This Saturday at 19:30, 4Seas Cinema will host a screening of four independent Chinese queer short films.
Spanning from 2009 to 2025, these works document how specific individuals navigate public space, aging, desire, and self-acceptance within the local context over a sixteen-year trajectory.
The human body serves as both the smallest unit of existence and the most direct recorder of history. Through these distinct cinematic lenses, we invite you to observe the shifting textures of queer narratives in mainland China.
New Beijing, New Marriage ｜ Non-Fiction · 2009
Director: Popo Fan ｜ Duration: 19min ｜ Subtitles: English
Synopsis: On Valentine's Day in 2009, two same-sex couples decided to take their wedding photos publicly on Qianmen Street in Beijing. The camera captures their joy alongside the complex, varied reactions of bustling passers-by. It remains a rare and valuable archival snapshot of queer activism from that era.
Life in the Shadows ｜ Non-Fiction · 2025
Director: HU Zhijun ｜ Duration: 22min ｜ Language: Mandarin, Henan dialect ｜ Subtitles: Chinese, English
Synopsis: Following an assault on a gay man in Zhengzhou’s People’s Park in July 2025, the director traveled to the site. Through candid interviews conducted in local LGBTQ+ gathering spaces, the film seeks to understand a unsettling reality: Who were the attackers, and what drove them?
MAKE DICK GREAT AGAIN ｜ Fiction / Anthropology
Director: Shawn Chen ｜ Duration: 29min 59s ｜ Language: Mandarin ｜ Subtitles: Chinese, English
Synopsis: A sharp look at a topic rarely discussed in Chinese cinema: aging and late-life desire. Two elderly men sharing a nursing-home room resolve to prove they still have agency over their own bodies. Within their highly confined world, they embark on a series of awkward yet deeply human attempts to achieve one more erection.
The Night ｜ Fiction · 2023
Director: Jenny ｜ Duration: 34min 24s ｜ Language: Mandarin, Cantonese ｜ Subtitles: Chinese, English
Synopsis: A nuanced exploration of female queer youth and domestic pressure. After a rule-abiding girl discovers her attraction to another girl, her hesitant and cowardly response to her mother's confrontation nearly costs her the relationship. Faced with an emotional crossroads, she must decide whether to conform or to claim her own identity.
In the local context, conversations surrounding sex, gender, aging, and social trauma are frequently muted or folded away. These four short films, each in their own way, push past that silence.
There will be no formal panel or structured Q&A for this event. After the 115-minute screening concludes, the space will remain open for everyone to grab a drink and chat freely.
Time: This Saturday at 19:30 (Total runtime approx. 115 minutes)
Venue: 4Seas Cinema
Navigation: Search Zuzalu Library on Google Maps
Admission: Free
