Bad Women of China

Post-screening Q&A with director He Xiaopei

In partnership with Queer East – showcasing boundary-pushing LGBTQ+ cinema, live arts, and moving image work from East and Southeast Asia and its diaspora communities

Filmmaker and activist Xiaopei He's first feature-length documentary commences with an attempt at reconciliation with her mother, before taking the audience on a journey from the 1920s through to the 2020s.

With a raw, DIY aesthetic, the film brings to life the experiences of three generations of Chinese women – Xiaopei's mother, herself, and her daughter – as they come to terms with political and social change.

Combining interview, video essay, and home movie formats, the film offers a refreshingly irreverent perspective on historical experiences, while wryly documenting the potential of lesbian and polyamorous lifestyles to challenge established ideas of feminine propriety.

Through intimate conversations, Bad Women of China demonstrates how women are unconsciously led to belittle their own desires, experiences and hopes.