Bad Women of China by He Xiaopei: We Were Always Here documentary screenings

Bad Women of China | He Xiaopei

Filmmaker and activist He Xiaopei's first feature-length documentary commences with an attempt at reconciliation with her mother, before taking the audience on a journey from the 1920s through to the 2020s. With a raw, DIY aesthetic, the film brings to life the experiences of three generations of Chinese women – He’s mother, herself, and her daughter – as they come to terms with political and social change. Combining interview, video essay, and home movie formats, the film offers a refreshingly irreverent perspective on historical experiences, while wryly documenting the potential of lesbian and polyamorous lifestyles to challenge established ideas of feminine propriety. Through intimate conversations, Bad Women of China demonstrates how women are unconsciously led to belittle their own desires, experiences and hopes.  

Dir He Xiaopei / China / 2021 / 82min

Followed by an online Q&A with the director He Xiaopei, hosted by Kiki Tianqi Yu, Senior Lecturer in Film at Queen Mary University of London.

This event is presented in collaboration with Dancing with Water: Women’s Cinema from Contemporary China.

Screening as part of Queer East's We Were Always Here.

Marking this year’s LGBT+ History Month, Queer East presents a series of documentaries that explore the lives of queer Asian women and non-binary people around the world. From South Korea to Indonesia, the films reveal how personal experiences are inextricably entangled with politics, looking back at queer histories through the lens of individual and collective memories.