Queer China, 'Comrade China' (dir. Cui Zi'en)

By Isabella Tianzi Cai

In the online film journal Film Threat, Phil Hall recently reviewed Cui Zi’en’s ‘Queer China, Comrade China’, calling it “a genuinely fascinating look at Chinese sociology in a state of continual evolution.”

Hall’s review reiterates the issues raised in Cui’s work, which examines China’s LGBT culture and history through a number of insightful interviews from various political, historical, cultural, legal, as well as psychological viewpoints. He condenses the first half of the documentary as follows:

China was relatively late in openly acknowledging the basic civil rights of its homosexual population – it wasn’t until 1997 that the Communist government decriminalized “hooliganism,” as it was officially known. However, the acceptance of non-heterosexuals into a mainstream societal position has been complicated, although the resistance bears no resemblance to the religious-fueled homophobia that has become commonplace in the United States. Indeed, the film explains that same-sex unions are seen by many as a disruption of the yin-yang harmony within the Chinese mindframe and the disruption of the cohesive family unit that was stressed since Mao Zedong’s rise to power.

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In film, censors in China are still quick to restrict gay cinema and homosexuality as a theme. But independent film makers have developed ongoing interest in this theme and have delved into the topic with great insights.  We at dGenerate will be adding some of these pioneering titles of queer Chinese cinema to our catalog soon.

One of our most respected directors, Cui Zi’en, the first Chinese gay to openly come out publicly on TV, documented the changes and development in LGBT issues in China over the last 80 years in his new documentary Queer China. As the opening film of ShanghaiPRIDE festival, this is the most comprehensive cinematic overview of LGBT history and culture in China.  It includes interviews with gay club organizers, doctors, laws, NGO workers, as well as famous scholars, such as Li Yinhe and Lisa Rofel.  From the repeal of sodomy law to the submission of a same-sex marriage bill to the National People’s Congress, Cui Zi’en uses his camera to record China’s changing attitudes towards homosexuality.  We at dGenerate Films are proud to announce that we’ll be distributing Queer China as well as Cui Zi’en’s film Enter the Clowns soon!

Thanks to Yuqian Yan for compiling links and info for this post.

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