Queer Activism in China: Conversation with Filmmaker He Xiaopei and Screening of Bad Women of China

Sabrina Qiong Yu annouces the fifth CIFA screening and research seminar. The seminar will be held on the 20^th of November from 1- 3.30 pm at Henry Daysh Building G.11, Newcatsle University, Newcastle, UK. 

After the screening, we will have an online Q&A session with the filmmaker and activist He Xiaopei who is based in China. The screening is her first feature-length documentary Bad Women of China中华坏女人(2021). The seminar will be chaired by Dr Wifak Gueddana, who currently teaches at UCL and is affiliated with KCL. She is the founder of FirstPersonFilm.org, an online curatorial initiative for promoting personal films from China, Japan, South Korea and other countries in East Asia.  Dr Gueddana will chair Q&A and discuss issues on Queer Activism, feminism, and documentary filmmaking with He Xiaopei.

CIFA seminars aim to promote the use of the CIFA collection, e.g. over 800 films (mostly documentaries) and 160 interviews, facilitate dialogue and exchange among NU researchers and students and beyond, and help foster a vibrant interdisciplinary research culture. We extend our cordial invitation to everyone with an interest in Chinese history, society, politics and culture. We also welcome self-nomination to be a chair of one of the sessions, with a film and a theme of your choice. Please email Xinyue Hu at x.hu22@ncl.ac.uk if you are interested.

The launch of PERSONAL CINEMA FROM CHINA this month was well-attended. We thank all those who made it to the ICA to watch the screenings. A big thank you to the ICA for hosting the screenings. Also, a warm thank you for Sandra Hebron, Kulraj Phullar, Dr. Helen Dewitt, from the NFTS, Prof. Sabrina Qiong Yu (CIFA), and Gloria (Cathayplay) for their continuous support and precious advise throughout this time. A special thank you to friends, Conor Riley, Kunal Chandra, Anna (Ambiguity Film) and Millie Zhou (The Garden Cinema). Finally, my thoughts turn to my beloved husband, Slim and my ray of sunlight, Sarah, who made it to the ICA from Edinburgh 😊

Lina Yang’s  Spring Tide and. Lu Pan & Yu Araki’s Anarchronic Chronicles : Voyages Inside/Out Asia are now Live and streaming. You can watch them on Curate-it until November 7^th 2024. From November, 14^th two new films, Shu Haolun, No. 89 Shimen Road and Nostalgia  will be added to the platform and you can also watch them for free. More films will be added to FirstPersonFilm programme in the coming months, so stay tuned for news and updates.

Sabrina Qiong YU, is Professor of Film and Chinese Studies at Newcastle University, UK. Her research and publications focus on Chinese-language cinema, stardom and fandom, and film censorship. She led the UK Arts and Humanities Research Council funded project (2019-2024) on Chinese independent cinema and the establishment of Chinese Independent Film Archive (CIFA) in Newcastle University in 2023. Since 2012, she has been regularly curating academic events/festivals/exhibitions related to Chinese indie cinema and is committed to promoting the research and circulation of Chinese independent cinema.

Wifak Gueddana is the curator of First Person Film, and an academic. Prior to her interest in film and curation, she obtained a PhD in Digital Sociology from London School of Economics in 2013. She currently teaches teaching at UCL and affiliated with Kings College London. Her research interests have focused on digital labour, digital viewership, cinephile engagement online and streaming platforms.  She is now finishing a two year course on film curation, setting FirstPersonFilm.org, an online curatorial initiative for promoting personal films from China, Japan, South Korea and other countries in East Asia.