Queer East: On The Road 2025 in Edinburgh, 19-26 November
The richness of Asian and queer communities forms a vital part of the UK’s identity and over the past six years Queer East has forged a space for bold, alternative and multifaceted expressions of artistic queerness.
In November Queer East: On The Road 2025 will introduce remarkable entries from this year’s film programme to Edinburgh.
Edinburgh titles:
Kubi (Dir. Takeshi Kitano, Japan, 2023)
Legendary actor and director Takeshi Kitano (Violent Cop, Sonatine, HANA-BI) reconfigures the historical epic, with his mesmerising and outrageous view of Japanese history as 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.
Murmur of Youth (Dir. Lin Cheng-sheng, Taiwan, 1997)
Two adolescent girls in Taiwan 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. Lin Cheng-Sheng’s (Sweet Degeneration, 1997; Betelnut Beauty, 2001) poignant coming-of-age story from 1997 beautifully captures the bittersweet essence of youth.
Rookie (Dir. Samantha Lee, Philippines, 2023)
An awkward teenager in the Philippines moves to an all-girls school, where she is forced to join 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. From Samantha Lee, a filmmaker from the Philippines who advocates for better representation of women and the LGBTQ+ community in cinema, this heartfelt film is powered by authentic performances.
Batch '81 (Dir. Mike de Leon, Philippines, 1982)
Directed by acclaimed filmmaker Mike de Leon and hailed as one of the greatest Filipino films of all time, Batch ’81 is groundbreaking psychological drama: both an unflinching study of sadomasochistic college fraternity traditions, and a camp metaphor for life in the Philippines under the Marcos regime.
Crazy Love (Dir. Michio Okabe, Japan, 1968)
Michio Okabe’s 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.
We Are Here (Dir. Zhao Jing, Shi Tou, China, 2015)
This documentary from LGBT activists Zhao Jing and Shi Tou revisits the 1995 United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women, which was hosted in Beijing. The conference was attended by 300 lesbian women from around the world, whose organisers sought to facilitate queer participation, visibility, and recognition in the context of broader discussions around women’s rights.
Queer East: On the Road 2025 takes place in Edinburgh from 28 October - 26 November at Cameo Picturehouse
Tickets:
https://queereast.org.uk/project/queer-east-on-the-road-2025/