July 13, 2019 – British Museum , London
YaliniDream and my collaborative film “I Am/YaliniDream” will be shown at QueerAsia, in a program curated by CINEMQ called ‘Dreams + Nightscapes’ at the British Museum.
‘Dreams + Nightscapes’ : We find each other in dreams. In cinemas and streets, in half-forgotten spaces, eyes bright and shadow-boxed as cheeks run black with rain. Queer visions in the dark. CINEMQ presents a selection of short films from across Asia exploring dream, desire, and nightscapes.
The fourth QueerAsia annual activities will take place this year from 17 June to22 July, featuring our Film Festival running from 17 June-22 July, our Art Exhibition running from 13-17 July, and the first ever Summer Programme from 15-18 July. All events are free to attend including open events at The Summer Programme in the evenings of 15, 17, and 18 July at University of Westminster, King’s College London, and SOAS University of London respectively.
Queer Asia is a network and platform for collaboration and research on LGBTQI+ issues in Asia. The aim of our annual activities are to bring together activists, artists, academics and film-makers from various parts of Asia on a common platform and interrogate latest developments on LGBTQI+ rights and culture in the region.
Our third annual Film Festival this year is held in collaboration with CINEMQ. Our screenings will be held on 17 June and from 11-22 July at the British Museum, SOAS University of London, King’s College London, and the University of Warwick. Selected films this year span 24 countries, including Lebanon, Malaysia, South Korea, Iran, Taiwan, Philippines, Russian Federation, India, China, Brunei, Japan, and Azerbaijan. The schedule is available online.
Our second annual Art Exhibition titled ‘The Liminal’ will be held at SOAS University of London and the British Museum on 15-17 July with community events and artists’ and artivism talks and the main exhibition held from 15-17 July at SOAS University of London. Further details about the exhibition and a line-up of our artists can be found online.
The films:
The Tyger [Tropical Malady edit]
Dir. Apichatpong Weerasethakul
Thailand
A short video essay on man and nature.
They Won’t Let A Dream Come True
Dir. Shumaila Kanwal
PakistThe world outside / Always wants some reason / For something new / For a dream to come true.
Aren’t We Here For Each Other
Dir. Gilb Baldoza
Philippines
Romance endures violence as a couple celebrates their anniversary against the backdrop of Duterte’s war on drugs.
Things I Would Say To My Mom If Only I Were Brave Enough
Dir. James Allen Fajardo
Philippines
Filmmaker James Allen Fajardo recalls his childhood before his mother left him to work abroad, and all the things he wished he could have told her about his burgeoning sexuality.
Queer
Dir. Romi Kim
S. Korea
Whispers of queerness in a young woman’s coming out story, an intimate narrative that holds her first kiss, first love and feelings of exclusions. She navigates and explores both the negativity around the word ‘queer,’ and her struggle to identify within it.
I Dream / Yalani Dream
Dir. YaliniDream & Krissy Mahan
USA
Artist YaliniDream – Lankan Tamil Blood, Manchester-Born, Texas-Bred and Brooklyn-Brewed – performs a poem of refugee/migrant love for the self and the world, through dance and a hiphop beat.
Tofu
Dir. Sui-hin Mak
Hong Kong
An experimental montage.
The Mute
Dir. Pham Thien An
Vietnam
The night before her wedding, a woman seeks out her ex-girlfriend for the last time.
Do It Again
Dir. Hsin Hsuan Yeh
Taiwan
Not knowing who I am and what should I do, floating in the air, I am a bear in the mortal world. I always wander in the dead-end road, swinging back and forth between disgust and joy. When will I face my own desires without hating myself?
Care For You
Dir. OHYUNG
USA
Romance blossoms when two souls cross paths in a late-night diner. A tender and surreal meditation on expressions of love.
Make Up Your Own Mind
Dir. Miguel Badiola Borje
Hong Kong
How do we determine the value of others, who has the right to decide a person’s worth? Two dancers move through a desolate building in this short film dedicated to the Filipinos of Hong Kong.
Chromosome Sweetheart
Dir. Honami Yano
Japan
Running into your ex can trigger a flood of bittersweet memories, but the world brims with with new and complex ways to love.
Two Snakes
Dir. Kristin Li
Canada
An experimental animation and documentary about diasporic desires for foundational myths. Seeking a home in reclaiming ones’ ancestry and seeking a self in reappropriated narratives. What is found is an identity, one that is fragmented, but open.
Amateur Dramatics
Dir. Linnea Ritland
Canada
Two actors competing for the same role find truth in a moment of pretending.