Pride in Ordinary Times Beyond Trauma: Five Contemporary Chinese Queer Shorts For much of its history, queer Chinese-language cinema has often been understood through narratives of marginalisation, secrecy, and survival. From censorship and social stigma to familial pressure and legal precarity, queer lives have frequently appeared on screen through the lens of struggle. While these histories remain important, they are not the only stories that deserve to be told. Pride in Or

Modern Masturbation Allegory (2024) Director: Li Xinyi Duration: 24 min Language: English, Mandarin Subtitles: English Country/Region: United Kingdom With a bold and experimental visual language, Modern Masturbation Allegory turns its gaze directly towards the body itself. Combining personal footage, interviews, diary filmmaking, and experimental montage, it transforms masturbation—a topic long considered taboo—into an exploration of desire, loneliness, pleasure, and self-und

Christian (2024) Poster Director: Pan Chuqiao Duration: 11 min Language: Mandarin Subtitles: Chinese, English Country/Region: United Kingdom Through the perspective of a young Asian man living in London, Christian explores the complex intersections of sexuality, faith, race, and migration. Religion has long been framed as an opposing force within queer narratives. Rather than reproducing this binary, however, the film presents a nuanced portrait of an individual continually n

New Beijing, New Marriage (2009) Director: Popo Fan Duration: 18 min Language: Mandarin Chinese Subtitles: English Country/Region: Mainland China Filmed on Valentine’s Day in 2009, New Beijing, New Marriage follows two same-sex couples in Beijing as they prepare for their weddings and bring their celebrations into public space. Faced with curiosity, scrutiny, scepticism, and misunderstanding from passers-by, they present their love openly and unapologetically. Today, the docu

My Dear Dear Hom (2026) Director: Yue Ran Duration: 20 min Languages: Sichuanese dialects, English, French Subtitles: Chinese, English Country/Region: Mainland China, Switzerland After marrying her partner in Switzerland, filmmaker Yue Ran returns to China and turns her camera towards the long and candid conversations she shares with her mother. Deeply personal in nature, My Dear Dear Home establishes an inherent dramatic tension from the outset: on one side stands a daughter

The Night (2023) Poster Director: Jenny Zhang Duration: 34 min Language: Mandarin, Cantonese Subtitles: Chinese, English Country/Region: Mainland China The Night follows two young women as they gradually come to confront and affirm themselves under the pressures of social norms and family expectations. While the protagonists’ journeys reflect queer experiences familiar to many East Asian family contexts, the film refuses to remain confined within narratives of shame, repressi