This documentary shorts programme offers an unfiltered look into invisible and unspoken aspects of LGBTQ+ experience: the daily routine of a queer couple under military rule; the difficulties of living through Covid times with HIV; anti-trans persecution; and a man remembering his painful experience seeking asylum in the UK. These films expose the many layers of oppression faced by queer East and Southeast Asian people today. Participants recount traumatic memories to the camera, laying bare their lived experiences of prejudice and violence, while the filmmakers invite the viewer to join in a moment of solidarity.  

Followed by in person Q&A with Dorothy Cheung (director of Heart Murmurs) and Warren (from Qeluar). 

Total Runtime: 76 min 

Qeluar 

Expelled from Malaysia, the first person to receive asylum in the UK on the grounds of LGBTQ+ identity recounts a journey marked by ousting, disownment, and a quest for acceptance. 

Justice Khor | UK | 2023 | 20min 

Heart Murmurs

Heart Murmurs is a poetic dialogue between the filmmaker and Dean, a young man living in Hong Kong. In reflecting on his experience living with a congenital disability and HIV during the first years of the COVID pandemic, Dean expresses his sense of self in the face of regular medical challenges. 

Dorothy Cheung | Hong Kong, UK | 2023 | 9min 

The Bus Driver 

A bus conductor and his wife struggle to make ends meet, having to cope with long working hours and daily power cuts in Myanmar. Yet, this queer couple seems to be completely integrated into their community, despite LGBTQ+ people being legally persecuted by the military regime. 

Ku Ki | Myanmar | 2024 | 22min

House of Rencong 

In 2018, Indonesian police raided several hair salons in Sumatra, torturing dozens of trans hairdressers. Four years later, survivors meet discreetly with a trans artist, Tamarra, to explore performance as a means for collective healing.

Rizky Rahad | Indonesia | 2022 | 25min