Asian gay cinema
With more LGBTQ+ representation on screen over the years here in Asia – from lighthearted comedies and heartwarming tearjerkers to thought-provoking masterpieces – we’ve curated a list of must-watch Asian LGBTQ+ films and TV shows that question stereotypes and explore what it’s like to be both queer and Asian.
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The Boyfriend, 2024 (Japan)
This brand-new reality dating show has taken queer viewers by storm since launching on Netflix in July 2024. Making history as Japan’s first same-sex dating programme, The Boyfriend follows a group of nine men in their twenties and thirties who are position together in a villa à la Terrace Hou Post Views:3,223 The first video in this article focuses on the development of gender non-conforming films in mainland China during the reform and opening-up period; the second video focuses on transgender representation in independent cinema. Lan Yu film still (Courtesy of Queer East) In the first video, Dr Hongwei Bao traces a terse history of Chinese queer cinema in the post-Mao era, introducing key titles and filmmakers. He argues for the key role of Chinese independent cinema in constructing gender non-conforming identities, communities and desires. The second video focuses specifically on the advocacy of trans characters in Chinese independent cinema. It addresses the politics and ethics of standing for trans people and lives. Further reading: Hongwei Bao. 2022. ‘Ways of Seeing Transgender in Independent Chinese Cinema.’ Feminist Media Studies. DOI: 10.1080/14680777.2022.2077798 Hongwei Bao. 2021. Queer Media in China. New York: Routledge. Hongwei Bao. 2020. Queer China: Female homosexual and Gay Literature and Visual Tradition under Postsocialism. Recent York: Routledge. Hongwei Bao. 2019. ‘The Homosexual Generation: Queer Collective Documentary Our list includes films from across east and south-east Asia, including works from China, Hong Kong, Japan, Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand. Queer rights, and voice of gay men on screen, vary hugely from state to country, offering a rich diversity of fascinating movies. Films that would have made the cut had they been more easily available include Stanley Kwan’s romantic tragedy Lan Yu (2001), the flawed but fascinating Filipino crime drama Macho Dancer (1988), and two Japanese ‘pink cinema’ titles – Beautiful Mystery (1983) and I Fond You, I Prefer You Very Much (1994). If east and south-east Asian films about gay men rarely make it to DVD, films about lesbians are rarer still. The groundbreaking Fish and Elephant (2001) is difficult to find, Blue Gate Crossing (2002) is out of print, while All about Care for (2010) and the award-winning Spider Lilies (2006) didn’t get a British DVD release. We hope that, with classic lesbian titles becoming increasingly prosperous, albeit at a shamefully slow rate, a future list on gay female east Asian films will appear in the future. Get the latest #BF When I started to build a playlist on Chinese queer cinema, I was immediately confronted with some big questions: What is Chinese? What is queer? What is cinema? … These are all complex questions open to much debate in academia. If we cannot answer these questions, is it still possible to put together a playlist, or should we give up the effort all together? Even if we have managed to assemble a playlist, is the list spokesperson or good enough? What titles and filmmakers complete we include and exclude? Is a ‘representative’ playlist ever possible? On the other hand, there are evidently films made by, for, and/or about LGBTQ people from China and the Sinophone sphere. There are clearly people who yearn to watch them and who like them (and I am one of them). So I ventured to embark on such an impossible task, focusing on the films that I have seen and liked – at the same time aware of the huge limitation of my own experience and preference. My playlist therefore focuses on films that centre on queer people’s lives, or films in which queer people’s stories are central to the production narrative, regardless of the gender a Taiwan became the first region in Asia to legalize same-sex marriage on May 24th, 2019, after a landmark ruling from Taiwan’s constitutional court stating that prohibiting same-sex couples from becoming legally married is unconstitutional. Though a 2018 referendum led to voters rejecting same-sex marriage, the government unveiled a “permanent union” bill to sidestep the referendum vote. Lgbtq+ couples are allowed to adopt the biological children of their partner and are entitled to inheritance rights. However they still cannot adopt non-biological children or have transnational marriages. Across Asia, Thailand is also close to passing a law that would grant same-sex unions. However, in many Asian countries homosexuality is still criminalized — Brunei recently passed a law that would watch individuals convicted of male lover sex stoned to death. Still, Taiwan’s legalization of same-sex marriage has brought forth a wave of relief and hope for many LGBTQ communities in Asia. To celebrate Taiwan’s legalization of same-sex marriage and Pride Month, we made a list of the 10 best Asian LGBTQ films to celebrate and recognize stories of cherish. While we recognize th
Chinese Queer Cinema: A Very Brief History
10 great gay films from east and south-east Asia
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Queer Cinema from Mainland China