Film: We Are Here + Q&A

“We Are Here” chronicles twenty years of queer and feminist activism in Beijing, sparked by the historic 1995 Fourth World Conference on Women. At this pivotal event, the first-ever lesbian tent at a UN NGO Forum was created, providing a space for 300 lesbian women from around the world to share ideas, forge connections, and affirm identities, catalyzing the vibrant lala (LBT) movement in China.

The documentary explores the evolution of this movement, unpacking the intricate dynamics between feminist and queer activism. It delves into the potential for queer feminist politics in China, documenting the challenges, achievements, and enduring determination of activists advocating for equality and justice.

Afterwards there is a Q&A in English. Subtitles are in English and Chinese.

Zhao Jing赵静 （also “Sam 三木”） has been a pioneering LGBT activist in China since 2005. She is the co-founder and chief editor of les+, the most influential lesbian print magazine in mainland China, with readers across all provinces as well as many other countries. In 2014, she graduated from New York University School of the Arts and directed the documentary We Are Here, which was invited to several international film festivals and screened in more than 10 cities in China. In 2015, she founded Yummy with the aim to provide Chinese people with professional and positive sex education. 

Shi Tou 石头 has been an artist and a lesbian activist since the 1990s. She is China’s first lesbian activist celebrity: In 2000 she starred in the country’s first lesbian film, Fish and Elephant, which received the Elvira Notari Prize at Venice Film Festival in 2001 and the Best Asian Film at Forum of New Cinema of the Berlinale in 2022. Her paintings and photographs have been shown in Rotterdam, Chicago, Shanghai, Nanjing and Shenzhen.

Afterwards there is a Q&A in English. Subtitles are in English and Chinese.