Page Reader AI | How queer film collective thrives under the radar in Shanghai, and its soft power

How queer film collective thrives under the radar in Shanghai, and its soft power | South China Morning Post

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Public awareness of the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) community in China is higher than ever thanks to an abortive attempt this month by Weibo, China’s answer to Twitter, to bar homosexual content. An outcry from internet users sympathetic to the LGBT cause forced a U-turn.

Shanghai-based queer film collective Cinemq hopes to ride that wave of support as it launches its first documentary, Extravaganza, which explores Shanghai’s booming drag scene.

Since launching in 2015, Cinemq has gone from strength to strength, and attracts a vibrant community of LGBT creatives to its monthly film screenings and underground parties despite ever tighter restrictions on LGBT media and activism.

British filmmaker Matthew Baren, who helped found Cinemq, says he saw it as an alternative to the more mainstream Shanghai Pride Film Festival, and a forum for LGBTs to discuss thought-provoking ideas in a fun and inclusive way.

“It’s great because you’re creating a space, whether you realise it or not, for people to see their narratives on screen,” says Baren.

Cinemq, which is entirely volunteer-run, benefits hugely from Shanghai’s vibrant underground arts scene, which has flourished thanks to an influx of young people taking jobs in the city’s creative industries.