He Xiaopei
82 mins
Filmmaker and activist He Xiaopei’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 – He’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.
He Xiaopei is a film director and activist whose films explore invisible desires and lives. Since the 1990s, she has devoted herself to feminist and lesbian movements in China. She completed a PhD in sexuality and cultural studies in the UK, and after graduating returned to China to set up the NGO Pink Space.