2025 Queer East Festival Line Up Promises Heartfelt and Intimate Filmmaking
Fans of LGBTQ+ films, April is a month for your diaries with Queer East Festival. Returning for it’s sixth year to various cinemas across London showcasing the best of cinema from East and Southeast Asia.
Queer East Fest will run for 4 weeks between 23rd April until 18th May, showcasing over 100 titles. Everything from features, shorts, documentaries and moving image work that explores the ever-evolving queer landscape across Asia.
Activism, community and the collective memory of queer history take centre stage in this year’s programme: from an avant-garde cult classic shot in Shinjuku in the 1960s, to a verbatim theatre play about queer elders in Singapore; from a heartfelt documentary on lesbian advocacy, to an intimate dance piece about queer belonging, the festival continues its commitment to screening a vital and diverse programme that will get audiences talking.
The festival kicks off in epic fashion at the BFI Southbank on 23rd April, with the UK Premiere of Kubi, from one of Japan’s most acclaimed directors Takeshi Kitano. The idiosyncratic filmmaker, actor, and comedian has earned international recognition for iconic acting credits including Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence (1983), Battle Royale (2000) , Violent Cop (1989), Sonatine (1993), HANA-BI (1998). In Kubi, the legendary director reconfigures the historical epic, with his mesmerising and outrageous view of rival warlords battle to reign supreme over feudal Japan. Offering a darkly comic perspective on the political intrigue and homoerotic desire, this strikingly violent film comprehensively debunks the myths of masculinity, ethics and honour that have defined the samurai genre onscreen. The acting talent on show alongside Kitano, including Hidetoshi Nishijima (Drive My Car), Ryo Kase (Letters from Iwo Jima), Shido Nakamura (Monster) and Tadanobu Asano (Shogun).
Bringing the festival to a close on 18th May at the ICA is the UK Premiere of Edhi Alice. This is an intimate and affecting documentary from award-winning filmmaker and queer activist Ilrhan Kim. Interrogating how documentaries about trans communities are made: the creative decisions, relationships, and ethical questions involved, Edhi who works as a counsellor for LGBTQ+ teens in Seoul, decides to undertake gender reassignment surgery. Edhi’s story intertwines with that of Alice, the lighting technician on the film crew and an older trans woman. This powerful and thought-provoking film refuses to compromise in its depiction of post-surgery recuperation, offering an authentic portrayal of the trans experience and allyship in South Korea.
Some of the highlights from the Feature films slate are Samantha Lee‘s Rookie. This Filipino romantic comedy follows an awkward teenager who moves to an all-girls school, where she is forced to the volleyball team. She is initially no good at the sport and socially ostracised, but things begin to change when she falls for the team captain. Taiwanese coming of age tale Murmur of Youth (1997, Dir.Lin Cheng-sheng) about two adolescent girls meet when they get a job in a cinema box office. The pair begin to bond as they chat about family, work and school; but gradually, their conversations become more intimate.
It’s not all about the new films, Crazy Love is a 1968 film from Michio Okabe. This underground film was shot on 16mm in Shinjuku in 1968, and documents the radical spirit of Japan’s creative and artistic scene in those years. Structured as a collage of diverse activities and performers, Crazy Love is a testament to a liberated, experimental moment in art and film. Lily Hu‘s 1 Girl Infinite will make it’s UK Premiere . Hu directs and stars in this vivid portrait of girlhood, teenage love, and frustrated desire. In Changsha, Yin Jia and Tong Tong have carved out a life together, but when Tong Tong begins a relationship with a drug dealer, the devoted Yin Jia is prepared to sacrifice all that she has.
This is only a selection of the films you can watch at 2025 Queer East Film Festival. Head over to the festivals official website to get the full line up including shorts, and other special events.
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