Translating for change: Anglophone queer cinema and the Chinese LGBT+ movement

This AHRC-funded project (2019- present) analyses the use of Anglophone (North American, British, Australasian) queer cinema as a means of developing LGBT+ culture and rights in China. Collaborating with Aibai, a non-profit Chinese organization aiming at promoting equal rights for the LGBT+ community, QAFONE and Jihua Network, two of the most influential Chinese LGBT+ subtitling groups, it investigates the translation and discussion of Anglophone LGBT+ films in China and the screening of these translated films in important Chinese queer film events (e.g. Shanghai Pride film festival, Shanghai Queer Festival, Beijing Queer Film Festival, China Queer Independent Film Tour) as well as social events organized by Chinese LGBT+ organizations. By examining the key players involved in the translation and dissemination of Anglophone queer films and broaden existing research on transnational connections between Anglophone and Chinese LGBT+ movements, this project will deepen our understanding of the continuity and rupture between global and local queer cinematic culture and reveal the trends and complexities in the circulation of queer-related knowledge via film. It will provide valuable information about how new digital media technologies enable new possibilities and fora for Chinese queer culture, and its focus on the intersection between queer cinematic culture and fan translation will offer a unique perspective on studies of digitalized LGBT+ politics.