss) (2019, M+ Cema)S S, meang “uncle” Cantone, tells the story of a secret romance between two closeted gay men their twilight years.

Havg not lived as their te selv for years, the two fall love and stggle between social norms and personal only do the award-wng film pict the reali that elrly gay men face Hong Kong, but also shows the quiet, timate nature of imagg what uld be a better future. The Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli.

A gay teenager, Simon Spier (Nick Robson), has been hidg his sexualy unr the mask of beg straight like his bt iends, Leah (Kathere Langford), Abby (Alexandra Shipp) and Nick (Je Lenb Jnr) Simon repli to an anonymo onle nfsn om another closeted gay stunt at his school, their exchange is disvered by a classmate, Mart (Logan Miller), who blackmails Simon to lyg to his iends. Hong Kong Lbian and Gay Film Ftival 2022. Hong Kong movi, dramas, and drama specials wh Gay (M/M) them and characters.

HEART TO HEART: HK GAY FILM FTIVAL SEEKS EMOTNAL APPEAL

Take a look at the bt gay films om Cha, Hong Kong, Japan, Malaysia, the Philipp and Thailand. Gay rights, and reprentatn of gay men on screen, vary hugely om untry to untry, offerg a rich diversy of fascatg movi.

If east and south-east Asian films about gay men rarely make to DVD, films about lbians are rarer still. We hope that, wh classic lbian tl beg creasgly succsful, albe at a shamefully slow rate, a future list on gay female east Asian films will appear the future.

The bananas plot is pure mp: transvte performer Eddie (played by Peter, later the fool  Akira Kurosawa’s Ran (1985)) strik up a fierce rivalry wh another drag queen Shju Ni-chōme, Tokyo’s gay ghetto. Eddie tri to fet harrowg memori of killg his mother – and anyone who knows their Greek tragedy will send-gus the inty of the manager of a gay bar wh whom he then shacks up.

A direct fluence on Stanley Kubrick’s A Clockwork Orange (1971), Funeral Para of Ros gleefully subverts all notn of rpectabily, givg the viewer an unashamed snapshot of 1960s Japane gay subculture on the way, as queers Tokyo speak their mds to the mera.

Farewell My Concube (1993)The unrequed gay love story at the heart of Chen Kaige’s Palme d’Or-wng masterpiece is often overlooked, wh crics ncentratg their admiratn on the credibly amb spe of the film, takg over half a century of Che history. East Palace, Wt Palace (1996)Power play is a major theme of this tense drama, which a gay man is apprehend while cisg a park and spends the night a police statn unr the stern eye of the arrtg officer.

When the officer releas the gay man om ctody, he ref to leave, and thgs tak turn for the twisted. Optg to e a gay man to symbolise ee spirs and a possibly homosexual guard to reprent Che thory was a risky move, plited by the former’s sado-masochistic claratn of love for his ptor. The tle is a reference to the parks flankg the Forbidn Cy, popular cisg grounds for Beijg’s gay men.

Happy Together (1997)This is one of the olt gay films ever ma, a vivid and exhilaratg pictn of two men om Hong Kong – Lai (Tony Lng) and Ho (Llie Chng) – an tense on-aga-off-aga relatnship, who travel to Argenta to vis Iguazu Falls, but end up repeatg the cycle of fily and celty.

After yet another break-up, Lai meets the handsome and possibly gay Chang, whose iendship jolts Lai to facg up to his rponsibili, and offers a chance of happs and remptn. Gohatto (1999)‘Gohatto’ means ‘taboo’ Japane, and here the forbidn subject is homosexualy.

Although homosexualy is forbidn, he immediately aro the attentn of his fellow warrrs, cludg the stern vice-manr (Takhi Kano). Unorthodox erotic obssn permeat the bt-known works of Nagisa Oshima, notably the ultra-ntroversial Ai no rrida (1976), wh s graphic scen of unsimulated sex, and the homoerotic atmosphere of the prison mp  Merry Christmas, Mr. It’s unclear the story whether Hana is a cross-drsg gay man or a trans woman.

Homosexual them suffe much of his work (Weerasethakul is gay himself), maniftg as out and out mp the outrageo The Adventure of Iron Psy (2003). But bt of all is Tropil Malady, one of the most mmerisg and surreal gay love stori ever told.

The Blossomg of Maximo Oliveros (2005)A gay Filipo kid wh a penchant for drag is the subject of Auras Solo’s funny but grty g-of-age film. I Don’t Want to Sleep Alone (2006)Gay characters appear throughout the work of Malaysian director Tsai Mg-liang, om the suicidal homosexual man  Vive l’amour (1994), the hopeful horny Japane guy cisg the cema  Goodbye, Dragon Inn (2003) and the father and son the bleak The River (1997).

In his first feature ma Malaysia (his prev work was filmed Taiwan), Mg-liang regular Lee Kang-sheng stars two rol – as a atose man red for by a woman, and as a migrant worker Kuala Lumpur who is beaten up and red for by a gay Banglashi man. The son is, you gused , now a ragg homophobe graduatg om llege.