After six years in the UK, Yi Wang needed something personal to represent his identity. Despite already being such a cultural capital, he struggled to find anywhere in or outside the big smoke that would reflect his queer south-east Asian roots and subsequently Queer East film festival was born.
Founded solely by Wang in 2020, Queer East showcases boundary-pushing LGBTQ+ cinema, live arts, and moving image work from East and Southeast Asia and its diaspora communities. It’s now on the ‘On the Road’ tour, visiting cities such as Manchester, Newcastle and Sheffield. I spoke to Wang over a Zoom meeting and explored how the festival has evolved to what it is today.
“It came from a very personal reason,” Wang tells me. “I’d lived in London for six years and rarely saw Eastern or Southeast Asian queer cinema that related to my own heritage.
I really felt that we should try to bring more of these rarely seen, underrepresented queer cinema to more audiences in general, because queer cinema in the UK tends to have a specific taste. Usually you see more white, gay, male-oriented films. I felt we needed a space for more radical, independent, and contemporary stories from East and Southeast Asia.”
Originally from Taiwan, Wang made the move to the UK in 2014 and after finishing his masters he worked in the arts and cultural sector of London. Whilst in a theatre production job he drafted Queer East as a passion project, but before he knew it it had grown beyond just a part-time hobby.
“In Autumn (2020) it sort of gained a lot of attention and interest,” Wang recalls. “There were a lot of audiences that were super interested in knowing more about the Southeast Asian queer arts and culture that they probably didn’t get a chance to access.”
Although the pandemic disrupted the festival, its loyal audiences and unique vision kept it alive. Wang’s vision for the festival had extended beyond just London and he always saw its natural evolution as one that would involve thriving across the UK.
“To be honest, I feel like leaving London, you already have a lot of privilege to be able to access quite a vibrant international cinema, in a way, compared to other cities. And then I really don’t want these films to be screened with just being seen by the audience in London.”
As the festival gained traction, Wang received messages from people across the UK, asking when they could see these films in their cities. “There were so many people that when we first started Queer East would send us messages saying they are based in Bristol, that they are based in Glasgow, asking where they can see these films.
This was because a lot of the films that screen with Queer East is their only chance to screen in the UK because a lot of films that we we pay attention to and are trying to discover are films that usually won’t be discovered by international film programmers or international film festivals.
So that’s why I sort of decided, like we need to bring these films to a broader, broader, sort of geographical reach, to different audiences.”
The On the Road tour began modestly, with the festival visiting just three to five cities. But, over the years, it has expanded into something much larger. This year, Queer East will travel to 15 cities, hosting more than 50 events. The films it showcases are often rare, offering audiences a chance to see cinema that they might not otherwise experience.
“I also believe that it is quite important for people to actually see these films.” Wang explains. “It’s quite cliché, but I think cinema does provide a window for people to understand things that they probably haven’t encountered before, and the power of seeing these films can definitely create something different. I hope so.
We are showcasing really rarely seen queer cinema, a lot of films that even for venues is a quite rare opportunity for them to be able to have these kind of films that are being showcased locally to their audiences.”
Independent cinemas and arts funding have been the backbone of Queer East’s success, offering homes and availability to stories that rarely find screens elsewhere, and without it Wang realises that the festival would be in a very different position that exists today.
“The festival is publicly funded, it’s not a commercial, viable project in any way. So we need to rely on public funding because of the content, because of the cultural value the festival represents and we do really appreciate, the support from the BFI, from Arts Council every year to allow us to be able to put on the festival on such a scale. And I especially really appreciate the support from independent cinema across the UK because we tend to only work with them.
They probably know the risk of showing these kinds of films that audiences may not be very familiar with, but they are still willing to host us, every year more and more, which is something I’m really happy to see. I also really think we are doing something right for independent cinema. Independent cinema should be the place for people to discover different stories and I’m really happy we are able to contribute.”
Over the years, risk-taking has fuelled Queer East’s success. When I ask Wang about past screenings, he laughs, and the word ‘unusual’ comes up often.
“Sometimes I overhear the audience say that’s a bit unusual. I don’t mind if people don’t like the film because not liking the film is also a reaction, you shouldn’t like all the films anyway. I want to be screening a film that makes people think.”
Despite some of the unusual nature of the films Queer East preview across the UK, Wang has always made sure to prioritise redefining overly negative stereotypes on Asian queerness. He’s determined for Queer East to forge a space for bold, alternative, and multifaceted expressions of queerness, and to facilitate dialogue about the diverse experiences of Asian and LGBTQ+ communities.
He explains, “In the past, I think people tend to associate with Eastern, Southeast Asian queer communities, or character as a group of sufferers and they tend to think they are being rejected by society. There is a lot of suppression and oppression towards the Eastern southeast, towards queer Asian communities, which sadly is still true for many countries and probably for many people.
But I also feel like there’s joy, there’s happiness, there’s a positive side of being a queer Asian person or individual. And I feel like those kind of stereotypes that you usually associate with queer cinema before that sort of slightly gradually being breaks down in a way that you see more and more positive and different vibrant representations in terms of storytelling in the queer cinema filmmaking at the moment.”
For Wang, Queer East isn’t just a festival, it’s a movement to reframe how queer Asian identities are seen, celebrated, and understood across the UK. Looking into the future, he hopes that queer Asian representation in the UK can keep evolving and previous stereotypes can be eradicated.
The film festival is now on its ‘On the Road’ tour, visiting numerous independent cinemas around the UK. You can visit their website here. Across November there will be four films shown at Showroom Cinema in Sheffield, including Lin Cheng-Sheng’s Murmur of Youth and legendary director Takeshi Kitano’s mesmerising historical epic Kubi.
Written by Matt Stanger
Image Credit – Queer East Festival, The Movie DB
