A shot from Diwata, a nature spirit is dancing, wearing an ornate golden crown headdress, long pointed golden nails, long brown hair. Flowing from her hands and crown is translucent lace, that’s creamy white. In the background is a waterfall and forest
Queer East is a film festival that is currently ongoing until the 18th of May. Its focus is to showcase films and live art made by East and Southeast Asian Queer people and diaspora communities. I was lucky enough to be given access to some of the films that were shown, including one that is screening on the 18th of May, Alice Edhi. The other films seen were Sinaela, Diwata, Transpositions and Come Dance With Me, which played on the 11th, 15th and 3rd of May respectively, and here’s my thoughts on all.
The festival ends when this week does, so if you need a TL;DR – Go watch Edhi Alice on the 18th and check out Queer East next year.
Edhi Alice is a standout, and so I’ll start with that, even though it was the last one I watched. It’s raw and honest in its focus on both women, Alice who works in film production, particularly lighting, and Edhi who works as a counsellor to LGBTI Youth. Both of whom are in South Korea. As we move through the film we learn about them, their history, and their journeys as Alice takes on dancing practice for a film, and Edhi undergoes gender affirming surgery. The film also explores some of the follow-up care like dilation, which was particularly powerful as dilation treatment is one of the elements of gender affirming care that transphobes have weaponized and attacked viciously. The way it is shown in Edhi Alice depicts it clearly as a part of the healing and maintenance of bodies after receiving care, and as such is not an entirely comfortable experience for some but is nonetheless necessary.
There are also small moments in Edhi Alice that are deeply touching in unexpected ways. When discussing the life and death of Byun Hui-Su, South Korea’s first trans soldier, pictures of her pre-transition are shown, with her face clearly cut out, so you can still see the context in the picture, her holding a baby, posing with friends, in army uniform, but without inviting an intrusive gaze on her before she was presenting they way she felt comfortable. There is another moment when discussing women’s bathhouses, Alice is filming there and takes an opportunity to dip into one of the baths, knowing that she would not be able to in everyday circumstances due to the way trans women are excluded. Seeing her be able to sit in that space, and take that peace and solace that is usually taken so easily by cis women there, is deeply moving, even when it’s so small and simple a moment it feels monumental because you are able to recognise that it is for her.
There are also short films, such as Sinaela, a 2001 lightning quick 3 minute long Samoan film that was shown on the 11th of May. It is in essence, a retelling of Cinderella in a Fa‘afafine lens. Fa’afafine here means “in the manner of a woman” and is not merely translatable to “trans woman” which would be reductive. It has long been recognised as its own form of identity since before colonisation, as is also true with the term Fa’afatama “in the manner of a man”.
Some short films are played together in screenings, such as “Land, Body and the Sacred: Filipina Ecotransfeminism” which was a screening of two films (Transpositions and Diwata) who both focused on the precolonial relationship to nature and transness accompanied by pole dance that took place one the 15th of May. I did not attend the event but saw the films through screener links, but even under less dramatic conditions the films were evocative, focusing more on expression through the visual arts as opposed to using film as a medium to talk about various topics. For some that might be seen as “too arty” but I personally love art that doesn’t feel a need to over explain itself or make itself palatable. You have to meet them on their terms which is hard not to respect.
As Diwata shows three nature spirits, each dancing and moving in their own ways and yet almost in conversation with one another you don’t need to understand what’s specifically happening, or know all the folklore it’s pulling from to enjoy it. It is about the feeling being expressed and the emotions it stirs up to watch. As Transpositions show a doll being made, before that doll seemingly coming to life, thread tying the body turning to necklaces and jewellery, before seemingly turning back to the original footage and more footage, overlaying in different ways, of dolls being made. You can clearly understand that there is a powerful spreading of creation happening, that creating oneself helps others create selves, even if no words are spoken.
The last thing I watched from the festival was Come Dance With Me, which premiered in the UK at Queer East on 3rd of may, is a documentary film about Lai Lai Dancehall, a queer venue in Shanghai that has opened its doors since 1990. The film takes us through some of the personal lives of regulars and the owner. The clientele is older than you may expect in a queer bar, but that’s in part because for the people who have found it, it became a sanctuary where they can dance as they wish, with who they wish, as who they wish. This flows into a wider exploration of topics that matter to the people who go there. HIV, Sex Work, Buddhism, there’s a lot to dive into, including the possible closing of the venue.
It’s energy feels similar to Paris is Burning, however it generally moves a bit slower and does not have people spending time explaining basic concepts of the community in between, but simply telling their stories and talking about their lives and experiences, merely to document that these people, this space, this community, exists. However the notion of taking a camera and exploring a smaller but very important community is the core notion underpinning both films, and so if you appreciate that, this may very well be up your street.
Overall, Queer East is delivering on its aims of rectifying issues of representation, there’s a really wide range of things to pick from and a lot to be learnt from their selections. If any of what I have said here has piqued interest then see what is on offer next year if you’ve not already secured tickets for the 18th.
